Was at a political rally today with Hillary Clinton to capture some imagery for a magazine I shoot for. Being a first timer to one of these events, it was really interesting to see how much media you could pack into one place. I guesstimated 30 video crews and at least 30 pro/serious photographers in the media area alone.

Here's a couple of grabs:

Nice pics...gotta say...I was going to vote for her anyway but these pics have just sealed the deal

Damn... you know its gotta be a good pic when it forces someone to pick a politician. Totally kidding (obviously), thanks for the compliment.

argh

How come those white haired dudes always have to sit right in front of where you want to shoot. Same thing happened to me two nights ago at a congressional campaign event. I think I should start packing a wig in my camera bag!

The second shot is great. Thanks for the post.

This is what a genuine smile looks like.

Look at the bright side.. if you need a white point to adjust your WB, bingo.

She looks a little yellow. Mind you, her husband was a draft dodger...

Only kidding, but she does look a touch yellow.

Think I'd like them better if you could somehow crop her out.........

Ace politician pics, but come on Shane, you've left Obama without a snazzy frame

The guy with the disposable cam' has managed to get his fingers dangerously close to both flash and lens seriously though, the Obama one looks a little yellow/green to my eye (in terms of lighting that is).

J

hfillmore wrote:
Think I'd like them better if you could somehow crop her out.........

actually I'd have preferred a pic of her with the phone in her hand

tony

Is that John McCain sitting in the audience.....roughly in the center?

One nice thing about this forum is that no one will let his politics iintrude into discussions of photos....

Who posted a photo on this political forum??

Clinton was not drafted but he was NOT a draft dodger. Not only was Bush a coward and a drunk at the time, but he went AWOL and was never prosecuted because of family connections.

I've lived through enough social Darwinism. Let's take back our country form these republican dictators.

You got much, much better lighting/results than the CNN video of that event, which is horribly dark and made Hillary appear that she was lit with a flashlight under her chin - sort of an odd Halloween effect, and very unflattering. Almost wondered if it was intentional.

Anyone notice that she looks just like Alvin the Chipmink?

elliotkramer wrote:
Clinton was not drafted but he was NOT a draft dodger. Not only was Bush a coward and a drunk at the time, but he went AWOL and was never prosecuted because of family connections.

I've lived through enough social Darwinism. Let's take back our country form these republican dictators.

YOUCH! Do you happen to vote Democrat? Do ya like Cigars?
Depends on "What the word IS is".

Before you scorch me, I'm just joking around....AND I vote Independent.

Josiah

Numfar wrote:
You got much, much better lighting/results than the CNN video of that event, which is horribly dark and made Hillary appear that she was lit with a flashlight under her chin - sort of an odd Halloween effect, and very unflattering. Almost wondered if it was intentional.

Ya.. the place was really not lit very well considering the amount of broadcast and photographic media present. My understanding (from another photographer who got "backstage" access) was the AC circuits couldn't handle the load of the lights (8 pars - not sure of the wattage + all the assorted laptops & other power requirements) and any brighter could of blown the breakers.

I always bring a flash with me and I'm glad I did. Even though I was a good 40-50 feet away with a 70-200, I managed to feather enough light on her to wash out the shadows and kill some of the ambient. The yellow light underneath her chin was from the podium, if that gives you an indication of how little other light was being used. I would of preferred to shoot it on my D3 but I needed the extra reach of the D300 crop to get in tight on her. 1600 on a D300 is still usable, but I wouldn't push it much past that.

The images look strange to me. It seems if they are really over sharpened or something like that. I can't seem to put my finger on it. What camera body and lens combo did you use?

Both of those shots were taken on a D300 @ 1600 ISO on a 70-200 @ 2.8 (right around 1/100th). The lighting was, well, horrible and there was a light underneath the podium throwing incandescent light onto her neck.

You know, I can only imagine how hard it really must be to take pictures where things are happening in real time and where one does not have any control on the lighting or other conditions.

Great pics!

richiebaz wrote:
You know, I can only imagine how hard it really must be to take pictures where things are happening in real time and where one does not have any control on the lighting or other conditions.

Great pics!

Its not hard (unless you're being sarcastic, if that's the case, then well played sir. ). Just a different set of rules like everything else in photography. The biggest thing is watching your ambient and backgrounds. The question always seems to be, how MUCH ambient do you want. Of course, that opens up to balancing your flash with the ambient and watching color shifts (white face, yellow ears).

I would NOT have wanted to try and shoot this without a flash. The shadows werent bad but the gels on the cans were not matching the ambient so the blue backround was getting a bit green when trying to WB the skin.

I think you did great.The techs are great for the conditions and the compositions are also pleasing. Don't like the subject matter, but that is personal She does look like a chipmunk