famous Archives - Sleeklens - Tools and Training for Photographers

If you’ve always dreamed of being a fly on the wall at a celebrity event, maybe it’s time to grab your camera and use your photography skills to get your foot in the door. The following tips will help you get amazing photos of celebrities that fit with the specific event and sell.

1. Do your Research Beforehand

If possible, you’re going to want to know about the layout of the venue before you arrive to take photographs. Do as much research as possible, and even visit the place if you can. This ensures that you will already know where you can frame the best shots, and it will help you feel at ease during the event. This will also help you to blend in to your surroundings better.

2. Learn How to Blend In

If everyone knows you’re taking photographs, then you’re not going to get those shots of celebrities interacting naturally. When you research, take note of the expected attire and dress accordingly. Look like you belong and you won’t be as noticeable. Additionally, it is a good idea to always keep your camera in hand. Not only will you be ready to quickly capture a moment, you also won’t draw attention to yourself by grabbing your camera to do so.

3. Carry the Right Equipment

You’ll need a good camera that works well in all types of light, especially low-levels of light. You should have extra batteries and SD cards to ensure you’re ready to keep snapping pictures until the lights have faded and everyone has gone home. Make sure you use a camera you are very comfortable with, and know the settings well.

4. Work with the Scene

The point of researching the venue beforehand is to know where you’ll be able to get the best frames for shots. Take note of this and use it to your advantage. Are there some interesting decorations that would make for a stunning photograph? Is a celebrity wearing something that pops against a certain background? Knowing the scene and how to set it will take you very far.

You also need to know what kind of lighting you’ll be working in so you can have your camera settings ready. It’s a good idea to avoid flash as this can take the guests out of the moment, leading to photographs that fail to capture the natural flow of the evening. If you’re light is low, take a step back and zoom out to capture the most light without using your flash.

5. Take a Variety of Shots

You should capture a mix of action shots, posed pictures, and photographs that set the scene by focusing more on the wide view than an individual subject. It’s a good idea to get there before the party starts and get some general pictures of the overall setup before people arrive. This will not only please the venue, it will help you to better frame photographs later.

6. Frame Photographs According to the Event

You’ll need to keep the event in mind to know what kind of photographs to focus on. At a red carpet event, you’ll want to strive for up-close individual shots where the celebrity is looking directly at the camera. Once inside, you’ll need to widen the view to include the action. Is someone having an emotional reaction to what’s happening on stage? Try to capture the reaction and the event that caused it within the same shot. At a film festival or more social event, you’ll want a mix of individual shots with group action photographs.

7. Be Respectful of the Guests and the Venue

Don’t focus on one person or a group of people for most the evening. Remember that, while celebrities profit indirectly from a good photograph through publicity, they are also there to enjoy themselves. If they feel like they’re being stalked, that’s not going to be possible. It may even give you a bad reputation, which will only hurt you down the road. Respect the venue as well by blending in and being polite. A venue will not invite you back if you someone feels harassed by your attempts to get the right shot.

If you need some practice, consider covering non-celebrity events until you feel more comfortable with your skills and abilities. It’s not going to work out well for you if you don’t know the basics of how to use your camera. You need to be quick, and you need to know how to play with the settings to get the perfect shot. You’d also do well to remember that celebrities want to be photographed at events because it increases their publicity, so there is no need to feel nervous or intrusive.

If you feel like you’re ready, it’s time to grab a camera and hit the red carpet!

A new beginning

The wonderful people at Sleeklens have invited me to share my thoughts and experiences as a freelance photographer working in London. I will endeavor to do this several times a month, and for my first correspondence, I thought I would introduce myself so you will hopefully get an idea of what I love about photography and how my life as a working photographer unfolds.

My name is Matt Writtle and I’ve been working professionally for over twenty years. I have been seen quite a lot of changes, from bulk loading Ilford HP5 film and shooting with an old Nikon FM2, to shooting most of my work now on a Leica M (240) digital. I prefer digital now, controversial I know, but I have never been the most patient of people and the majority of my work is to shoot portraits and features for newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and London Evening Standard.

