Work, life, and culture in Japan and Asia

How to take photos: Events

Basic gear you need:

• Usually a long lens, 70-300mm
• A monopod (to prevent blur)
• Lots of memory cards

The Aim:

• To capture the essence of what the event is about.

How:

• Set up: Some events I've covered, you can turn up half an hour before the beginning and you'll get a good spot, and others like the Naked Man festival, turning up an hour before still wasn't early enough to get a good viewing spot. You need to research and plan. Consider what lens(es) you'll most often need and have that cleaned and ready.
• Shutter speed: Some have said that for a long lens, if you're using 150mm, your shutter speed needs to be at least 1/150sec, 200mm focal length needs 1/200sec. Though, I feel this is still just a bare minimum. Ideally, your shutter speed should be 1.5 of the focal length, so 200mm focal length would need a minimum of 1/300sec shutter speed, and that's a minimum I feel doable. Also, use at least a monopod, as this helps reduce blur that is otherwise unavoidable if you're using a long lens and photographing things that are a long way, away.
• ISO: This can vary depending on the conditions of the day, but it's often best to use iso100 or as close as possible to, this is to have as little noise as possible.
• Aperture: This will vary. Your shutter speed should take precedence.
• White Balance: Be sure your white balance is set for the prevailing conditions.
• Lenses: I prefer to use a long lens. A lens with f2.8 abilities is great for being able to hand low light and perhaps distances, whilst helping to give good fast shutter speeds. A high quality lens should be able to focus fast so you don't miss a thing.
• Advice: Research is everything. As I said, I attended the Naked Man festival and found that I was swamped and couldn't get a clear shot. A part of your research can include seeing what photos exist that were taken by other photographers, and this can give you can idea as to what lens is most suitable, and what angles and subjects look good.
• Quality problems: Be sure there's no distractions, or unnecessary junk in the foreground like powerlines or rooftops or the tops of people's heads. If the sun is exceptionally bright, and you do have to shoot in the middle of the day (with high contrast, strong shadows and highlights), then use a Neutral Density (ND) filter or a polariser.

Examples:

Click on these to view them at a larger size

	< F8, 1/160, iso400; 75-300mm lens at 300mm. Little Flute. An overcast day (notice soft shadows and no harsh bright spots). Nagoya Domatsuri 2007 (Nagoya Dance Festival 2007).
	< (Unknown details) 75-300mm lens. UH-60 Blackhawk air-sea rescue helicopter of the JASDF at the Komaki Airshow, Nagoya, Japan, 2008.
	< F7.1, 1/250, iso200, 75-300mm lens at 72mm. The Naked Man Festival, Kounomiya, Nagoya, Japan, 2009.
	> F5.6, 1/125, iso800, 18-70mm lens at 50mm. World Cosplay Summit, Nagoya 2008 (held at night).