Advise Needed: Party Photo Shoot

[KevinCollins]

I've been asked to shoot a party for collegue/client on Friday evening. What I know so far is that it'll be indoors will low lighting - either in my client's condo or a resturant in the same building. I don't know how many people are going to be attending yet, but I know that it's supposed to last about 3 hours.

What I have equipment wise is basically what you see in my signature. I know the kit lens just simply isn't going to cut it because of the low light. I do have access (ie borrow from friends) to three other lenses:

1). EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
2). EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
3). EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Which should I try to get? If none of these would work, there is a camera shop in town that rents lenses...what would be a better choice?

Next question is pricing. I'm not a pro. I have no experince and this would be my first pay gig as a photographer. Unless he simply refuses it, I'm going to put it on a "pay me if you like the results" kind of arrangement. (I trust this client and feel he'd give me a fair shake.) Is this the right way to go?

For three hours shooting, post-processing and digitial delivery (JPEGs on a CD), what would be a fair price? I'm thinking a couple hundred bucks would be phenominal for a first-time shoot, would you agree?

Any advise and all comment will be welcomed.

[Jim Poor]

Will you be allowed to use flash?

If so, you might get away with some less expensive glass for rentals. The problem with most kit lenses is that they aren't fast enough. Get into their sweet spot and they are usually pretty decent for this kind of work.

For three hours shooting, post-processing and digitial delivery (JPEGs on a CD), what would be a fair price? I'm thinking a couple hundred bucks would be phenominal for a first-time shoot, would you agree?

No, not even close.

[prince]

I have shot couple of indoor events and would highly recommend using a flash with a bounce card. I had a 18-55mm kit lens and a 70-300mm zoom lens. I soon figured that most of the times I was shooting at close to 35mm.

If you can rent a fast 35mm lens that would be very helpful..

Pricing wise.. you are set out too low.. for 3 hour work you might be spending at least 3-5 hours in getting the photos to final delivery with minimal post processing depending on how many photos you got and your workflow.

Find out what others are charging and your own skill level.. then price yourself accordingly..

Good luck!!

[Photologyst]

Kevin, test the flash under the same lighting conditions. Getting those horrible digi-shadows is not a good thing. They are also a pain to remove post shoot.

Be sure to get there early to take photos of the food and drink setups before these are demolished.

Do some decent post processing, especially on the faces. Not too much, just enough to have them say, “You took great photos of me.” Everyone wants to look better than they really do. Digis often make people look harsh.

I agree that your price is too low.

You could offer to make a digi-photo show, with music or an album for more $$.

[BCampbell]

Your best bet is to get a flash, the 430EXII is a good bet (the 580 is nice but probably overkill).

Even at f/2.8, zoom lenses will probably be too slow unless the lighting is really, really bright. And it never is. You'll end up at ISO800+ and wide open, giving you lots of noise and very little control over your depth of field. Not a great place to be.

On a Rebel, even 28mm is not all that wide. You could try the 28mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/2, but then you will be limited by the lens coverage and again you'll probably be shooting at very wide apertures.

Your kit lens will actually be fine if you have a good flash unit and a diffuser/bounce card. Get a flash, learn it, use, it love it. The new ETTL systems are mostly a cinch to use, really, you shouldn't have many problems with a little practice. I wouldn't bother with the telephoto zooms, you won't have all that much room to maneuver; keep your gear light and keep yourself portable. You're going to have enough to worry about without having to bother switching lenses, etc.

I'm assuming you won't have a backup DSLR. Bring a P&S. Really. Just in case. Bring two extra batteries for your rebel, and plenty of batteries for the flash. Two extra memory cards. Maybe an extra pair of shoes.

Know what you need to shoot beforehand. Scout the location in advance if necessary, things like placement of windows are very important. Get the floor plan. Get a list of shots the organizer wants, write them down.

As for pay. If you aren't comfortable charging full price, don't charge. Start working for cheap now and you'll earn great word of mouth... as a cheap photographer. I tend to budget an hour post processing for each hour shooting, so this would be a 6 hour job. How much is your time worth to you? Are you claiming this income on your taxes? Etc etc. To get you started, there are about 2,000 working hours in the year. If you want to make $50,000 a year, that's $25/hour. If you want to make $50,000 and pay taxes and business expenses, it's a lot more. Up to you. I usually figure these types of things are better to do free than to do cheap.

[WalterP]

I agree with the flash/bounce card combination.If you can' use flash adjust for the ambient lighting and bracket because I will guarantee you subjects will move and unless you get a really fast lens you are going to be SOL and it will usually be with that must have picture. Check your shots frequently so that you might be able to retake some.

I would suggest you find out the "theme" of the party. Is it business or personal? If business who are the key individuals and are there "teams" of people who should be photographed together, are there any privacy individuals, etc. If there is just a "party" develop a scenario; ie: arriving, mingling, feating, leaving, etc.

Good luck!

[KevinCollins]

Thanks for all the responses. I really appreciate all the feedback.

More information: I've found out it's a dinner and not a party. There's going to be 30 minutes of cocktail folloed by the dinner. At the end of the dinner there are going to be several speakers. It will be held in a meeting room in his condo's building. No windows. Only light from the ceiling and he's going to try to keep them dim, so yeah a fast lens is going to be a must.

The desire of my client is to photograph him and his wife with certain people during the cocktail thing and then all of the speakers. While he said that getting shots at the dinner really wasn't that important, he left it to my discretion to attempt them or not.

I'll be able to get into the room tomorrow night and do some test shots with a borrowed lens and flash (my friend is also lending me her 430 II speedlight). I'm going to try some shots with both my kit lens and the 17-40 f/4 lens with the flash. We'll see how the test shots go as to whether I get a rented, faster lens.

As for the money, based on the suggestions, I'll probably do this shoot for free. That way I learn, he get's what we wants and it leads me into another shoot in October that he's already mentioned.

Maybe the EF 50mm f/1.8 II is a lens I should be buying soon....

[SuperDan]

Originally Posted by KevinCollins

As for the money, based on the suggestions, I'll probably do this shoot for free. That way I learn, he get's what we wants and it leads me into another shoot in October that he's already mentioned.

Maybe the EF 50mm f/1.8 II is a lens I should be buying soon....

I recently did a shoot for my old high school (a few classes ahead of me)
i went ahead and did probono and even the event planner said that she would at least be buying the group shot and the cd with images.... needless to say.. i wasted a friday night away from my wife and kids... didnt really get any more experience than previous, other than relearning that people really do not like being photographed during eating
a few people contacted me for buying prints of them and whatnot, but noone came through with a purchase... i also thought that this would be good to use as a stepping stone into getting my name out there more.. so yes, my FB page got a few more likes but.. they are not paying customers..

i would suggest, if you are to do the "session" for free.. mark up prints, or disk even more than you think you should

time is money, and your time is more important