To describe my work succinctly: I have to produce a studio quality portrait on location, in a venue I have never been to before, in less than thirty minutes.

Ninja Turtle

Nearly all portrait shots are time allocated and controlled by the public relations officer or “PR” for the subject. Consequently, time is tight and closely monitored. I normally get fifteen minutes, thirty if I’m lucky, so preparation is key. The best way to prepare is to correspond with the PR in advance of the shoot, and then arrive early. Thirty to forty-five minutes before the shoot is a good amount of time to recce the venue, mostly hotel rooms, lobbies or a theater, and ascertain how much available light there is and what set up to use.

Budgets are tight, photographic assistants on newspaper shoots are rare, and as technology has advanced so has the demise of manpower, so, I have to travel alone with all my equipment on my back. I wheel it all around in Think Tank Airport Security V2.0 and additionally, I now carry a 22inch beauty dish in an extra large drum cymbals case on my back, very useful case and vastly cheaper than photographic equivalents. I look like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle going on holiday!

My two main light attachments are the dish and a Photek Softlighter II 46 inch. Presently, I use the dish as my key light, and should I need any shadow fill I use the Softlighter II (brolly box). I have to be mindful not to have too much darkness and contrast in the image as newsprint doesn’t reproduce blacks very well. I also have to consider house style: newspapers don’t want their images to be too moody and gloomy.

War and Peace

On most shoots, I walk around the location and try to imagine how the subject will look in a scenario befitting of the angle of the interview. I tend to ask the PR to stand in for a light test. Exposure and mood created, I wait. Many people don’t consider how different each individual will look in the same light, and often, I have to modify the light to accommodate the star.

This was the case when I photographed actor Tom Burke (BBC’s War and Peace) recently for the Daily Telegraph. The shoot was at London’s Hampstead Theatre he was performing in, so, stairwell and lift lobbies were my backdrops. Ten minutes recce and he appeared. I keep things simple. The more complicated you try to make things, the more time you waste.

Set up one was at the top of some stairs with framed posters of previous actors who’ve starred at the theatre. I was thinking hall of fame and he was being inducted. Beauty dish key light, with a basic backlight to add mood and light the framed pictures.

Set up two was in a darkened lift lobby, but as Tom Burke is known for his brooding characters, I thought this quite fitting. Again, beauty dish key light, with a gentle amount of fill for shadows with the brolley box, all of which shot on my Leica M (240) with a 35mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.4 aspherical.

‘Goodnight Mommy’

In addition to the technical, you have to get a famous or notorious person inside to produce the image you want. I would say it’s a challenging and tense situation. For those fifteen minutes, I channel my adrenaline, whilst being friendly and keeping the subject happy. At the same time, I make sure the image is focused, composed, exposed and the lighting suits the mood of the character, all while a PR is standing behind you counting down how much time you have left.

It can be frustrating, but only because you have unique access and often not enough time to do it justice. But when there is a connection, the shoot sparks into life and that’s when the magic happens.

This was apparent when I photographed the Austrian actress Susanne Wuest who starred in a horror film “Goodnight Mommy’ which has received critical acclaim. We met at her penthouse apartment at the old Arsenal FC football stadium, now flats. Having modelled before, I was optimistic the shoot would be successful. She was as enthusiastic as I and we connected on what we both wanted to achieve, which took place on her terrace against a beautiful blue early spring sky.

Set up one was just natural light shot on my Leica with a 35mm.

Set up two was on my Canon 5d mark III with a 24mm-70mm zoom. I metered for the natural light and then placed two Elinchrom Quadra heads, one with the beauty dish, one naked, at 45° angles to her and boom! I got my favourite shot.

Hope this guide has been useful for you as a brief panorama of how do we photographers suit our gear to match the different scenarios we may come across during our daily job. See you next time!

Tag: famous

7 Useful Tips for Photographing Celebrities at an Event