Christening Photo Shoot
Of course, when my niece asked me to take the official photos at my now 6-month old nephew’s christening I said yes without hesitation, but again I found myself groaning inside, as I once again find myself outside of my comfort zone and in the too common position of not wanting to ‘let the side down’.
This shoot would be very different to the previous two we conducted, as they both took place in the comfort of a homely environment, where I was able to manipulate the light, in very familiar surroundings. However, this time round part of the photography would take place on location, in unfamiliar surroundings, were I would be using camera settings alien to me, being at the mercy of the gods (in every sense of the word).
Having just completed the DPP workflow assignment, I felt confident that I could easily manipulate the workflow procedures I had recently put into practice, with the hope that these would help me to plan and execute the requirements of the day, all I had to do was sit down and get stuck into my planning.
RESEARCH
As always, my first port of call was the Internet, were I conducted some image research to get a feel for the kind of photos that are associated with christening photography.
There really is nothing that special about the construction of these shots, in fact they appear to be part of a generic grouping always present in the christening photographers portfolio; although there are always slight variations to background and the groupings of people within the frame (parents, godparents, grandparents etc.).
I also looked through my back stock of photography magazines to see if I could find any mention of christening photography within their pages, and I also took the time to sit and revisit some of the books I had read during the research I did for my first two photo shoots:
The essential guide to Portraits: Everything you need to shoot stunning mages with your digital camera (3rd ed)
The Art of Children’s Portrait Photography
The essential guide to Portrait Photography: Our best tips and tricks for success from The Digital Photography School
Children’s Portrait Photography Handbook – Techniques for Digital Photographers
Full credit of these titles is found below.
Building on this research, my ideas began to center around specific group shots, shots of the actual christening and where possible, some abstract images of the church and guests, which would make for some interesting alternates, and would satisfy my personal photography needs more than those of the parents!
WORKFLOW
Even though I would be predominantly photographing family members during this event, I decided to treat the day as a professional photography assignment. By doing this I could a) get my head around how it would feel to work on a professional level and b) help get over the nerves of dealing with and taking photos of people I know and love; I started scribbling some notes and jotting down formal information.
Firstly, I sat and thought about the kind of photos I would like to take, which naturally led me to thinking about the best locations for capturing these images. So as not to miss anything, I created a flow chart of information, which I intended to show and confirm with the client when I met them closer to the christening (the original scribbling’s can be found in my sketchbook).
Once this list was in place, I had to think in more detail about the locations I had identified and the unique conditions and requirements of each:
The Client’s Home: Having shot here before, I knew the layout well and what lighting conditions would be available to me. Dependent on weather conditions, I would probably need the help of diffusers and reflectors to manipulate the available light in this very light and airy apartment.
The Church: Having visited this family church many times before, I have only once taken photos inside, during a family wedding (my writings surrounding this can be found in my TOAP learning log). Although I was aware of the venue, I still needed to reconfirm the floor plan, the order of service for the christening and what requirements/rules needed following during this part of the photo shoot. I also needed some questions answered about the available light sources on the day.
The Church Grounds: As with the previous location, having visited this churchyard, and taken photos in the grounds, I was vaguely familiar with the layout, but I needed to scout the location further to look for the best scenery and angles for taking group shots after the event.
The Luncheon Venue: Of all the venues, this was the one I knew least about other than it was a medium sized room, with small windows and lots of florescent tubing, I could see me using AWB the most in this location.
At this point in my workflow, the only other step I could plan for were my equipment requirements, and as I was not 100% sure of my needs on the day, I decided to pack for every eventuality, details of which are outlined in the following flowchart:
During my original planning, I had every intention to exclusively use my 50mm portrait lens during the church portion of this photo shoot. Being a prime lens, it performs very well in low light conditions, so it would be the perfect tool for this occasion, but reading the following statement, I changed my mind and decided to stick with my 28-300mm telephoto lens, keeping my 50mm in the bag as a back up if necessary:
“With a super zoom you can get everything from wide-angle shots to candid close-ups, without missing shots due to changing lenses” (Gatbonton 2011)
Thinking logically, changing my mind here had a few definite advantages; firstly, I am used to my telephoto lens, I use it all of the time and understand how to get the best performance from it; secondly, as stated in the article, it would be easier for me to use my zoom instead of keep changing lenses, especially as I did not want to miss any photo opportunities during the christening; and lastly, by using my telephoto, I was able to keep my distance during the service and not get in the way of proceedings. The only down side I could see was image compression when using long focal lengths, but then again, I would be in a small, narrow setting so this should not cause too much of an issue.
CAMERA SETTINGS
As I would be shooting in four very different locations, each with its own unique requirements and lighting conditions, the following fundamental settings would be used as my base, and my shutter speed, in camera meter and the use of the histogram would be relied upon to govern exposure:
- Image Type; RAW will be used to produce the final client images, but JPEG images will be used to show the client and share with others
- Shutter Speed; Continuous High
- Metering; Spot
- Camera Setting; Manual
- Aperture; As wide as the camera and settings would allow
- Focus; Single Point Auto Focus
- ISO; High, but not so high to create too much noise in the photos
- White Balance; AWB due to the movement between venues and the unfamiliar light sources within each
LIGHTING
- Use natural light as much as possible; use the light from windows and open doors, and pray for a sunny day.
- Alternate light source; there will be an uncontrollable amount of alternate light sources, all giving different temperatures and different effects to the photos. Knowing this before hand helped my decision to shoot using Auto White Balance, with the knowledge that I could make subtle tweaks, if necessary, after the event.
- Flash; at this point, not being 100% sure whether flash would be allowed inside the church, and as I am not a regular user of this light source, it will probably not be used, but I will carry a small flash unit in my bag in case it is needed.
- Range of reflectors; during the last two photo shoots I used all of my reflectors, but it may not be possible to do so this time round, but I will have them in my bag – just-in-case.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Before the christening weekend, upon my return to the UK, I was able to secure a show round at the church. This enabled me to have a look at the location, find out the rules surrounding photography in the venue and get a general run through of the service. I took a couple of ‘snappy’ photos, so that I could determine the best places to stand to capture my images, and sketched the layout of the church so that I could keep a record for future reference.
Conducting this meeting prior to the actual day of the christening really worked in my favour, as I was able to establish that flash photography would not be allowed during the ceremony, which was something that did not surprise me. As I had been keeping an eye on the long range weather forecast, I was pretty sure that the weather on the big day would not be good, so when the vicar advised that we were more than welcome to utilise the church after the ceremony to take any additional photos I was relieved, as this meant that we should be able to get most of the photos discussed and that we would have a warm, dry location when doing this.
THE PHOTO SHOOT
Unfortunately, (and once again), the day of the christening rose murky and wet, so my biggest concern now would be how to capture the light, especially in the church. I had established that flash photography was out of the questions, and as I intended to move around the venue, I would not be able to use reflectors, as I had done in the past, to help capture any light available, so I had to rely on my photography knowledge to allow me to get the best photos possible, a daunting thought indeed.
But on the upside, after the church service, we would be able to use the venue to get most of the individual and group shots the client wanted, so at least all was not lost!
My first port of call for the day was at the clients home, where I was to capture some images of the family getting ready. The surroundings here were very familiar, as I had taken photos here many times before, so I was able to relax and let the baby do the talking.
