Kids in a sweet shop (FA sports week)

College disability sports coaching shoot

Well what an opportunity to photograph at St Geoges park again.We have to thank all the staff at Burton College who made this opportunity possible.This was an opportunity for photography students to photograph some of the country's top best known footballers,managers, and famous faces from the FA and the the premiership football league

On this occasion we were given a fantastic opportunity to use some of Canon's high end L series lenses which ranged in six from 200-600mm. These were supplied on a loan basis to the college from one of Canon's many suppliers Calumet

We were all working to a brief to capture on camera all aspects of a disability coaching experience given to able bodied persons which enabled them to experience the difficulties disabled people have when trying to play different sports

We used these lenses specifically for their long range capabilities which enabled us to get amongst the action and shoot from touchlines to the other end of the pitch.These lenses are essential for this type of photography which can capture fine detail form a vast distance

Along with these lenses we were using Canon top end 1DX cameras which have a fantastic frame rate per second. These cameras are capable of shooting up to 14 FPS in raw format which is essential for recording fast action in a sports environment

We were given a certain time frame to produce the images so it was essential to work to a well planned brief and action plan

Shown in the photo's here are some of the course attendees wearing blindfolds which enabled them to experience what it is actually like to play different sports when you are blind or disabled

These were the lenses we used on the day:

                                       500 mm F4  IS L Series prime
                                       400 mm F2.8 IS L Series prime
                                       200-400 mm L Series F4 IS USM  Zoom
                                       70-200mm L Series 2.8 IS USM Zoom

Shown here are some of the shots taken during the day using the lenses at apertures of F2.8 and F4 which produced some fantastic results. The clarity of these lenses is second to none and the "bokeh" produced by the lens is awesome which makes your subject stand out from it's background

Shown here is a shot of myself using one of the lenses a 200-400 Zoom

Shown here is the price taken from an average website

The lenses were extremely heavy and it was essential to use a mono pod to take the weight of the lenses.This also eliminated camera shake and camera blur enabling constant crystal clear images to be taken throughout the day

Shown here is our tutor Steve Davies along with various students from our college showing off a selection of the lenses used throughout the day

                           

Shown below are some of the lenses being packed away for transportation. The lenses came in very sturdy well padded cases which were essential for protection and transportation. These lenses have to be handled with extreme care as the cost of some of them is in the region of up to £12,000 + each

The images we produced on the day will be used for marketing and publicity purposes to bring attention and awareness of dissabilty in sport. The images have now been published and showcased on the website flicker and other online websites

Alumni Photo shoot

A colleague of mine and Level 4 classmate Rob Brittle and I have been approached by the organisation "Alumni" to provide a photography shoot for the PR and marketing of their business. Alumni is a nationwide organisation which is setup within college's and university's to help student's to keep in touch and network with each other after their study's have been completed.The Burton & South Derbyshire Alumni & Supporters Association (ASA) is a new initiative designed to support students, past, present and future and is currently looking for new members to join it's organisation

The organisation is hosting a presentation evening next week within Burton college. The event will be held on Mon 30th Jan at the Mullberry Restaurant and they would like Rob and Myself  to photograph the whole event which starts at 5pm and finishes approx 7pm


There will be a canapé reception to enable guests to mingle with each other which will then lead onto presentation awards to various students which will be presented by various sponsors and company directors


We have agreed one of us will take all of the formals and the 2nd photographer will produce less formal more candid shots of the event. This should ensure we will be covering all of the shots required given to us in the brief


Initially we arranged a meeting with event co-coordinator Kerry Wilkinson who gave us an outline of what "Alumni" was all about outlined a brief of the photography required for the shoot:


Shown below is a copy of the brief, I have omitted names for obvious reasons

"I think we are all set for the Alumni Launch. I am in process of pulling together an Itinerary for the event.

I think the key photos are:

Presentation of Bursary Fund to students

Executive Manager of Blue Arrow (our first partner) – ........................

........................ Hosting the Event

....................... talking about the Alumni

Governors and Fellow

WILL HAVE NAMEBADGES

We would like as many photos of different groups of people as possible as I have had a few press release offers and this is dependant on the types of pics we get. Could I ask you to collect names of the people you are taking pictures of as well?

Any questions, please let me know. I will include you when I send the Itinerary! Thanks guys, looking forward to it and getting some photos in press!"

Alumni & Supporters Association Launch

Monday 30^th January 2012

5pm-7pm

Mulberry Restaurant

·      4:45pm

-       .................    ................ and ..................... to come to the Mulberry Restaurant. Kerry to issue name badges and show presentation area etc.

·      5:00pm- 5:20pm

-       Arrival of guests. Sign in at main reception.

-       ...........on reception directing guests to relevant sign in area

-       .......... and ........... to issue name badges and show guests the Alumni reception board.

-        ..............and.............. (Student Helpers) escort guests to Mulberry Restaurant

-       ..........   ........... ........... and ........... to meet guests in Mulberry Restaurant.

-       Once have all arrived, ...... to begin presentation.

·      5:20pm – 5:35pm

-       ....... to host event, speak about the alumni and the benefits including Rationale behind developing the Alumni, key objectives and how you can get involved.

-        Introduce ....... ......... – hand over microphone in presentation area.

·      5:35pm-5:45pm

-       ................    ............... to discuss Alumni & Supporters Association from College perspective and how this benefits the students and local businesses/supporters

-       Hand microphone back to Dave when finished Speech.

-       ................ will introduce .........  ........... Executive Manager of Blue Arrow.

·      5:45- 5:50

-       .........  ........... – how he is happy to be part of the process and what joining the alumni means to Blue Arrow and the students.

-        Once he has finished speech, .......... to stay in presentation area whilst ......... and ....... join him with bursary fund ‘Stage’ cheques. Dave to explain how the bursary fund will bwenefit the students

·      5:50 – 6:00pm

-        Presentation of Bursary Fund to students .........   ......... and .........  ..............

-        Photos to be taken by Steve and Robert.

-       Everyone to leave presentation area except ........

-        .............. to announce enjoy yourself and who to talk to for more information.

·      6:00pm  – 6:45pm  Guests enjoy Food, student work displays, network, Kerry and/or staff to hand out postcards with how to get in touch and support the Alumni  

·      6:45pm Escort guests out

Staff Helping

Name	Role
............. ...............	Photographer
"	Photographer
	Host
	General
	General
	General
	Meet & Greet
	Meet & Greet
	Reception

We arrived at the Mulberry Restaurant to a canapé reception which was very warm and inviting

Rob and I attended the event but made sure we were there early enough to carry out some lighting checks and work out the positioning of the our subject's which we were to photograph.

I find pre planning like this is essential as there are no second chances. We used canon cameras (A 7D and 1D) for all of the shots both using wide angled zooms lenses to accommodate close ups of groups of people.We used a variety of different Canon flash guns on the evening and most of the shots were taken using a bounce flash technique where the actual flash illumination is bounced of walls and ceilings,this has the effect of softening the light which produces a much softer image with even lighting. Shooting the flash directly at your subject is not recommended as it produces much harsher images and also creates unwanted shadows


Shown below are a couple of images from the shoot

The images from the shoot will be published on different websites and featured in books and advertising media to promote and highlight the organisation and it's business business