Thanks, P.J.
I do plan on getting shots of the candidate interacting with the crowd.
It won't be a debate, but there will be other pols there. Just about
every jack-leg politician running in this cycle will be somewhere in the
vicinity, I'm sure. I'd like to capture more impromptu shots of their
interactions, if possible. I don't particularly enjoy looking at
fundraiser-type photo ops with someone shaking the hand of a politician
while staring straight at the camera, so I can't imagine I'd enjoy
taking those kinds of shots. As things stand, my plan is to do quite a
bit of moving around rather than staying tangled up with the gaggle of
other photographers there.
I never quite understood why photographers do that, by the way, unless
they're kept contained to a certain area. It always struck me as the
equivalent of taking school pictures with a telephoto lens. I don't
quite see the point. Hopefully, I won't have those kinds of
constraints. I'll just have to wait and see, and do the best with what
I've got, I guess.
-- Walt
On 10/7/2010 3:46 PM, P. J. Alling wrote:
It's important to know what you're trying to accomplish. Do you want
to show candidates interacting with whatever crowd might be there, and
tell an actual story of the campaign or cover a debate? Each of those
requires a different approach. If you're trying to tell the whole
story, then crowd shots might be important, so finding a spot to camp
out isn't the best strategy, if you just want to show the candidates
then you find a perch with an unobstructed view, and choose the proper
focal length to get the image you want, and shoot away. If you're
going to cover a debate, you'll need to find a place where you can
catch both candidates, (or more if there are more), in the same frame.
On 10/7/2010 12:19 PM, Walter Gilbert wrote:
Hi all,
I've just received my first press pass -- as a freelance photographer
for a couple of upcoming campaign events in a US Senate election.
Having never done this sort of shooting before, I assume I'll get a
pretty decent vantage point for the stump speeches and maybe some
access behind the scenes. Given the collective years of experience
on the list, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any tips on the best way
to capture dramatic, compelling images at events of this nature --
what to look for, technical and compositional advice, etc.
Also, any advice on the best mental approach to take in shooting
events of this nature in terms of establishing oneself as a credible
photographer would be greatly appreciated. As a matter of
background, I was granted this press pass by a person who had seen my
work on Facebook and Flickr and really enjoyed it -- or at least she
told me as much.
So, I have a bit of a dilemma. Should I approach this as an
ostensibly hard-nosed photojournalist trying to capture the "reality"
of the campaign trail in a consequential election? Or, given the
very early stage of my development as a photographer, should I
approach it as a potential connection for future job opportunities by
taking shots geared toward making the subject look as good as I can?
As a matter of pure, career-minded practicality with an eye toward
getting the proverbial foot in the door to future work as a
photographer, I'd appreciate any guidance anyone can offer me.
-- Walt
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