018- June 4, 2010 -- Reunions
Reunions! What a great time to meet old friends or relatives, swap stories, relive memories, see how others are faring with life. What a great time for photography to record on-going personal history. These photos record stopped-moments-in-time that we can never go back to except through memories – and what better way to help recall memories than through photographs.
At reunions, there are often lots of cameras, usually sitting on tables, and only occasionally getting used. After the reunion, the photos are often forgotten – tossed in the box at the back of the closet (now tossed into the file at the back of the computer) – soon lost and forgotten – usually with the first Hard Drive crash. So – how do you get pictures and organize them so they won’t be forgotten or discarded?
My first suggestion is always - take lots of pictures. Reunions are about People – mix up the pictures – take posed pictures and people interacting with other people. Take photos when your subjects know you’re taking their picture and candids where they may not know it. Consider using different angles and height perspectives to add variety and interest. Identifying everyone in photos can be a nice touch if possible; print their name on a piece of paper and photograph the paper as the next photo file number. If using volunteers, try to get setting-up and cleaning-up as well.
Take several group shots of everyone (if you can). This may end up looking like a disorganized “mob scene” – some members of reunions would have it no other way, but will add reference for the rest of the photos. Consider how you’ll “pose” the group; using a side hill, picnic tables, benches, stairway, or chairs can provide staging so all faces can show in the photo. Asking for height-disadvantaged people in front does not guarantee taller people in the back, so maybe ask some of the taller-people-in-front to kneel, sit on the ground, sprawl on the ground, etc. If the reunion is featuring a small group (company commanders / officers, oldest family member, company executives that are paying for the party), pose them in the front – maybe sitting - with the rest of the group around them; try to get a photo of the “special” group by themselves. Find a higher vantage point from which to photograph the large group (chair, ladder, wall, building).
Try to get photos of the food and food preparation – before it’s carved up for eating. Look for specially prepared food – commemorative cakes, the pile of steaks (or hotdogs). If there’s a serving line, this is a good time to get candids of small groups and individuals that implying eating. (Note: most pictures of people actually eating don’t turn out as pretty pictures.)
Record samples of entertainment activities and presentations from as close as possible. Pre-planning presentation photos by asking the presenters to face the camera for a pict, and even reminding them at the end of each presentation segment to ‘look at the camera’ can lead to better picts.
Sharing, storing and distributing your photos:
Digital memory is cheap; so you took lots of pictures. If it’s a good picture, save it; if it’s a bad picture, discard it. Upload you pict files to the computer and back them up; I still prefer burning the originals to a DVD.
Uploading to the internet (MyFace, Flickr, commercial photo storage and sharing sites, your own web page, etc) may be a quick and easy way for low res photos to be shared, but don’t consider this permanent. Photo sites may make ordering prints available and can be a possibility; check out the quality of prints if you’re sharing print photos from these sites. While many people consider the internet the permanent solution for nearly everything, sites crash – or go out of business – or change their storage rules – or use rule of ‘first file on/ first file off’ if your account gets full – or just stop servicing part of their site; pictures stored at those sites are gone with no way to recover them.
And then you have a lot of people who just don’t like using internet sites to look at photos. They may look at a slideshow on computer; are more likely to view a DVD movie/ slideshow of the event on their TV; and are even more likely to view a memento book /album. Each of these media applications develops a presentation that helps establish scope and context of the photos that individual photos probably can’t accomplish. And, of course, all of these are possible and economically achievable - and in a range of quality, size and scope; but they do require software and knowledge of using that software to accomplish successfully. Plan the project with the end product in mind to get best results.
Reunions are certainly lots of fun and enjoyable. Organization of reunion photos can make the memories even stronger and longer lasting – and be fun to do.
Tip #1: Plan your reunion photo project with the end goal in mind.
Tip #2: With your goal in mind, have at least a cursory level idea of how to achieve those goals to avoid lots of frustration later.
Tip #3: Take lots of pictures – it’s easier (and better) to discard or not use some mediocre photos than to need more material that you don’t have.
Tip #4: If you’re organizing a reunion, consider engaging someone to do photography and momentos presentation that has done it before. You’ll enhance everyone’s experience and memories of the event.
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