The first weekend in October is Homecoming at my alma mater. This is the first year I’ll be a graduate instead of a student, but I still won’t be attending as a guest – I’ll be there as a photographer.

I’ve photographed Homecoming for the past three years, while I was still a student. I even covered many of the same events from year to year – people have started to look for me at some of them, assuming that I’m just part of it. This year, however, the schedule has been changed up (and may be changed yet again before go-time – that’s the nature of these things).

So here’s what I’m scheduled for:

- alumni photos with the mascot

- an afternoon reception

It’s a light schedule, especially compared to past years where I’ve spent the entire day running around campus. But that doesn’t mean it will be a milk run. The first part, alumni photos with the mascot, is slated to last for several hours. How that goes will depend on the logistics of it, and since I don’t yet know the details, I’ll plan for both possibilities.

Option 1 is that the mascot will be stationary, probably with some sort of background, and the alumni will come to me. This would be the ideal approach, as it will let me setup one, possibly two, strobes and work in a stationary space.

Option 2 is that the mascot and I will be roaming, taking photos as we come upon alumni. This transient nature eliminates the stationary strobe setup; now I’m looking at on-camera flash bounced off a ceiling or wall – or if all else fails, mixed with ambient for a bit of fill.

The afternoon reception pretty much equates to a grip-and-grin. The real trick at events like this is to take a scene that is not very visually interesting and make it interesting – or at the very least, capture interesting moments. What I’m likely looking at is a large group of people at several tables, milling about, socializing, and of course the obligatory series of speakers at a podium.

Lighting via on-camera flash, bounced off the ceiling, is the quick standard here. But if I’m going to have the strobes and stands with me already, it might be worth it to set one up in each corner, aim it inward at the ceiling, and do some major light bouncing.

So what will I be taking?

- DSLR body (hopefully the 7D, but it probably won’t be in yet)

- Canon 28-135mm lens

- Canon 17-40mm lens

- Speedlite 430EX (for on-camera use)

- 3x Nikon SB-25 Speedlights (for off-camera use)

- associated light stands, umbrellas, etc

- wireless transmitter system

- lots of extra batteries for everything

- notebook & pen (for the all-important cutline info)

As gigs go, this one won’t be very complicated. Which means it should be all that much easier to concentrate on making excellent images, without having to worry about bizarre conditions or complex mixes of gear. Photos to follow soon!