It should be a right to know in any trade, skill or profession the knowledge and understanding of what you are doing. Often times i run into people who claim they are photographers but don’t understand the basic knowledge of the art nor the tool they are using. Having this understanding can be proven vital in your development, in scenarios that needed a little bit more than of application and also the difference in your work. I am always learning or itching for more information and on this day that basic knowledge saved me.
I guess experience teaches wisdom and you learn from your mistakes.
I was a first timer at a fashion show and was confident because i have done my homework and fully prepaid. I felt that the information i had gathered was enough but things and situation change. On the day i showed up to the event but the good thing is i showed up early. My plan was to use 2 off camera flashes in a big white umbrella and mix it with the general lighting set up at the event. I made sure to have everything ready but when i decided to start setting up, space to have the lights not blocking anyone, in the way and at the right spot to light the models became an issue. I was determined to make it work because i know how important lighting is. I taped one of the flash on one of the stands that had the party lights on and had the other one basically next to me sliding and a little bit away from the crowd.
Everything was going great and a beautiful fashion show. I did my test before to get the perfect light setting. While shooting i realized that my main flash was at full power but the light just seemed not strong enough. I decided to continue because it seems to be working and i didn’t want to disturb the show. Soon after my other flash started misfiring and would randomly time out. That messed me up because i had no light at that particular spot to light the models and my main flash seemed weak and not strong enough to reach that far. 15 mins later my main flash started misfiring due to a battery concern. There was just technical issues one after the other. At this point i was disappointed because now my images won’t be as good. At this point i have no choice but to readjust. I decided to use the flood lights and the other photographers flash at my advantage. Grabbed my camera and changed a few settings in it to enable fast and easy accessibility to when the lighting was a little low to when it seemed a little too high. It was because of the basic knowledge i had that was instrumental in me finding a solution and making it work.