TAKING SOCIAL PHOTOGRAPHS CAN BE FUN
Have you noticed that social photographs in newspapers and magazines all look pretty much the same?
The subjects usually groupings of 2, 3 or 4 people, looking into the camera, most often with a glass in their hands and wearing a cheesy smile and if they have been to modelling school, a hand on hip sideways look.
When working for Playboy at their head office in Chicago, many decades ago, as head of marketing and PR, I issued a directive to the many photographers supplying social pics of VIP’s in the many Playboy Clubs around the USA, that I would not publish photos where subjects were looking at the camera with a smile. I wanted to have photos with a bit of action, with a bit of pizzazz, showing subjects doing something, engaged in conversation, not the boring photos that we see so often, also photos that showed the ambience of the event. Pictures that showed the locale, the food, the drink service and much more. In movies, these types of shots are called cutaways and are rarely seen in publications, let’s change all that.
I was recently invited to Water Polo by the Sea at the Bondi Icebergs, it was a truly fantastic event, loads of beautiful people, lots of great food and sensational drinks, what more could anyone wish for. The women and men, were dressed to the nines, most wore fantastic outfits and everywhere I looked there was a photo opportunity.
I must admit that I committed a cardinal mistake – I did not think it was going to be such a great event with so many photo opportunities and I did not bring the spare battery for my digital camera. After taking over 300 photographs, my battery power was starting to run low. Lesson: always carry a spare battery, one never knows when one might need it.
Memory is never really a problem as I always use 8 gig memory cards that deliver well over 1000 photographs at the highest resolution. When travelling, I take at least six 8 gig memory cards, enabling me to shoot lots of pictures.
The motto is being prepared, always take an extra battery and spare memory cards, as well as keeping a spare one in your wallet or purse.
So here are a few of the many photographs I took at Water Polo by the Sea, they show some interesting people and give you an idea of what the event was all about.
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