I am going to shoot an evening parade with Christmas trees and Santa and the like. Do you have any helpful tips?
I have a 50 1.2 and an 85 1.2 , 70-200mm 2.8 and a wide angle which I am going to bring. I have other lenses.
Tripod and flash
Scout the location for good viewpoints and angles (same time as the parade).
Probably a good idea to carry two cameras with different lenses.
Unfortunately, I only have the single camera so I have to change lenses. I’m waiting for the next gen Z9 to come out before I get another camera.
Going to the location the night before is a good idea.
You could rent one.
I’d go with two bodies, one wide and one telephoto (not too long if you are going to be close) mounted so you don’t have to swap lenses.
Maybe a speedlight if you want more people shots. I sometimes do a timelapse or long exposure from a tripod for these kind of things too.
I want to do people shots, but unclear if flash will make a good photo. When I have used flash for crowd shots you see the light fall of in an unpleasant way. I guess flash is best just for a few people and crop out the rest?
I currently only have one body.
Since it’s in the evening you will need a flash for any posed shots of people. Most only work with normal lens unless it’s specifically designed for wide angle or telephoto. You need a light source of any pictures that aren’t of the lights themselves. Street lights might work for some subjects but it’s not good for lighting for people.
Have you tested your lenses to see how they handle lens flare/ghosting from lights when it’s dark? I’ve never had a problem with mine, but I’ve always checked a new lens to make sure.
In low light I use manual mode with auto-ISO, I put the lens wide open, and I vary shutter speed to keep the ISO reasonable while keeping shutter fast enough to avoid blur. I might stop the lens down a little for more depth of field, if lighting allows. The parade might be lit up enough where you can get away with auto exposure. I would scout out the location and see what the lighting is like at night.
Changing lenses out in the open at night with people walking around is one of my least favorite things to do as a photographer. I’ve seen parade photographers in my area with two bodies, they seem to favor 70-200 and 24-70mm. I also shoot with two bodies but I don’t have those lenses yet.
When I’ve shot parades I find a spot with a couple of good vantage points near each other, like a corner where the parade rout makes a turn (so I can take pictures from “in front of the parade” without actually being in the way) that might be near a picturesque or recognizable back drop like a fountain, park, fire station, town hall, library etc. I scouted out what I thought would be a good spot, and the professionals came to the same spot.
It seems like the photographers and town employees are friendly with each other and they build some good will by taking pictures of all the fire fighters and EMT responders if fire trucks and ambulance are part of the parade.
I have the 24-70mm as well, but only the one camera. I’m not a fan of changing lenses either, but I will if I have to.
I have used the 1.2 lenses for indoor dinner events when the lights are down for a presentation and they worked really well.
I will go to the location the night before.
shoot jpg + raw
if your camera has two card slots, use them both
do u have a speedlight???
I shoot RAW only. I am using a Z9 and I will definitely bring my flash with diffuser.
Aside from the technical aspect, who is your client? Are you going to get paid?
You should definitely tell them that you never done such an event and manage expectations up front. If you think you are able to meet their expectations or they are cool with you “trying”, go for it!
A small local paper. I have volunteered for local events for free. They are going to pay a token amount ($50), but I would have done it for free.
They don’t have any expectations other than the photos I have done before for events. I don’t think they have high expectations, though.
Perfect, see if that is something for you and get experience. Good luck and have fun!
My tip: Do it.
Bring only 24-70, don’t waste time missing a moment swapping lenses.I will probably use that lens most of the time. There is Christmas lighting over the road the parade is on, so I hope that will suffice. I am scouting the location tonight.
It’s not hard just shoot like any other event you shoot.
Yeah, just with a lot less light. :)
???
It’s an evening parade.
Not sure what you have committed to, but I think you will almost certainly have to use flash if there isn’t some unusual lighting going on. Parades are moving. It is dark. I would not think they have lighting even as good as a high school gym for indoor sports. The lighting is the key. Have you used flash before? You will need to understand how it works at distance. You will need to understand flash sync speeds, etc. You really need to do some testing beforehand, but I doubt you can recreate exactly what a parade will entail… slow moving vehicles will people standing on it moving around… bands marching down the street, etc.
There is some Christmas lighting over the road. I am going to visit the site tonight to see how much. There will be cars on the road, so I can test on them. If I can do them, I can do the parade :)
I have a light meter I will use.
I do have a flash and have used it before. I have a Magmod diffuser I will use.
In my community, we have a similar event each year; for our area, it is a huge event. Our little town has only one stop light, and our event will draw several thousand people for a parade of less than ten blocks. It is at night with few street lights.
I try to set up on the intersection or another location where I will have as much ambient as possible and minimal subject movement and average out my exposure settings. It does not work all that well. The float Christmas lights and the headlights from other floats blow everything out, and you can’t see much. Lower the ISO, and you can’t see the people, but the float lights look good. Flash is handy when it is effective, but often, it creates a mess of its own. Bracketing could work if everything was moving. Not every shot is bad bad, but most are with only a few mediocre ones. Rarely a really good one. I know what I am doing and I have good gear; it is just brutal lighting, any way you look at it.
As others have stated, go to the location prior at the same time of the evening and practice. It is street photography in the extreme.
Stay alert. Don’t get hit by a float.
See if you can find photos of previous years’ parade to get a sense of how the event will go and how other photographers approached the challenge.
Good idea!
You need lights, man.
Who is your client and/or what are their expectations? The benefit of knowing what you can ignore is immeasurable. And then, remember to ignore it.
