ELNikkor wrote:
Everyone who's ever done it, did it for the first time at some point in time, and you are at least as good, if not better than them! You don't say how many (a hundred children? a thousand?), but with all the infrastructure out there these days, you can find the resources to get yourself a satisfactory set-up for a reasonable price. With some cheap umbrellas and slave-driven 4-AA battery camera flashes, I made a simple set-up which made thousands of school portraits on film for yearbooks. You can brainstorm your own system, background and props, then make adjustments as necessary. Maybe bring a stuffed animal or toy you can wave to attract the toddler's attention in the direction you want them looking for the shot. Be ready to be a bit goofy to make them laugh or smile, have an assistant to facilitate going to and from the photo-seat. Good Luck! Let us know how it went!
Everyone who's ever done it, did it for the first ... (
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How can you possibly know if this person is equal to or better than anyone else that has gone before them? What you fail to understand is that anyone doing a commercial job who has never done it alone before, will, if they have any intelligence about them, first work as an assistant or second shooter in order to learn the ropes. No one in their right mind should consider doing someone's wedding for example, if they have never shot weddings before. And I see so many times that others offer advice saying.. "Just go for it, it will work out". Most stupid advice anyone could ever give someone.
Doing any commercial work without first having the liability insurance is just the dumbest thing in the world, in case anyone is suggesting that or thinking of doing that. If someone bumped a light stand and it fell over and hit a child, that would be the worst day of your life, especially if you injured a poor child.
Taking on any new job is a risk if you have no experience but for some reason when it comes to photography, many people think it is just a simple thing to do and you can teach yourself as you go. Some have luck but many do not and cause the poor client stress and loss of a special event if they screw up the photos. You never see someone asking a friend to do an operation because they know they have a set of knives and have seen them carve a turkey in the past.
Shooting an infant school is a hard job because the little ones have almost no attention span, and will be fidgeting all the time. You will need to have a good lighting system and know how to use it properly and efficiently. You will need an assistant to make sure the line flows well for those you are taking photos of, and to be sure no one comes close to your light stands. You will need to use a Pro Lab that will print out your photo packages and you will need to be well organized so you have everything going to the correct parents.
Like anything that you know how to do, it is not a difficult task. However, like anything you don't know how to do, or don't know what you are doing, you will find it a great effort and others who are watching you, will realize you don't know what you are doing. It is always best to attend several shoots of something you are considering doing, in order to understand how it goes and see what problems can happen and how to solve them.
What will you do if your lighting system fails, do you have a back up for that day? What about your camera, do you have a backup body? What lens will you use for the shoot, because as a photographer you will be expected to know this. If you don't know the answers to these questions then you are not ready to take on the job.
I don't wish to be the bad guy here, I just want people to think about these things because I see all the time where someone wants to do a photo shoot or someone asks them to be the photographer for some such event, and the potential photographer comes on here asking how do I do such and such. Good luck, it is not rocket science but it does require a certain skill set with proper equipment. Good luck if you try it and yes everyone started somewhere, but if they are successful, they most likely started as an assistant or second shooter to learn the ropes first.