Savage Race
About a month ago my services were requested for covering a very popular OCR event: Savage Race. Race Pace Photos hired me to join their team of excellent photographers. In this post, I cover the second location I covered, the Savage Banner. This is Part 3 of a 4 part post.
Savage Banner Photos
After shooting Shriveling Richard, I started walking back to my car, when I noticed that there were groups of people taking photos by the Savage Banner. This banner was gigantic, it was at least 40 feet tall. This was the perfect place to setup a studio, and a great way to test the use of a beauty dish in these kinds of events. I noticed there were many variations of groups of subjects, therefore I had to place my studio light as far away as possible to prevent falloff to the sides and capture all subjects.
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera back
- AB1600 1/4 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/200 seconds
Av : f/5.6
ISO : 100
F.L.: 82mm
------------
I wasted no time getting the equipment from the car. Setting up the studio light right by the car, connecting the radio triggers and testing the equipment: I was ready to shoot. A vendor was asking and looking at my work, therefore she naturally became the subject for a test. Approaching her, I introduced myself, made small talk, asked her to be my subject. She agreed, and the light went "POP!", which looked like she was nuked (overexposure). Dialing down the setting on the strobe, and another "POP!", the image was now perfect. The setup was fully tested and I walked confidently to setup shop by the Savage Banner.
Right after setting up, it did not take long for people to come by and have their photo taken: they were waiting for some time for a professional photographer. A queue started to fill up right by my side. I organized and set the expectations to people on what they were getting (did not want them to stand all day by the banner and make others wait). Since this work was outside my contract, I placed a stack of business cards nearby me with my contact information. This stack ran out twice, making me run to the car multiple times to get more business cards.
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera right
- AB1600 1/2 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/60 seconds
Av : f/8.0
ISO : 400
F.L.: 67mm
------------
The challenge for this setup was balancing sunlight with studio light. No biggie, I thought: I have done this type of shoot many times with models in somewhat controlled settings on location. The variable that I did not consider was the variance in groups. Sometimes it was less than 5 people, which is really easy. However, sometimes you had more than that, and light and sharpness falloff became an issue in some rare cases.
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera right
- AB1600 1/2 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/200 seconds
Av : f/8.0
ISO : 800
F.L.: 24mm
------------
Arranging the individuals closer to each other, and creating two rows of people solved most of these problems. The only one that this did not work with was with the group of volunteers, which was over 40 and over spilled from the banner. Another option was to allow more sunlight into each of the subjects, and use the key light more as a fill light.
More often than not, being a photographer requires having directing and producing skills, keading the charge to unforeseen issues that may arise.
There were four photographers covering the Shriveled Richard obstacle. One of them had to leave early due to another assignment. This caused an issue: it left a lane without a photographer covering it, and it was also the later waves which thinned the crowd a bit too much. We had to fix this, since leaving an extra lane open will cut into the profits of Race Pace and leave many runners without a photo of them crossing this obstacle, and we do not like angry customers.
The solution was simple, close one of the lanes, and direct any stragglers accordingly. Executing it was a different story, the staff were under strict orders to shut down the obstacle at the last wave. I explained what I needed, and they were apprehensive at first. I further explained that leaving a lane open was in the best interest of us, the runners, and ultimately the event. If they get to close one lane early they will save time and money since they will need less people at the spot at the end of the event, and any extra hands could be used at other obstacles or just let go for the remainder of the day, and we all like to finish early. It will also cut down on excessive materials (ice bags and water).
Our compromise was to close my lane, which was the farthest one from the group, and have me move to the lane the photographer left open. Although I would have liked to stay in my spot, I understood that it was easier all around, so I enthusiastically accepted the terms. Having a closed lane in the middle will cause confusion among the racers. I only had 10 minutes to setup, but it was more than enough time to move my belongings to the new spot. Everything flowed without a hitch.
I quickly noticed that it can get rather hectic and chaotic really, really fast. The first wave I struggled to get good shots, and you do not want to mess with the Elite crew. The next waves were much more favorable to control. I held up my hand and had them stop at the edge as the runners went through the obstacle. I took the shots, and then let the next pair jump down to the pool. This allowed for a smooth course, and produced much better results and less incidents (runners were bumping with each other).
Most of the runners were very self-motivated. They enjoyed the challenges laid out for them. However, there is always a few runners that have second thoughts. Some froze in fear of the harsh cold obstacle. Even more would be surprised of how cold it is, and exit the obstacle midway. Others skipped the obstacle altogether.
