Taking Shots During a Party
Taking shots during a party that you were invited to is probably one of the hardest challenged that you will ever go though while enjoying this art we call photography. When you go to a party, you run the risk of getting drunk, getting things lost, or even just not even taking any pictures at all, but we aren’t going to talk about that kind of stuff. We could save those tops for later, but the thing about taking shots during a party is: It’s hard.
When you’re at a party, everyone’s moving, everyone’s talking. Some people may not want their pictures taken, while others may just hog the camera all night, but it’s your job to allocate necessary effort into taking those pictures that will shape your memory for the rest of your life. When you’re at a party, what do you think of when you hold your camera? Some people think that they aren’t gonna appear in their pictures if they just hold their camera all night. Others just allow their camera to fly around freely while their friends just go trigger happy on their SLR’s. What do you do? I for one, don’t usually take my camera out to parties, since I run the risk of actually losing this baby, but when I see a friend hold their SLR all locked and loaded aimed at potential picture material, I only have a few words of advice to give them:
When you take pictures, always take more than one
since it’s a living, breathing thing, it’s subject to change at any given moment of time. Those posed pictured may seem perfect on your viewfinder, but when you open them up on your computer and it’s all blurry, you’ll be a tad bit annoyed.
Make sure the lighting in the area is good, or your settings are preset to work well in your conditions
seeing dark blurry pictures get’s tiring after a while. Thinking ahead and just going for pictures with preset settings helps a bit, but having an external flashbulb helps so much more. More lighting usually enables you to capture pictures are a faster setting, just so that you can avoid those sloppy blurred images.
Don’t be afraid to let a friend take your picture
Going to a party without any pictured of yourself? You wanna be included there. This one’s sort of common sense.
Make sure that you’re strapped up
You don’t want to drop your camera, or risk it being trampled during that dubstep track. Make sure that you have a firm grip on your camera and allow the lanyard to stay on your neck. If you’re using a point and shoot, allow the wristwrap to go where it belongs.
Don’t be afraid to take spontaneous shots
Nothing in life is planned, unless you’re that sort of boring person. When you take pictures, don’t always let everyone pose. The best pictures are taken without poses and in real time. But of course, this doesn’t mean always take stolen shots of everyone, you can ask people to take shots, or ask people to take your shots, but always remember: If you post that picture of that girl with a huge derp face, you will be asked the next day to take it down (granted that she knows you) Capture life in the moment, and just enjoy it.
I just got back from an amazing 19th birthday party of my friend, and we had absolutely no alcoholic beverages, but what made the party fun was the company that I had. We played countless party rounds of Taboo, Charades, and Warioware. It’s amazing how fun parties can be, even without the alcohol. Laughing 6 hours straight, that’s the life! Always remember: Parties are always funner with friends. Make some during the party, you’ll never know!
P.S. That’s me and my friends, take a guess who I am!
