•2 min read•from Photography
How to Shoot People Photography - Engagement Party
Our take
Capturing the essence of an engagement party is a unique challenge, especially as an amateur photographer stepping into event photography. With your Canon Rebel T7, you have the tools to document this intimate celebration of love and family. As you prepare to photograph your best friend and her fiancé exchanging their rings, consider embracing the emotional moments and candid interactions that unfold.
My best friend asked if I would be willing/able to do photos for her engagement party. In her culture, this is where they will be exchanging the rings and there will be family and friends there to celebrate. I said yes since it’s a small event and she mostly just wants pictures of her and her fiancé.
I’m an amateur photographer and mostly like to do nature photography but have done a few shoots for close friends/family before. However, those have been posed photos and since I am close with them, it has been easy to do since it’s mostly chill shoots with one person in one location.
I’ve done posed portraits before too, but am unfamiliar with doing event photography. My best friend knows I’m an amateur and is not expecting anything professional level, but I want to do my best to capture the special day.
I was hoping to get tips for event/couple photography. I’m especially concerned with capturing their reactions to the rings, since I have a DSLR and therefore slower shooting. It’s a Canon Rebel T7 (I know people have their opinions on this camera but like I said, I’m a beginner and amateur photographer so it’s what I’ve got and can afford right now).
I also would ideally like to use the Live View mode since I’ll have makeup on for the event and don’t necessarily want to use the optical viewfinder, but for some reason it feels like the image quality isn’t as good when I use the screen for that.
If anyone has experience with this kind of photography and can offer advice, like what settings for shooting in manual (if that’s the best for this) are ideal, if I should shoot in raw or jpg, or general tips and tricks etc., that would be appreciated!
Thanks!
[link] [comments]
Read on the original site
Open the publisher's page for the full experience
Related Articles
- Wedding technique assistance (Canon user)Hi there! I am going to be second shooting a few weddings this summer. I primarily shoot portraiture in my studio so I’m set up with that in mind, but have helped with a few weddings in the past and will likely be contracted with this photographer each year. I have no desire to break into the wedding market myself, but I want to do a good job for her and keep those jobs in mind as far as what I keep in my kit and how I use it, since those small jobs for her will likely be a regular part of my business. I’ve done a total overhaul on my kit over the past year. I sold my APS-C DSLRs and upgraded to two Canon R6 Mark ii full frame mirrorless bodies (holy cow they’re amazing!). I shot a wedding a few weeks ago for her and I am not at all happy with the work I did. She herself wasn’t too disappointed, but she did send me some videos to watch about capturing the “details”. I’ve never been great at “landscape” shots. To mean they always wind up looking flat and although well exposed, it’s just a picture. Nothing special. Also, I was super nervous because this was the nicest wedding I’ve done so far and didn’t get enough direction from her (which she is working on), nor did I give enough direction to those I was shooting and I shot in poorly lit locations and just made amateur mistakes and decisions and I’m pretty pissed about it. None of my photos looked consistent. I’m understanding now what to look for when capturing the details of the event, though (the amount of work and thought the couple put into choosing their florals, table settings, linens, venue details, etc), and some basic principals for how to shoot them. These won’t be an issue for me moving forward, but I want to knock her socks off with the wedding next month. As a lot of photographers that have to move quickly between outdoor light and indoor cocktail hour light (or lack thereof), I’m riding the struggle bus here. I shoot with strobes in studio so I love flash. I’m not afraid of it. But I don’t know how to use it in this setting. I have a brand new Neewer Z2c Pro round barrel flash with HSS and adjustable focal lengths. I know I need more practice with it in general, but does anyone have any tips for streamlining how I set the flash up as well as any camera settings that should be specific to using this flash? I need to be able to go from inside the venue to outdoors as quickly as possible, and I don’t want to worry about turning the flash off and losing my settings if I don’t need it outdoors. Then there are my lenses. Again, I’m set up for studio work, but I also do lifestyle/portraiture outdoors (seniors, families, couples, styled/artistic) so my kit is built for that. Again, I have the two Canon R6 Mark ii bodies, and the following lenses: RF 28-70 mm f/2.8 IS STM RF 24mm f/1.8 IS STM RF 50mm f/1.8 STM EF 70-200 f/4 L USM w/RF mount adapter My 28-70 is pretty much my work horse lens and my go to. I rented the 24-70 before and it was too bulky and bothered my