A couple of months ago I was given information about this body building competition that was going to take place in New Jersey. I for one have never been to these type of events and thought that they are just beauty pageants for meat heads (which let’s face it – they are haha!). But when 54 year old Uber drive William De La
Rosa said that he was going to step on stage, I became intrigued. This would be the first time he has returned to the industry in over ten years and all I kept thinking was “Ugh – imagine the photos that could come out of this!” 

So I took the leap and decided to be a press photog for the event. But this was at a venue I hadn’t been to, I don’t know the lighting set up and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Now if this was a couple of years ago, I would’ve freaked out! As a photographer you would want to know all of the details way before you get to your location but most importantly…you want to know if you camera can actually DO THE JOB!

The last thing you want is to show up at an event or a shoot and realize while yore there that your camera can’t do the job. It makes you look very very unprofessional. So here is a list of what I brought to the body building competition and how it helped me create the series “Old Dog, New Tricks”

Get In The Game

These were my faithful beauties for the entire day:

photoCanon EOS 50D & Speedlight 320 EX

This camera and flash did the job and I ended up taking some images that I am really proud of 🙂

Lingering Thoughts Judging Time VictoriousAll of these images were at different lighting locations and my equipment literally saved my butt big time. So here is a short checklist on how you can shoot in shitty or “I have no idea how to do this” lighting:

  1. Get A Flash! : Flashes are a definite must when you are shooting indoors or in dark lighting situations. If you are unable to afford one now, start taking test shots of the pop of flash on your camera. You will be surprised what amazing images you can get with that simple pop up.
  2. Know Your Camera: I brought the 50D not only because my 7D was not working, but because I knew that it would do the job justice. Which you need to go back to your camera bag and know everything about your equipment and what it can/cannot do.
  3. Stay Away From Automatic: A lot of photographers will tell you that when it comes to sporadic lighting at events, to put it on automatic settings so that you don’t have to change it all the time. But trust me when I say that you’re images won’t come out the way you thought they would. At the end of the day – the camera is just a tool. YOU are the mastermind.

So get out there and shoot some awesome indoor stuff! And if you have any indoor photos you want to share or indoor tips, please leave a comment on the post below!

Til next time,

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