FIRST Photography

[Joe Menassa]

Those are all some really great ideas.

I figure I would also try and answer my own questions and include my own pointers so that we can all benefit from this post.

One of my best spots to shoot from is at any of the four corners of the field. I find that these shots allow for a lot of different perspectives. Sometimes its cool to get the ref in the picture waving or throwing a flag and sometimes its nice to get the teems on the spectators side cheering.

As many of you said its a great idea to capture the excitement by simply by photographing people cheering and rejoicing. After a good win the high fives and hugs are when I usually snap a few extra pictures. Sometimes even the sad moments can have a deep impact in still form.

I find one of the best ways to translate fast paced action during a match it to make sure to get a human reaction in the same frame as the robots action. Although this is very difficult I always try and wait for the robot to get close to the player station. There, a lot of times the drivers will point or jump or clap or yell while the robot is about to do something. If two robots are about to ram each other by the player station you know coach is going to be yelling. That’s one of my favorite shots to get during a match.

The team photo is always a hassle. It really should be the easiest but it isn’t. I really have no advice for this.

The best way I find to make a robot look interesting to outsiders is to make them question what it is. I love showing really detailed photos of just the internal workings of the robot. Like a photo of just the wires running from all the speed controllers. Or just a photo of an elaborate mechanism. This makes the person ask "what’s this"? and when you tell them its a part of your robot they usually ask to see the whole thing.

In the sponsor book that I am making I am trying to put as many photos as I can of team members working with engineers. I think sponsors like seeing the teamwork. I will also make sure to put photos of the logos on robots and banners and all those free give aways with sponsor names on them.

During the build season I love taking photos of students working with engineers and mentors. I really believe this shows one of FIRST's most important aspects. I also like taking photos of the kit of parts completely dissected and tools everywhere- basically a complete mess. Then showing photos of the completed robot in the end makes people wonder how we did it all.

About a year ago I went completely digital. Although I still carry my Canon Rebel 2000 (35mm) I currently use a Canon EOS 20D. I use a quite a few lenses my favorites being the Canon EF 70-200 f4, Canon EF-S 17-85 F4-5.6 IS, and the Canon EF 50mm F1.8. I also use the Canon 580EX Speedlite and I process with Photoshop usually.