Interesting ideas for an Eagle scout photo shoot?

[praline3001]

My oldest will be having his Eagle Court of Honor in the next 2 months. I am really wanting to shoot some nice photos of him to give out to folks. Don't worry, I am not treading on thin ice. If the photos come out bad I can easily take him to a pro.

I don't want a cheesy grin/posed portrait. I want to do them outdoors around woods/trees...natural settings to emphasize the *outing* part of scouts.

Has anyone seen any bang up job Eagle Scout photo shoots? I am interested in any artistic cool ideas on how to make the photos extra special.

[dlambert]

Congratulations! Mine just finished his project this fall, so hopefully I'll have the same problem soon.

I'd think that if there's a way to incorporate whatever he did for his project, that might be nice. You'll want something fairly formal, I'd think (full Class-A), but it might also be fun to grab a handful of photos from summer camps, and so on for a collage of some sort. How about a photo w/ his Scoutmaster (or someone else who played a part in getting him to Eagle)?

You could do something in front of a flag, of course, but that's almost a little cliché. Are there any museums or attractions down there that would convey "patriotic"?

I'll be watching to see if anyone's got any fabulous ideas, too. Good luck!

[dakwegmo]

I'm with David, if you want some nice portraits, go with the dress uniform, and in some way illustrate what he did for his project. Beyond that, I'd also consider doing some action shots, maybe in the activity uniform, that illustrate Scouting activities.

Something else to consider is creating a portrait without a person. There's a lot of gear and regalia (Pocketknife, compass, handbook, merit badges, patches, etc.) that goes into scouting and you can create some really interesting stories about the individual scouter by assembling the stuff they use and the honors they've earned.

[Hill Country Hack]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

I'm with David, if you want some nice portraits, go with the dress uniform, and in some way illustrate what he did for his project. Beyond that, I'd also consider doing some action shots, maybe in the activity uniform, that illustrate Scouting activities.

Something else to consider is creating a portrait without a person. There's a lot of gear and regalia (Pocketknife, compass, handbook, merit badges, patches, etc.) that goes into scouting and you can create some really interesting stories about the individual scouter by assembling the stuff they use and the honors they've earned.

Some good ideas. Can you get the US and scout flag outdoors in a nice scenic area. Including the Scoutmaster or person who oversaw the project would be great too. The old "shake and take" photo is done to death, as is the actual awarding. A few shots of those are a must, but I think something more creative or out of the standard will be nice.

[Doug Sundseth]

If the project was a construction project, shoot on the site of the building, or trail, or whatever. If it was a charity project, shoot at the collection or distribution site.

Whatever the project, I'd also suggest getting as many of his volunteers together as possible, and also the recipients. Show that it wasn't just a volunteer job but a coordination job and show the beneficiaries as well.

(I agree that a photo of the grip-n-grin with the scoutmaster in front of his Powerpoint presentation isn't really all that interesting. Even if it's traditional. )

[praline3001]

thanks for the ideas. I did think about the flag and that would be nice and all but its just soooo overdone. I was looking for something different.

I have so many photos of him as a scout, growing up, the hard part will be narrowing them down. He has been in Scouts since a Tiger cub I am going to get them printed up and use them to decorate with at his court of honor.

I also have an extremely old photo from the '30s of his Great Grandfather in his scouting uniform. Every man in my husband's family has been an eagle scout, since the '30s. We even have all of the handbooks from each generation's time in scouts.

I do want to try and do something more formal with my husband and both of my boys in their uniforms. I am going to have to work on the posing so as not to make it look cheesy and staged. I hate staged, forced photos. My hubby has worn many hats in scouting ~ from den leader to Cub Master for 5 years to ASM. Our Scout Master is 70 and a great guy but due to health reasons there are many things he just can't do anymore. He was my husband's SM when he was a kid!! So my Hubby takes over 99% of the program for the boys in our troop and the old man gets to stand back, talk about his glory days and be camp cook for the adults. I don't think there is a SM alive who is a bad cook When the time comes for him to step down, my hubby will be taking over the troop. For now its kind of a limbo situation LOL

I was thinking about taking him to the local State Park in his class A's. I am playing with the idea of natural settings for a formal photo... like him leaning up against a tree in the woods or using a wood cabin as a blurred backdrop. If I could hunt up an old canvas tent that would be great as well. His space dome style tent isn't the look I would want for a tent photo. He HATES photos and HATES posing for them. I know I will have to threaten him on pain of death to pose for me and when he does I will get a "Would you hurry up" look. LOL

Here is a video I made for him from last summer camp. He did the C.O.P.E course. My son is TERRIFIED of heights ... its a borderline phobia with him. His leaders and my husband all thought for sure he was going to back out at the last minute with repelling.
He shocked the daylights out of all the adults there (I don't go to summer camp) by finishing it. Batman he will never be but he did it on his own and his daddy didn't have to throw him over the side LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ewdEo-g8c

[Hill Country Hack]

I think you may have struck on something. Why not make a montage/collage of all the scout books and photos of the generations of Eagel Scouts in your family.

[praline3001]

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

If the project was a construction project, shoot on the site of the building, or trail, or whatever. If it was a charity project, shoot at the collection or distribution site.

Whatever the project, I'd also suggest getting as many of his volunteers together as possible, and also the recipients. Show that it wasn't just a volunteer job but a coordination job and show the beneficiaries as well.

(I agree that a photo of the grip-n-grin with the scoutmaster in front of his Powerpoint presentation isn't really all that interesting. Even if it's traditional. )

He did his project through the Church. They repainted the Church and fixed some plumbing and electrical issues. He has a nice pool of volunteers to grab from with several electrical engineers They also updated the nursery and the younger "volunin-tolds" Did some yard work and updated the flowerbeds. I got a few snapshots but nothing really worth blowing up. He made me promise not to take my camera as ..really.. he HATES photos with a passion. I didn't want to distract him while he was in charge of the project.
We could go revisit and take some after shots with him but its still not the outdoorsy formal non posed portrait I really want.