A Little Planning Pays Dividends!

I photographed finance guru Mellody Hobson on Saturday at the AARP Financial Freedom Tour stop in Los Angeles. She is simply amazing to watch! More on that in a minute.

A few portraits and group shots are required at most events. The plan Saturday was to take these shots before the event in a small meeting/green room. Most meeting rooms are boring. So my plan was to find a spot close by that could work better. Fortunately just five steps outside the room was this wonderful location

It was near the pool, but private enough. There was a small overhang above the area that could work well for bounce lighting. So I first took a reading of the ambient light with my light meter… f/5.6 @ 1/60 sec. @ 400 ISO. I set up one SB800 on the ground behind the subject position for a little kick on the background. To complete the lighting, I bounced one SB800 from the overhang and had another SB800 in the hotshoe.

Sure, I could have used on camera strobe… and I could have taken the photo in the small meeting room. But I was looking for something just a little different. Plus, that option was already available in the event that my client didn’t like my preferred option. I’m sure glad that things worked out! The lesson here for young photographers is to look for other options and be prepared if they don’t work out.

Now a few words about Mellody Hobson… First of all, she is brilliant! I listened while she talked finance to an AARP group and was mesmerized by her insights and life story. Then she showed images from her school [Ariel Community Academy] in Chicago where the students are taught about finance. The results are amazing! Before ending her address, she spoke about an upcoming special on ABC, “Unbroke: Everything You Need to Know About Money,” to premiere May 29 where everyone from Will Smith to the Jonas Brothers will join forces to talk money. The most touching moment for me though was when she went into the audience to give hugs to a few people. Smart, beautiful and down to earth.

The AARP Financial Freedom Tour – Next stop NYC on May 9, 2009