Photographing Parades

Usually I would get straight to what I'm blogging about but, because this is my first blog, I'd like to give you a brief introduction. Digital photography is what I blog about. However, if you still use film many of these techniques still apply. So let's move on. Oh! One more thing, you can visit my website at

dannylbaker

Photography is an amazing art. If you are a photographer, professional or otherwise, we all have something to contribute; and can always learn from one another. So please enjoy and I hope what I write will help you. Keep in mind I am not the definitive source of photography but what I've learned through my trials and errors I would like to share with you.

I recently photographed the Honolulu Festival Parade in you guessed it Honolulu, Hawaii. I photographed this and other parades but I was much more successful because of the lessons I've learned from previous parades. Photographing parades can be somewhat challenging, because just when you think you've framed the perfect shot someone stands up and either partially or completely blocks your shot. On the other hand parades can produce some very interesting and unique photographs.

Once you've decided to photograph a parade, the day before walk the route of the parade at the same time of day the parade will take place. This will allow you to look for spots you think would be a good location to shoot from. Also find where the parade begins and ends.

Walking the parade route gives you several advantages such as determining how the sun will effect your shots. Depending on the time of day the sun will be an important factor. Also it is a good idea to find where the parade begins and ends. Here you can find some very good candid shots and if you are photographing people you may need a model release. These are good locations to get the model release. One more thing, be mobile which brings us to our next consideration.

There are times you will be stationary but you must be able to move when necessary. Too much camera gear is just as bad as not having enough. So select the lenses and accessories you need and leave the rest at home or in your hotel room if you're traveling. I highly recommend at a minimum bring a tripod, a zoom lens (preferably 24-105mm), and a gadget bag. Two additional lenses to bring along are a 70-300mm and a 50mm f 1/8 which is good for low light situations. Also don't forget to bring 1 or 2 additional memory cards.

During the parade things will be moving and I've found that if your camera is equipped with the sports function it works pretty well with this setting. But, as always experiment with different settings because no one setting is perfect for the whole shoot.

Although this is brief and doesn't go in to detail about photography techniques it will be very helpful the next time you photograph a parade. Happy photographing and please share your thoughts and comments.