Part 5 – Things and Angles to Shoot

We’re bringing you a helpful and insightful six-part series on photography! Why? Because we want to show you how low-light photography can be mastered and used to expand your mobile entertainment business. Read on!
by Ben Dickmann, Product Manager for CHAUVET Professional and ILUMINARC

I’ve touched briefly on this, but I’ll give you my shot list and how I would photograph it if
you hired me to (but you won’t need to do that now that you can do it yourself). There is an art to photography and you have to have an “eye” for it. My biggest hint is to not look for something that is “cool” or “different” but look for thing that create “drama” and invoke emotion. Pay attention to the lines of the room. Did you uplight some fancy gothic columns? That’s drama. Is there a big smoke eater in the middle of the room? Tilt the camera down, don’t show that. Remember, memory cards are cheap. Shoot a ton of shots and just delete the bad ones later. You never get the time back to shoot.

1) The “Big Room” Shot: This is like the establishing shot of a movie, this is where you want to show the scale of what you can do. To get these shots I will often setup in a corner on a ladder and shoot down and across to accentuate the scale as best as possible. I will shoot from every corner and also from the entrance of the room. If your camera has a wide angle also try high and above your mixer, this can be a cool angle as well, you will often see this used for big club DJs.

2) Accents: Does the room you’re shooting have something unique? Cool columns or façades can look amazing uplit, remember you’re trying to create emotion, the “I want that at my wedding” emotion. Also shoot things that separate you from your competition, cool effects like low-lying fog or photo booths. This is where you can be a little more artsy. Add some drama with lighting to make your “here’s the equipment I offer” shots more visually interesting.

3) The Party: As mentioned above, get some shots of the dance floor full, having a good time. Also, get the first dance(s), a well-lit cake cutting, and other poignant moments. This is also a great time to get that “hero shot” of you working the room. If you have a relationship with wedding photographers ask them if you can use copies of shots from gigs you worked and offer big photo credit and links to their website. Cross promotion is a great way to get business for both of you. One other thing to try is to set the camera up like you did for you “big room” shot and shoot it the same way. This will blur the crowd and give it a real sense of motion and life. This is best with a full dance floor.

4) Head Shots: Ok, I’m going to help insure a paycheck for my photographer brethren. Get some head shots taken by a professional of all your emcees. I always prefer some that are more “action” oriented as opposed to “model” or “glamour shot” like. Smiling, engaging, well styled and groomed, all things that a bride is looking for. You already know this, but, look like a pro, get paid like a pro.