What a great event this was! The entire theme revolved around Hollywood and California Dreaming. I was asked to provide onsite coverage for formals as well as a photo booth area. The idea evolved to become several shoots in one: first, the students would be arriving by buses and walking a red carpet into the reception area where they would sign in. Next, there would be formal pictures before they changed out of their grad tuxes and dresses into more active wear. Next, there would need to be general event coverage of the various fun activities they planned (bungee run, band, tattoos, caricature artists, balloon toys, casino games). Lastly, there would a kitschy fun photo booth area where they could get prints made (think of the old-style photo booth with curtains and film strip of four images popping out the side). Oh, and this was from 12AM to 5AM, so I would have to be well-rested. To make it all even more fun, the students had no idea what was in store for them, other then they were returning to the school after their big grad dinner and to "dress for activity".
Technically, I was loaded for bear! I brought a complete event setup, which included a WiFi router, two computers, touchscreen, the dye-sub printer, as well as backdrop muslin, stands. Of course the gear included the Nikon D3 and 24-70 which remained an inseparable pair the whole night. I brought other event mainstays such as the 70-200VR, 28/1.4, and 85/1.4 but didn't have a chance to use them. Flash lighting was provided by several SB-800 flashes and my Hensel Porty Premium two-light kit.
The formal shoot was fairly straightforward, using just a single umbrella on a light stand with an SB-800 remotely triggered by an SU-800 on camera. The students were marching by this area fairly quickly to get changed and into the main festivities, so I had to work extremely quickly. The images are quite pleasing for a such a simple setup and the limited time to work -- just one or two snaps each. The light spill from the umbrella, sometimes a hindrance, helped to illuminate everything in a situation like that, while still creating some nice modeling effects on the faces.
The studio setup was in the gym, and I had about a 15x15 foot area to work with. The decorating committee had graciously supplied a lot of props such as body boards, grass skirts, beach balls, and even an Elvis mask! The favourite item was a green and white rubber inflatable boat which the students loved piling into. I brought a simple black muslin to act as a backdrop and a cheesy Hollywood backdrop was attached to it. The studio setup was lit by the Hensel Porty with a large softbox for fill, and a beauty dish for main. What a great setup it was, not missing a single beat, providing consistent, beautiful light, and using very little battery power over the night. The Porty's remote wireless trigger and battery power allowed for one less sync cord and bunch of AC cords for students (and me) to trip over. Once the images were taken, I previewed the images on the D3's LCD, and transmit the ones that looked good to the kiosk so the students could browse and print the images -- the technology worked flawlessly. I shot JPEG for the kiosk and since there would be no opportunity to adjust the images post-capture, I had to nail the exposure first time. Images taken throughout the night were also projected on a large screen behind the band for the students to see themselves in action.
The photo area was so popular that I didn't have a chance to make too many other shots aside from the formals. Students would line up to take pictures and view their images on the kiosk. Luckily, my brother Simon had offered to help out for the fun of it and he was able to grab shots with his D300 for the red carpet and general candids.
Here are some of my favourites:
What really made the event was the incredible work that the parent volunteers did for for the students, from the decoration, to the light setup, and the simple task of coordinating all the moving pieces. Another thing that struck me was how they managed to personalize the event, making sure the focus was on the kids, keeping them safe, keeping them fed, and creating lasting memories -- from the large numbers of photos taken, the caricature artists, the game shows, and so on. I was exhausted after the constant running around, but it was a blast and I'd definitely do it again!
More pictures from the event are available on my online gallery.
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