All runners paid good money, work up early, and traveled a long while to get to the course. They would be wasting good money and a unique moment in their lives by not commiting. Therefore, I took it as an extra task to motivate them to finish the obstacle, letting them know that they could do it and that they were strong enough to endure the unfogrivving obstacle. I was able to convince most of them to complete the obstacle thoroughly, and capture a good photo of them emerging through it.
 |
| Supermodel test subject |
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera back
- AB1600 1/4 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/200 seconds
Av : f/5.6
ISO : 100
F.L.: 82mm
------------
I wasted no time getting the equipment from the car. Setting up the studio light right by the car, connecting the radio triggers and testing the equipment: I was ready to shoot. A vendor was asking and looking at my work, therefore she naturally became the subject for a test. Approaching her, I introduced myself, made small talk, asked her to be my subject. She agreed, and the light went "POP!", which looked like she was nuked (overexposure). Dialing down the setting on the strobe, and another "POP!", the image was now perfect. The setup was fully tested and I walked confidently to setup shop by the Savage Banner.
 |
| Savage Banner Lighting Setup |
Right after setting up, it did not take long for people to come by and have their photo taken: they were waiting for some time for a professional photographer. A queue started to fill up right by my side. I organized and set the expectations to people on what they were getting (did not want them to stand all day by the banner and make others wait). Since this work was outside my contract, I placed a stack of business cards nearby me with my contact information. This stack ran out twice, making me run to the car multiple times to get more business cards.
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera right
- AB1600 1/2 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/60 seconds
Av : f/8.0
ISO : 400
F.L.: 67mm
------------
The challenge for this setup was balancing sunlight with studio light. No biggie, I thought: I have done this type of shoot many times with models in somewhat controlled settings on location. The variable that I did not consider was the variance in groups. Sometimes it was less than 5 people, which is really easy. However, sometimes you had more than that, and light and sharpness falloff became an issue in some rare cases.
STROBIST
------------
Strobist:
- Sun from camera right
- AB1600 1/2 on a beauty dish
Camera info:
Camera: Canon EOS 5dmkii
Lens: Canon EF Zoom lens - 24 mm - 105 mm - F/4.0
Sv : 1/200 seconds
Av : f/8.0
ISO : 800
F.L.: 24mm
------------
Arranging the individuals closer to each other, and creating two rows of people solved most of these problems. The only one that this did not work with was with the group of volunteers, which was over 40 and over spilled from the banner. Another option was to allow more sunlight into each of the subjects, and use the key light more as a fill light.
Executive Decisions
More often than not, being a photographer requires having directing and producing skills, keading the charge to unforeseen issues that may arise.
Closing the 4th Lane
The solution was simple, close one of the lanes, and direct any stragglers accordingly. Executing it was a different story, the staff were under strict orders to shut down the obstacle at the last wave. I explained what I needed, and they were apprehensive at first. I further explained that leaving a lane open was in the best interest of us, the runners, and ultimately the event. If they get to close one lane early they will save time and money since they will need less people at the spot at the end of the event, and any extra hands could be used at other obstacles or just let go for the remainder of the day, and we all like to finish early. It will also cut down on excessive materials (ice bags and water).
Our compromise was to close my lane, which was the farthest one from the group, and have me move to the lane the photographer left open. Although I would have liked to stay in my spot, I understood that it was easier all around, so I enthusiastically accepted the terms. Having a closed lane in the middle will cause confusion among the racers. I only had 10 minutes to setup, but it was more than enough time to move my belongings to the new spot. Everything flowed without a hitch.
Directing
I quickly noticed that it can get rather hectic and chaotic really, really fast. The first wave I struggled to get good shots, and you do not want to mess with the Elite crew. The next waves were much more favorable to control. I held up my hand and had them stop at the edge as the runners went through the obstacle. I took the shots, and then let the next pair jump down to the pool. This allowed for a smooth course, and produced much better results and less incidents (runners were bumping with each other).
Motivating
Most of the runners were very self-motivated. They enjoyed the challenges laid out for them. However, there is always a few runners that have second thoughts. Some froze in fear of the harsh cold obstacle. Even more would be surprised of how cold it is, and exit the obstacle midway. Others skipped the obstacle altogether.
All runners paid good money, work up early, and traveled a long while to get to the course. They would be wasting good money and a unique moment in their lives by not commiting. Therefore, I took it as an extra task to motivate them to finish the obstacle, letting them know that they could do it and that they were strong enough to endure the unfogrivving obstacle. I was able to convince most of them to complete the obstacle thoroughly, and capture a good photo of them emerging through it.
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