Yesterday was the day of Ashton Park's Year 11 Prom. I arrived at the prearranged time of 3.30pm I went to reception at the main building to announce I was there, and then I waited for Anita to come and take me down to the classroom.
When at the classroom, Anita, myself, and Margaret, a year 12 student, checked what equipment we would be taking and how we would shoot the images. I brought my Canon DSLR and my flashgun as requested. We also decided to take Anita's camera, a flashgun, a tripod, the studio background structure and material (white fabric), and studio lights. We decided to shoot using JPEG as we would be taking hundreds of photos that all would need to be edited, and the RAW file format requires more editing, something that could not be done before the school's deadline for the images.
We then went and packed away the background and lights from the studio/editing suite, however, one of the lights broke at one of the adjustment fixtures. Margaret luckily had some superglue on her and we managed to fix it using the glue and some tape. We packed everything into Anita's car and set off to her house to collect an extension cable.
Shortly afterwards, we arrived at the Marriott Hotel, unpacked the car, and found the suite in which the prom would be taking place. We set up the background structure and material in front of a curtained window, as it fit perfectly in the space, and it also meant we could utilise natural light during the first few hours. We set the lights up so that they were quite high and illuminating the background. One camera with a flash was set up on a tripod, which Margaret used, while I used my camera and flashgun to bounce flash off the white ceiling for my images. We ended up using three cameras - Margaret used the tripod, whereas myself and another student freeheld our cameras. I shot in a portrait format in order to capture the whole of the clothing worn by the students, as they were all in formal dress.
The initial rush of students came between 7 - 7.45 and weren't shy about asking to have their picture taken. Anita arranged them within the frame and directed them to look at the central camera (tripod). This way, with three cameras shooting, there would be plenty of pictures for the students to choose from when they get the contact sheets delivered.
Their three-course meal was taking place between 7.30 and 9pm, so during this downtime, Anita and myself got a quick bite to eat. When we came back, we began photographing small groups of students who were coming out between courses to have their pictures taken. After the meals were finished, I went into the main room with another student to photograph the students dancing. These results were not very good as they were all facing away from me.
We started packing away the equipment at 10pm, and were finished at 10.30. I found it to be a good experience as I have only shot one event before and feel more confident in taking up more opportunities like this in the future. The nature of the event being a year 11 prom gave it an exciting vibe, and I am pleased with my images. Having to sometimes direct people within the frame of the image was beneficial to me, as I find it difficult to talk to people I don't know.
I will deliver my images to Anita on Monday after the submission of the report, as she needs to send contact sheets out to the students on wednesday.
7 hours, 84 overall.
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