Birthday, Baptism or Bar Mitzvah?

So you have a family gathering coming up, may be a birthday party, baptism or bar mitzvah and you are the person responsible for taking that important shot. Here is a check list to go through (well) before the day.


1. Google images, yes look at what other people have done and check out what you like.
Take note of :

• How are the people positioned? If you linked the heads together, are the heads making a triangular shape, or some other shape? 
• Is the background sharp or did they use a small F-stop to keep the people in focus but blur the back ground? 
• Where is the sun? If out doors, is the sun to the side creating shadows or behind the photographer so the people are in full sun? 
• If in doors, who is sitting and who is standing? What general shape is the group creating? Is there symmetry in the shot? Is the shot candid or corporate looking with formal poses? 

2. Take out your camera, flick to the Aperture Priority and play with the depth of field by using the f-stop. You want to learn how to have the foreground in focus but the background blurred and then have everything in focus. The former needs a small f-stop like f4, the later needs a large f-stop like f11 or f16.

3. Practise how to focus on a spot. If your camera has an auto focus, can you alter the focus point? This will help when taking a portrait style shot because you need to make sure the eyes are laser sharp!

4. On the day: play it safe and set the ISO to 400 and decide (based on whether you want the background blurred or not) on either the Aperture Priority or Time Priority. An ISO of 400 will keep the shutter speed fairly quick (helping to keep the image still) just in case you are shooting in the day and then indoors in the evening.

5. As you change from day time outside to evening inside, don't forget to change your white balance from "sunny" or "cloudy" to "incandescent" or "fluorescent". These light conditions give off different colours and you don't want your favorite aunt with a redish or greenish complexion.

6. Be creative, if you don't like the result you don't need to show anyone! Have the camera at different angles and heights. When taking a group shot with ladies sitting and gents standing, get the camera at the ladies eye level rather than standing and pointing the camera down. The difference in perspective is significant.

7. If you use post editing, make sure you have captured enough information by pushing the histogram right without blowing out the whites. This will help keep the shadows noise free when lowering the exposure afterwards and then you can do some artistic work on your favorite images.  



One final point, don't forget to shoot the venue before the day (and before guests arrive) if it is  special to the day.

Here is a shot I took recently of a restaurant that is used for wedding receptions in my part of the world. Shooting in low light doesn't mean it is impossible, just trickier.

have fun! ☺

see more of my images





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