Become familiar with the route and if possible the itinerary. Go there in person ahead of time at the same time of day as the event. It will be hard to line up shots and have them actually occur as planned, it’s a moving subject and things just happen (the subject may arrive as scheduled but YOU may not be there at the required moment for whatever reason), don’t rely on planning lines of sight (and don’t promise them) unless you know exactly where a needed shot will be, or if there is a must-get background, just be ready for anything.
I could shoot the whole thing with just those two primes, barring any required reach or FOV advantage. At 1.2 it just opens up the possibilities, at the expense of depth of field of course, so I would prioritize more shots at a greater subject distance to avoid overwhelming bokeh in every shot for a client that wants to convey the presentation and atmosphere of the event.
Medium teles force you to make space between you and your subject, so manage your working distance–only consider subjects/scenes >X feet away and position yourself accordingly, look for opportunities to layer interesting foregrounds and backgrounds to open up your compositions and create depth and space, compose with bright lit-up backgrounds, and just think on a larger scale in terms of subject distance than a wide-angle would afford, you will see the great shots if that’s what you focus on. Of course get the great closer-up bokeh shots too, just don’t get hypnotized by aesthetics when the job you need to get done requires more. If you do have a wider lens it’s probably larger and not as fast. I would opt for the faster speed and smaller lenses over the greater field of view.
There will be plenty of holiday vibe family and performer portrait opportunities everywhere you look. If these are on your shot list, prioritize a flattering direction of light on the subjects’ faces for all portraits. Running around, cuteness abounds and you want to get it all, but if it’s a streetlamp directly over their heads it’s not going to be a keeper. Get it if that’s what you have in front of you, but plan and think ahead of time as you move around where the great light is, everything shot in it tends to also look great, especially portraits.
Get a shot list, underpromise and overdeliver
Wear comfortable shoes that will perform as needed
Keep your hands and batteries warm
Watch out for condensation when moving your equipment from warm to cold air
Take advantage of moments to pause and take in the event without a camera in your face
This sounds fun, good luck.
Thanks for the reply,
I asked the client what their expectations are. They just want shots the can put in the local paper. I could not get more specifics other than “journalistic shots”
I am familiar with the location, just not at night. I am going there tonight to take test shots.
I have the wider lenses for the Christmas tree and people around it and establish shots. There will be some time before sunset that I can use the longer lenses.
Your tips on composition are great! If I use brightly lit backgrounds, I can use the flash to fill in the faces.
I will definitely prioritize the light! A well lit picture is worth a thousand poorly lit ones. I will look for that tonight when I am there for a scene eval.
Fortunately, it should not get colder than 45 degrees
Thank you so much! There is enough here I need to read it multiple times to get it all.
Journalistic shots = a clear and obvious subject/center of interest, bold compositions, peak action (the most demonstrative moment of a movement or gesture), a story (juxtaposition of subject and scene, what’s happening and the people experiencing what’s happening; people interacting, emotions, reactions).
Newspapers don’t like printing too much black or high contrast, try to keep your shots bright and balanced in terms of exposure across the frame, or snap a brighter alternative to a must-have but dark shot.
As it’s for a newspaper that deprioritizes single candids/portraits, they want more of a story–unless it literally is the story, like the mayor or a participant, or if they are themselves a story, like a local celebrity.
Look at similar events from past editions if you can, to see what kinds of pictures they ran.
Really try to avoid providing the client with any previews on the spot if asked, they may just want to know if you got a particular shot, if you did, describe it and reassure them that you got it. Maybe that’s just me.
Formally end the coverage with your handler/contact if they are on site, find them or call them (not text) and say thanks, do you need anything else, so they know you’re done or in case they have any last minute requests. If they are not on site I usually shoot an (time-stamped) email or text to say I’m done. I do not ask if they need anything else if text is the only way to communicate.
Thank you so much! That helps a lot.
I don’t have many options for the part of the parade that happens after sunset. I just went to the site at the time I am supposed to shoot and it was very dark. Hardly any light. No street lights, just some Christmas lights wrapped around some trees.
I am going to go much earlier to capture as much as I can when there is available light.
I saw similar events from the paper and they were all earlier in the day.
I won’t provide previews. I just have a deadline, which I can easily meet.
They are on site, so it is a great idea to tell them I have finished and if they want anything more.
They did say they want close ups of people, but they did not say anyone specific. Just people I find interesting. That is one of my strengths.
Whenever you can, get different angles, different framing tight to wide, landscape and portrait, of the same scene/subject, work it thoroughly to give your client options. Frame a little loose for flexibility in cropping.
If some of the event is during daytime definitely get all you can then, it sounds like it might be a challenge to get good stuff after dark, but the parade itself might provide something you can work with.
If you have to use flash, try off camera with a cord or wireless, held as far away from the camera as you can reach either above or at 45 degrees or to the side and pointed back at the subject, whatever makes sense, always higher than their nose (nose shadow should always go at least slightly downward, never up).
I did that last Friday. It was a night parade, no sky light, with inadequate street lighting, on a narrow two lane old-time urban street. 50 mm was definitely too long (on full frame) for many of the shots but I managed to place myself at a turn in the road so it wasn’t awful. I exposed for the highlights, which consisted of a multitude of Christmas lights on each float, and a lot of the shadows were indeed rather dark. The lens was a f/1.8, and most of my shots were f/2.2 at rather elevated ISO. My keeper rate was well below what I’m accustomed to. Definitely I’d use a wider lens were I to do this again, like maybe my 28 mm f/2.8, and I’d shoot it wide open.