Probably best to shoot in Shutter priority, set the ISO high enough
to stop action, go for only a little DOF. Shoot RAW and correct
color balance afterward.
She needs to think about what's important to the people running the
show, and to the people participating. I'd think it would be pretty
open ended - faces, record shots of each horse and rider, high
moments, pensive moments, tense moments, awards. 2 Gigs might not be
enough - I can barely make it through a 2 hour race on 3. She'll
need to shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot some more. Edit later.
Get a Firewire card reader, keep batteries charged, have three or
four, use two bodies - one short, one long. Anticipate everything
about the event that you know enough to do. Horses are in your face
when you're just off the track. Wide angle could be pretty important.
Always behave as though you belong there. Shake lots of hands, say
your name a lot, hand out business cards, get ID info and email
addresses from the competitors. Behave like you're in business. You
are in business.
Study every pro site online before she goes out there. There are
cliche shots which people don't think much of you if you don't come
back with them. You need to know where the line is between the pros
and the rest and make sure you can cross over that line routinely.
Think all the time - when you're asleep, when you're eating meals,
when you're reviewing the shoot. All the time.
--
Emily L. Ferguson
mailto:elf@xxxxxxxx
508-563-6822
New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography
http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf/
