CELEBRITY SHOOTER JEFF KRAVITZ SHARES HIS TIPS FOR PARTY AND FESTIVAL PHOTOS

The glamorous Cannes film festival continues in France this week, and it got us thinking… summer brings several of those ‘once in a lifetime’ events that we want to capture and relive later in our photos. However, summer party and festival scenes can be some of the trickiest to recreate exactly as you remember them.

That’s because photography is all about light, and the extremely bright sunshine of a mid-summer daytime festival and the dimness of an atmospheric party or night-time gig both provide their own obstacles to getting well-balanced, true-to-life digital images.

So we called in LA-based celebrity photographer Jeff Kravitz for some advice. With over 25 years’ experience of photographing glamorous showbiz parties and Hollywood awards ceremonies, he knows better than anybody how a few simple tricks can make sure your pictures live up to your memories:

Top Tips

1) First things first, check the basics.
Make sure you’ve got the right equipment to be ready for anything. Bring your Nikon camera with fresh batteries and plenty of room on the memory card. You might even want to bring an extra battery and memory card just in case. Remember that it is better to capture too many memories than too few. It’s also better to have extra gear with you and not need it, than need it and not have it with you.

2) Take some shots to set the scene
It’s always good to take some pictures that show where you are, how the party was decorated and how the setting looked. Take some wide shots that show as much of the surroundings of the party or festival that you’re at, and then get some close ups of the decorations and maybe some detail shots that show cool patterns. Make sure you aren’t using a flash to try to light a wide shot, as it doesn’t really work.

3) Make your friends look like stars
When photographing your friends, shoot them like we do on the red carpet. Fill the frame with a head to toe shot (what we call a full length shot) then go for a shot from the waist up, and then zoom in for a head shot. Place them so you pick up a party accent like balloons or banners, or place them next to a nice bit of decoration, so that the picture is colourful and has a sense of place. I love this one of the American actress, Mila Kunis, in her green dress against the patterned green chair.

Image shot on a Nikon D3 / Image © Jeff Kravitz

4) Keep your camera out as much as possible
Don’t be afraid to have your camera out and at the ready. If you just keep it in your hand, you’ll find people relax and forget you even have one, which is great for catching people at their most natural. To get some different perspectives on the same event, maybe let a friend take your camera for a spin around the room.

5) Get the candid shots
It’s good to get some posed shots, but sometimes it’s what happens between poses that make a fun party picture. Check out the photo of Steve Buscemi talking to Alec Baldwin, Hilary Swank and others at HBO’s after party for the Screen Actors Guild. I am only a few feet away, but they don’t even realize that I am there. I’m not a small guy either – learning how to fit in with your surroundings and be part of the party is key to success.

Image shot on a Nikon D3 / Image © Jeff Kravitz

6) Shoot without flash if you can
On a DSLR, this means learning how to use your ISO setting so you can shoot without flash to let that cool ambient light fill the frame and light your photos. On a compact camera, try turning off the flash (you will need to take it off auto flash) and then experiment with the settings to find the best one for the situation you’re in. The new COOLPIX cameras make this easier to do. The COOLPIX S8100, S9100, P300 and P500 cameras all include a highly sensitive CMOS image sensor which means that even in low light or extremely bright conditions, shots are recreated exactly as you experienced them. It also means the cameras can get higher image quality at a higher ISO, and the risk of blurring in nighttime shots is greater reduced.

7) Know your camera settings and how to find the right mode for your surroundings
Sometimes you’ll see night time images where you can see someone’s face properly but the background is black. That’s because the camera has set the exposure for the foreground (the face) but it isn’t the right exposure for the background. The COOLPIX cameras with CMOS sensors have an advanced Night Portrait mode, which works by taking consecutive shots, with and without flash, to expose the portrait subject and background separately. The consecutive images are then immediately combined, so shots are recreated exactly as you experienced them. Experiment with the different picture modes on your camera so you know what is good in a given situation. A beach party will look best with a different setting to a disco bash.

8) Zoom in, zoom out?
Don’t be afraid to use the zoom, but remember that if it is dark then you need to get as much light in as possible. This might mean standing back and zooming out to your widest setting which lets in the most light possible for the lens. In this picture at Coachella music festival, I’ve gone as wide as possible to get as much light in as possible as the sun is setting.

Image shot on a Nikon D3 / Image © Jeff Kravitz

9) Anticipate the picture-perfect moments
Study human nature for a while before you start snapping away. See how people react in certain situations and you will see patterns that can be mined for great photos. For example, the look of shock when someone opens a gift, how people greet each other, or the surprise or laughter when somebody gets to the punch line of a story. Being ready for these moments helps you to capture the energy.

10) Get a different view
Don’t be afraid to put your camera on a table, hold it high above your head or shoot up from the floor. The crazier the angle the better. If you make the photos fun, that will come through when people look at them. The best compliment you can get is when one of your friends says, ‘How did you get THAT photo?’

11) SHARE!
Make sure you share your photos afterwards with one of the photos sharing sites. Half the fun is reliving the moment with people who were there, and showing people who weren’t there what happened. I like Flickr, Facebook and Tumblr for sharing photos, but my favourite outlet is my blog: http://insidecelebpics.com/about/

Are you heading to any festivals this year? Maybe you have some summer parties planned. If so, what are you looking forward to photographing?