Christmas Party Shoot

Christmas PTY Door 15
Originally uploaded by paldusty

I had the chance to shoot my neighbor's company Christmas party this last Friday night.

I was asked to take pictures by the door for people when they entered and then take candids for the party itself. It was a great experience for sure.

I set up my tripod by the entry way to the room that the party was held in so we could get a shot of each couple or single that came to the party. One of the things I read about was that sometimes people just don't want their picture taken, so you should not take it personal if that happens. Well, only one couple shied away from it, but I got some shots of them later as a raffle was taking place.

For the most part, in fact all of the people there were great and they were ready to smile and have a good time, so I didn't have any folks getting an attitude at all.

I learned several things as well about taking photos in tis kind of a situation, but reading all kinds of tips about shooting parties really paid off. Next time I do this I'll have a couple of things with me for sure. You never know what the layout of the place is going to be like so you might not have a good spot to take posed pictures. I am going to a fabric store and getting a couple of large pieces that are fairly neutral for backgrounds. I had a pretty good spot, but I must admit for the group shots (and for this I call a group more than two) there was limited wall space that was not broken up by a door or window, etc. So if I bring my own backgrounds there won't be a problem finding the space. I think I'll get a few actually and have one for each season maybe or specific type of event.

Another thing I learned, which I should have known from the beginning was to triple check each posed shot before I let the people get to the party. After getting the shots on the computer I noticed two pretty bad mistakes. In one shot there were two friends having their pic taken. I checked the photo in a brief review right after it was taken, but I should have taken more time because one of the girls had her eyes closed and I didn't catch it. A real shame because it would have been a great shot. In another the taller person was on the wrong side, which is obvious when you see the pic. I imagine photographers with more experience than I will see many mistakes, but those are two that I for sure know about.

The only thing that was a little weird was the size of the room. It was real small and very non-descript. I felt a little self conscious roaming around because of that, but I got over it once people began moving around and the raflle was held. I am so glad all of the people there were in a great mood.

Please go ahead and check out these photos o Flickr and let me know what you think. Let me know what I could have done better or even if you see something you like, that's cool too.