Events Photography

By John VanSteenberg

One of every photographers roles in life is to be drafted to photograph an event sometime someplace. Family, friends, associates, etc.

Recently, I was asked to photograph the Lake Erie Boxing Association awards banquet. LEA an affiliate of USA Boxing’s amateur National Championship and pre Olympic program. I thought it would be a nice evening of dinner and speeches and some nice kids gaining well earned recognition.

Little did I know that I would meet and photograph 2 members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, several former world champion boxers and the current Middleweight Champion of the World: Kelly ‘The Ghost’ Pavlik.

Kelly revisited his old amateur association and reminisced about the road trips he took as part of the Lake Erie Association, on the way to becoming the international star that he is. In his remarks, he also acknowledged the influence exerted on him by the others in the room that came before him and the inspiration they instilled in him.

One great surprise was how nice all of these great champions are. And how much they respect each other and how they encourage and invest time and energy in the future of the young athletes coming behind them.

I learned something while there, too. Parents who are worried about having their kids participate in boxing should realize that there are about 13 sports played in high school that result in more injuries than boxing. Safety of the kids is their first concern.

The photographic issues: A medium size banquet room with 10’ high ceilings, about 150 people squeezed into it.
The equipment: My lens choice was the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 SP, a great all around choice for events like this, wedding receptions and other events. It manages tight spaces with wide angle scenes as well as short telephoto ranges needed for ‘grip and grins’. The rest of the gear and the process was: a Canon 40D with a 340 flash with a Luma Quest pocket bounce (to soften the harsh flash), mounted on a Custom Bracket and TTL(ed) via a remote extension cord.

As always, in unpredictable light, I shot in RAW+JPEG and edited the files in Bibble PRO, my favorite RAW converter and workflow management software.

The 17-50 is my lens of choice for event photos because it is so versatile. It is easy to view through with the f/2.8 aperture. The constant aperture also eliminates the worry about running out of flash volume at distances where variable aperture lenses might limit range dramatically.

In terms of versatility, cram 150 people, tables, podium, etc., and things get crowded. So, being able to compose in tight spaces zoom without moving a lot is critical to event shooting. These events often produce images of individuals, small groups, intimate discussions and even a few larger groups. The 3X zoom ratio is well suited for all of these in a venue like this. I used the Luma Quest pocket bounce to enlarge the size of my light source which acts to soften the light and minimize harsh shadows.

I use the Bibble Pro software to process because there seems to always be a wide variety of lighting in these rooms causing white balance issues; plus, the ability to fine tune exposure makes these images much more viewable.

 A standing ovation for the former great Heavyweight Champion of the World Jimmy Bivens (1940s-1950s).

Former IBF Lightweight Champion of the World Harry Arroyo spends a minute with a fan.

Jimmy Bivens, gets congratulations from Ken Porter and Gene Glenn (standing l-r) of the Association while watched by Jimmy’s daughter.

2008 Olympic Team members Shawn Porter (L) and Miguel Gonzales (R) receive congratulations from Gene Glen for their successes.

Kelly Pavlik hugs Shawn Porter while Ken Porter ‘coaches’

Special Guests:

Kelly ‘The Ghost Pavlik, Current Middleweight Champion of the World

Harry Arroyo, Former IBF Lightweight Champion of the World

Jimmy Bivens, Former Heavyweight Duration Champion of the World (as declared by Joe Louis on his induction into the Army in 1942).

Shawn Porter 2008 US Olympic Team Member

Miguel Gonzales 2008 US Olympic Team Member

Gene Glenn President of Lake Erie Boxing Association

Comments

[ann]

sounds like a fun event. nice lighting, no harsh flash. like it.

[john]

Thanks. It was a great event.

As to the lack of harshness, I think that is very important, too.
That is why I chose to enlarge the size of the flash source by using the Luma Quest pocket bounce. For the very small price is makes great sense in small spaces. The larger size creates a soft wrap of the light which makes for very natural scenes.