Category: Event

Night Event Photography–Break Out That Speedlight!

 

Shooting events at night can be pretty challenging, and frequently I see students shy away from using flash to properly illuminate their subjects. Sometimes, the effect can be fun, such as when you get a graphically interesting silhouette. More frequently, shooting with high ISOs, slow shutter speeds and no flash can result in pretty low technical quality and disappointing imagery.

Next time you are faced with shooting a night event and you want to capture people shots, do NOT leave your flash at home or try to rely on your pop up flash!

Try something similar to what I did here at my daughter’s birthday party. First, get your camera settings straight to properly expose for ambient light (in this shot, that means the candles and the string of lights in the background.) In this case, it means I set my camera at ISO 2000, f5.6 and 1/15 second. But wait, isn’t 1/15 pretty slow for a handheld camera? Won’t you get motion blur or camera shake? Well, perhaps a little bit, but since I am using my external flash as the main light source here, that won’t likely be a problem because the speedlight will “freeze” the action. As many of you know, I am a huge proponent of bouncing flash in order to soften its effects and create a more flattering, professional looking light. But you may also have noticed that there is nothing from which to bounce the flash off of here. Enter the Gary Fong Lightsphere.

With this little gadget, which kind of looks like a Chinese soup takeout cup, I place it on top of my flash head (which is pointing straight up, BTW, and then I fire away. It softens and diffuses the light, still rendering a nice professional look. So break out your flash! You’ll likely be pleased with the results of your next night “people” shoot!

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Birmingham Barons + al.com + The Birmingham News | Editorial + Sports Photographer | Birmingham, Alabama

Congratulations to the Birmingham Barons for winning the 2013 Southern League Championship Series against defending champions the Mobile BayBears in game 5 of the 5 game series! Below are a few highlights from game 5:

These images show that despite being the bread and butter of sports photography, action images aren’t the only ways to visually tell a story. Reaction (celebration and dejection) shots are also pretty powerful. As are active portraits of key players such as this shot of Birmingham Barons 2nd baseman and series MVP Michah Johnson as he rounds the bases after hitting an out of park homer.

Go Barons!

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Chinese Cardiologists Honored with Fine New Coats

Four Chinese cardiologists who are training at Princeton Baptist Medical Center received custom tailored physicians coats commemorating their training at the hospital during a reception and fitting at Shaia’s in Homewood.  After a bit of socializing, the physicians tried on their coats for the first time.  Here are some images Christine captured from the after-hours fitting and festivities.

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Presidential Appointment

Birmingham Southern President General Charles Krulak

Congratulations to General Charles “Chuck” Krulak, the newly appointed president of Birmingham Southern College! Krulak was appointed just this morning and within the hour was addressing a room filled with students. faculty, and staff of BSC. He then interviewed with the media and mingled at a reception.

Capturing an historic event such as this almost begs for shooting in a documentary style. Christine shot these in color and then converted them to black and white for a presentation with a timeless feel.

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