Jagalicious Fresh

Having now had 24 hours to recover (read: SLEEP), here’s what I learned about taking photos having been the “official photographer” (haha) at the JJ Dinner in Arlington…

–Shooting indoors is HARD! - Yes, horses may be temperamental, and the security guards at the monuments may shoo you away if you pull out a tripod, but shooting people, inside, in a not-so-well lit room, is the hardest thing I’ve done. A speedlight helps, but only if you have a diffuser…which, I didn’t…so, yeah. There’s going to be a lot of post-processing going on…

–Size Matters. - Yeah, camera envy is very real. Even the guy working on the Browerbank campaign had a bigger lens and better flash than me. Seriously need to start winning some lottery money to beef up the equipment.

–Be a dick. - Sometimes, you have to take 429 photos to get 20 good shots. And sometimes you’ve gotta be that guy camped out near the stage taking shot after shot hoping you get one that’s decent.

–People look goofy when they’re talking. - And that’s not aimed at anyone as a cutdown…it’s just a general fact. Ya’ll make goofy faces when you’re in the middle of talking. We just don’t notice it cause you never hold them.

–Write down the words to the National Anthem. - OK, that one has nothing to do with photography, but let me tell you, no matter how many times you’ve heard it or sung it, you still get nervous and freak out thinking “Oh my god what’s the next line” when Tim Kaine is staring up at you from the front.

–Hire an assistant. - Mad props to both to the JJ committee for lending me a volunteer during the VIP reception. Having someone who could carry my stuff was a huge help when I needed to switch lenses.

Overall, that was a lot of fun. Photos are still in post-processing stage (read: it’s midnight and I don’t have the energy to go all of them to adjust lighting juuuuuuust yet), but I’ll post a few when they’re done.

(EDIT: Having now gone through the first round of cutting the “WOW that’s an awful picture” shots, we’re down to 360. Woo hoo!)