AD5804 - First professional practice experience self-assessment

Yesterday I have covered the first event as part of my professional practice. It was the annual conference of Gloucestershire Young Carers, a charity with which I have already collaborated in the past. The event was located in the Cheltenham Pavilion and it was the combination of all the situations I hate most in photography.

It was indoor, bulb lit. Luckily, I brought a speedlight with me, otherwise it would have been barely possible to get any picture but since the light bulbs were on the ceiling, there was no possibility to bounce the flash.

I took the traditional range of pictures for an event, location shots, action shots, portraits... I have shooted on jpeg and I did basic post-editing corrections (exposure and white balance) and this morning I have already sent the pictures. I have organised them in different folders accordingly to the theme and , in order to save time to Jane (my client) I have also created a "My selection" folder in which I have included the ones I believed are more interesting.

What have I learned:

I hate taking pictures of this kind of events, especially indoor and bad lit. I really don't enjoy it and only the idea of the post-production (even if they are very basic and quick corrections) just kills me.

I am happy that I am involved with this charity and I am always available to help, so I am glad I gave my little contribution documenting this event but I know that in my future career I really want to keep me as far as possible from covering this sort of assignment. However, I know that as a photographer I will find myself in similar situations many times and there are some things in which I have to improve:

- ALWAYS make sure that when I take a picture of a group of people ALL the faces are clearly visible.

- HAVE CONTROL, as a photographer I should use my "photographer power" and don't be shy to ask permission for portraits, especially in this sort of events, portraits are the best shots you can get or your reportage will be absolutely boring.

-FEEL PROFESSIONAL, I am a photographer, taking pictures it's my job, I am working and I should not "feel sorry" for taking pictures.

Next week I will cover a press event in London, this one will be very different, I will have more responsibilities but hopefully it should be less challenging to get good pictures. However, I will always bring a speedlight with me because in some situations (like this) it is your only chance to save yourself from a complete failure.