professional photographer

45 professional event photography tips in 15 minutes

In this video, I decided to try something a bit different and just let the camera roll to see how many tips I could come up with before I got tired or ran out of tips. I got tired. I had a lot of fun making this one, so I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did making it!

1. Hold your camera loosely 2. Hook your camera with your fingers 3. Shoot with both eyes 4. use your right eye to frame your shot 5. Use your left eye to time your action 6. Set your camera up so that you do not need to go into the menus. 7. How I set-up my ISO controls 8. Choosing a marketing strategy 9. Old vs new social media platforms 10. retaining clients 11. Don't obsess over gear 12. 5% rule 13. Switching brands 14. Remember this is a business 15. Every other upgrade cycle 16. experimenting with lenses 17. focussing on bread and butter gear 18. engaging with your craft 19. Don't cheap out on stuff like flash or memory cards 20. using two camera bodies 21. batteries and chargers 22. overcoming limitations 23. networking with your peers 24. don't think of your competitors as opponents 25. bring food to a job or get good at fasting 26. never stop learning 27. staying engaged with your craft 28. photographing everyone, focussing on VIPS 29. "over covering" VIPs 30. scanning a room 31. listen for the life of the party 32. don't over linger on a person 33. always shoot with intention 34. Generate 1:1 previews in Lightroom 35. Respect the craft and the profession 36. take and modify what you learn from a mentor 37. shoot often - muscle memory 38. tune out the noise 39. don't limit your sources of inspiration 40. question conventions - find your own way 41. make sure you're insured 42. live below your beans 43. don't depend entirely on photography for your income 44 always over dress over under dressing 45. you don't always need to wear black .

Los Angeles Event Photography: Shooting Detail Shots with a 400mm Lens

If you’ve been reading my event photography blog or following my Youtube channel on event photography, you probably know how important I believe it is to stay engaged with your craft, and to try new things in order to keep things interesting and avoid burnout. At a recent event in Malibu California, I did just that.

Using my Canon m50, a vintage 400 millimeter lens as well as a Minolta MC Rokkor - PF f1.4 lens and a Canon FD 50mmm macro lens, I decided to challenge myself to not only use vintage, manual focus lenses to make interesting detail shots, but to also to also use a Canon m50, a non professional grade camera.

As always, I showed up to my job early- very early. This allowed me to get all of my “safe” detail shots, with plenty of time to experiment after.

I use a variety of lenses when shooting detail shots, but usually I use the Canon 24-70mm f2.8, Canon 135mm f2, and the Canon 85mm 1.8. Like I said, I shoot “safe” first and only use available light or a single strobe. In this case, there was plenty of beautiful diffused light to work with.

After getting all the safe shots, first I switched over to the Canon FD 50mm Macro. This has been an incredibly fun lens for me to use. I don’t actually own a modern macro lens. Honestly, as an event photographer, I don’t really need to. But I have found that it has allowed me to really open up my mind to new possibilities when it comes to shooting detail shots: the ability to get really close allowed me to shoot details of the details, which I quite enjoyed. A quick note: you do not need to shoot close up with a macro lens. They can of course be used as a regular old lens if you choose.

Next I decided to try using my Minolta mount 400mm telephoto lens. Adjusting for the Canon M50’s crop, this is a 600mm lens… without image stabilization. Because of this, and my desire to shoot wide open, I found it an incredibly difficult lens to pull focus with. But when I was able to pull it off, it definitely created a unique look due to its compression.

Lastly, I shot with an old school Minolta MC Rokkor - PF f1.4 lens. I love this lens. In all honesty it’s not super sharp wide open, but I honestly don’t mind it. I love making images that have a unique look. I’m not one for arbitrarily stylizing my images just to make them look different, but using vintage lenses to get a different look works for me.

Interested in seeing some vintage glass compared?

Comparing Vintage Lenses on the Canon M50


I have been a professional Los Angeles event photographer and photography instructor for over 10 years. Follow the links below to see my work and be sure to subscribe to my channel on Youtube for more videos

YOUTUBE

Instagram | @retrograding https://www.instagram.com/retrograding/

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/mikmilman/

Building a Photography Kit- Advice for Noobs. Advice from an Event Photographer in Los Angeles

In this video I talk about building a photography kit for event photography. I am coming from the perspective of a Los Angeles event photographer, but really this advice would work for a lot of different working professionals, from wedding photographers to sports photographers.

The gist of it is that the first and most important thing is to cover a wide range of focal lengths. This can be done with a 24-70 and a 70-200. Of course, f 2.8 variants are preferred, but you can get by with f4. When starting out, I recommend getting what fits your budget and upgrading down the line.

I also discuss getting “sexier” gear once you have your bases covered. This will allow you to get more creative with the look of your work.

I have been a professional event photographer in Los Angeles for 10 years while teaching photography at the same time. Follow the links below to see my work and be sure to subscribe to my channel on Youtube for more videos

YOUTUBE

Instagram | @retrograding https://www.instagram.com/retrograding/

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/mikmilman/

www.mikmilman.com