hand (bad carpal tunnel), so this was the best compromise and I really like it. I always have this one ready to go on one of my bodies. Then there is the second body, and a lens choice needs to be made for that one. 85mm isn’t a great choice as I’m not doing the flat lays or ring shots or anything like that. My 70-200 doesn’t seem like a good choice because it’s best use is outdoors because of the low light performance, so I would have to get any work I would do with it done all at once and then swap out. I suppose that’s not the end of the world, though. Then there is my 50 and my 24. Logically I feel as though my 24mm should be second to my 28-70 to cover those angles that need to be the tiniest bit wider. But I’m conflicted and don’t k ow why and now I think I’m too in my head. I guess I’m just looking for advice because I’m really hung up on what lens to keep on my second body as I’ll almost always have my 28-70 on the other. Which body to prioritize the flash on, because I hate having to swap out gear when I’m super busy, and don’t want to lug around two cameras with flashes attached all day. How to streamline (I hate that corporate speak but I genuinely mean it) my camera and flash settings so I don’t have to monkey around with them each time I move from one light to the other. Another thing is that learned to shoot in manual. That’s all I really know. The lady I second shoot for uses portrait mode and told me before I should learn it for weddings because it’s so much easier. I never shoot in ANY pre existing modes. Not even Av or Tv. I like to have full control in the studio and when I’m doing outdoor portraits and I’m not hauling ass I have zero issues. But I’m wondering if anyone that does weddings uses any of the modes that come with the camera? Would portrait mode make sense? Would auto ISO help me with my lighting struggles (realistically I do need to learn how to use this flash, though). What modes make certain tasks easier in this specific setting? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! submitted by /u/alwaysabouttosnap [link] [comments]
- First time paid Event Photography in a ballroom. I have questions. Any good tips? Hi, I've been shooting semi-professionally for a few years for work events and whatnot. It's usually smaller scale. I'm actually getting paid decently and want to ensure that I'm taking my best steps so I can hopefully procure future work. I will be shooting in a ballroom which I will post pictures of. Looking at other photos the ceiling is white. I want to know if I should try to bounce my flash or use a white bounce card in case the ceiling is too tall? I was instructed to take photos of event speakers, how many shots do you think I should take? There are 5 speakers over 1 hour, obviously I won't be shooting the whole time. In your experience do people want photos of guests listening or eating for a corporate event? Then a reception to follow. I will probably have to do posed portraits and that's what I'm concerned if you think I would need much flash? It seems pretty well lit. I also have a Sony A7IV and a Tamron 35-150. Do you think that is enough length to get the speakers in enough detail? This was spur of the moment, a good friend asked me to do her a favor and I agreed. I would love to have shadowed a photographer first but I already agreed! Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/dubschloss [link] [comments]
- I need some tips for event photography.I did my second event photography a few weeks ago, and while the client was satisfied, I was not. I took too many pictures, and that's why I was able to send the a lot of the good ones to the client, but about 20-25% of picture were really not upto the mark. Most of them were blurry, even though I used auto focus, since I didn't want to risk missing the focus with manual, but the auto focus didn't really react to the faces sometimes. Then another problem I faced was that, when I was taking group photos, I took about 5 photos for each group, out of those 5, about 3 had people with their eyelids halfway or fully closed. Is this a me problem, or something that I can avoid by changing the shutter speed? I feel like I took a lot of redundant pictures. I need some help. submitted by /u/inoobie_am [link] [comments]
- Would you guys help me with my first couple shoot for a friend ?So, few weeks ago I was at a gas station taking photos of passing cars when a guy on a motorcycle stopped nearby. I asked if I could take some shots — he liked them, asked to use some of my other pics for his finals project. Now he asked me to do a shoot of him and his girlfriend with their bikes. I’ve only done something like this once, but he was really okay with the fact that I'm a beginner. We’re meeting next weekend and I don't want to disappoint him since he was do kind :) I want to keep things spontaneous — have them interact with each other, walk around the bikes, less posing, and do some "moment" shots ( snapshots? english isn't my first language ) since he liked them and those pictures are my favorite. I have a few ideas but I think I need some advice. Do you have any tips for shooting couples ? Composition, posing ideas, things to avoid etc. ? Thanks in advance :D submitted by /u/Melcorczfoti [link] [comments]