Plan a photo shoot to take photographic images for a specific product.

The Equpiment & plans.

My product I am going to do my project on is a local Zumba class called Zing Fitness. It will include still shots of the team and movement shots taken in classes. It may also be counted as a sporting event as it is an excersize class.http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Zing-Fitness-with-Dawn/201379509971076
http://www.zing-fitness.co.uk/

It will be a collection of portraits, action and sporting shots.
The portraits will be done with a studio set up and the action shots will be taken in her Zumba class. Each photoshoot will last One hour.The equpiment i will be using is a Canon 450d DSLR, a Canon Speedlite 480ex ii, Backdrop and lighting.

What is studio setup photography?

When setting up a photography studio you will need to include a backdrop, lighting, props and any reflectors. The lighting is the most important key to a studio, this is because a photograph is capturing light in an image. It can be difficult to get the lighting right to begin with but when adjusting shutter speed, aperture and the lighting set then you can achieve a nice photograph. The way the studio is set up is very important for the direction of lighting can change a whole image. To start with i would put the main light in front and to the right of the object. This would be our strongest and most important light. The second light would be to the left slightly further away from the object in symmetrical view to the first. This would help balance out the lighting from the first to give a nice even light. The third lighting is optional but it is nice to shine a light on the background to show the difference between the object and its background. It also helps get rid of any unwanted shadows. You don't always need three lights two can be plenty depending on the image wanted. This isn't the only way you can position them. The easiest way of deciding where they go would be to practise with the subject doing a few shots to focus on the way the photograph is lit.
To show the pricing of some of my equpiment i have used Amazon.com to look up the best prices. These are not professional rates but it is the same equpiment i have avaliable to me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Speedlite-430EX-Flash-Unit/dp/B001AXFV5A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341757638&sr=8-1

Above this you can see a Canon Speedlite 430ex ii flash unit.

We then have the canon DSLR's. I will be using a 450d however the newest verision is the 600d.

 I have also shown you the backdrop kit and lighting kit.

The lighting doesnt show a price but the average price for that kit is £200. Added all together this equipment would cost £764 if you were to buy the cheaper camera. This is before delivery so that might be extra aswell.

My models will be Dawn, Becky, Michelle, Kerry, Jenny and Jasmine.
One major safety issue i will need to consider is me getting in peoples way as this can lead to people getting tripped up and falling over. I have spoken to the owner of the company Dawn and she is willing to let me help her with her photography. She will then use these for her sites such as facebook, twitter and her website.

As i am taking the images on a DSLR i will be digitally editing and presenting them in my work.To edit the images i have Photoshop available to me, i know some skills already however if i need to further develop my skills i can use videos and tutorials to help me.

Photographing techniques.

 

There are many things you have to understand about a DSLR before using it on manual. For example shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

The aperature is the width that the shutter opens. The smaller the f. stop the more light that will get let in however the photo may become over exposed. This is an example of different exposures for the same image. This is accieved by the aperture being altered. 

Another thing that effects an image is the shutter speed this is the time that it takes for the shutter to open and close. Depending on the speed you can create many different effects. You can create crisp images with a short shutter speed but more blurred images with a long exposure.

Another technique you have to allow for in photography is the ISO it means the sensitivity to light. The larger the number the more sensitive the 'paper' is. However in a Digital SLR they dont use paper instead they are digitally stored on a SD card.