PURPOSE

WE BELIEVE IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN US
We are a team of photographers dedicated to telling the story of the church through social media and photography.

We are here to capture what God is doing in our Local Church to inspire the global Church & reflect Jesus to the world

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds & glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

EVENT SHOTLIST

Use this is a guide of the photos we are looking for, but don’t let this become a routine and reduce shooting photos down to a number, stay fresh and capture the breadth of the event.

EVERY WEEKEND/EVENT CAPTURE

+ 4 shots of worship

+ 3 shots of worship team / band

+ 3 shots of people worshipping (hands in the air, etc)

+ 4 wide shots of the room

+ 4 shots of preaching (2 close ups /2 wide)

+ 2 shots of MC (1 close / 1 wide)

+ 2 shots of baptisms (actual baptism or behind the scenes)

+ 4 shots of Kids Ministry

+ 6 shots of what the team caught (car park, hosts, prayer meetings, rally)

+ 2 shots of dream team (serving, engaging guests)

+ 4 shots of behind the scenes (production team, guest services, etc)

EDITING STYLE

It’s important for our culture that the photos taken at TFH have the same look and feel. The TFH style of editing is a natural saturated look, that focuses more on boosting exposure and contrast while cutting highlights where necessary. This would be more of a “rule of thumb” for edits depending on the photo. Do not over-stylize or un-saturate photos as your only submission.

Start photo edits with TFH Starting preset, main adjustments should be in lighting (exposure, highlights, low lights, whites, and blacks)

WHAT WEEKENDS LOOK LIKE

SUNDAY
815….Photographer Call Time (check in with Producer grab a production Pass from Control Room)
830….Grab shots of guests hanging out pre-service
900….Capture service (worship, baptism, mid service, first 3-5m of sermon)
1020….Capture people hanging and conversing outside
1100….Capture more worship as needed, or grab a couple shots of discover
1130….Try and start editing
1215….Editing complete

+ Arrive at church for all team Rally (Sat 515p, Sun 815a)

+ Check in with Producer in the Control Room

+ Grab a Production Pass
Production passes are located in the control room
Photographers will be stopped by photo team if they are not wearing badges.

+ Set Proper White Balance
VV auditorium color temp: 5600k

+ Take Photos

+ Edit Photos in Lightroom on church or personal system
Photos must have lens correction profile applied.
TFH starting preset will be sent out to team mates who need it.

+ Export Photos (.jpg)
Export photos (jpg) with metadata. (in Lightroom classic this is a selectable item)

Click on the photos below to see exif info on camera, lens, iso, shutter, iris.

SPEAKING SHOTS

BUILDING SHOTS

WHAT TO SHOOT?

How do I decide my next shot and where do I need to be to get it?

Know the program & venue. The first two songs of worship are usually fast and energetic songs. Making educated guesses based on your knowledge of the program and the venue can mean the difference between mediocre photos and a fantastic ones.

Check out past photos. Looking at past photos on Hillsong sites, such as Facebook pages and Hillsong Live site, will give you an idea of the shooting conditions, lighting design and even the behaviour of your subject. Once armed with this information, you can go in with an idea of what photographs to take and where you need to be to take them.

Stay open-minded. Even if you go in with a well-informed plan, it is extremely important to remain open-minded and creative while shooting. Reducing the art of photography to a checklist of techniques and shots (like the ones listed here) will quickly leave you jaded and your work mediocre.

Ask yourself questions. A lot of the best photos in live event photography are made of the combination of luck and skill. Some photographers visualize the next photo and choose the right settings and lens to create it. What we usually see is a series of photos with one image that illustrates a personal artistic vision better than the others. When you look at a series of photographs, which would you choose? Why is it better than the others? Asking and answering these questions of your own work will define your photographic style.

A FEW MORE TIPS

Make a mental shoot list. Make a list of WHAT to shoot, not HOW to shoot it. This means nothing gets missed and you will have more time to keep an eye out for great photo opportunities and moments. The more prepared you are, the more you can deviate from your list.

Anticipate the moment. Often there are only a few seconds to capture what is happening, so look at all possibilities. Not only for light and composition, but for things to photograph as well. Details can also be im- portant to tell the story of the moment or send the right message

Be prepared. You don’t want to be changing batteries and memory cards when a spontaneous moment is unfolding. If you’re not prepared, the moment will pass you by.

Look ahead. Looking ahead for a great shot about to unfold can ensure a better image. For example: During church news, move to your next position for shooting what is coming up next on stage.

Know the conditions. Knowing location and lighting conditions will help you to pre-visualise the event.

FOCUSING

Getting in-focus photographs during worship time can be difficult. To be successful, you need to master the autofocus characteristics of your camera and lenses.

The lighting during sessions can be simultaneously elaborate and low light, wreaking havoc on your camera’s ability to correctly judge focus. Autofocusing errors can lead to completely out-of-focus photos, as well as instances when the camera focuses on something other than you intend (like a microphone stand). Both kinds of focusing issues can be minimized with basic knowledge regarding how your camera decides what to focus on.

In general, cameras focus on the area of highest contrast under the active autofocus point. What they don’t tell you in the manual is that the actual area covered by each of autofocus sensors is much larger than it ap- pears in your viewfinder. Even if you have autofocus pointed directly over the eye of your subject, the camera may still focus on the mic stand if your subject is low in contrast.

TIPS

Don’t place the head of the microphone in between you and your subject (you also get a covered face). • Focus on a high contrast feature of your subject’s face such as the eyes, eyebrow or hairline.

Use the center autofocus point of your camera (it’s the most accurate).

MYTHS

I don’t have good gear

Don’t wait for that perfect ‘Photography Course’ or the perfect camera. Just start taking photos, frequently. If possible, surround yourself with other photographers that are further along in their craft than you. You’ll pick up a lot from other people, and it’s always better to do things together. Even if you only have one lens, find a way to make the one lens look different from shot to shot. Click below to see different shots with different lens types.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO SERVE

Scheduling

Weekends: At least one photographer per weekend, either Saturday or Sunday
Conferences: Usually 3-4 Photographers per conference per day.
Special Events (i.e. Intern graduation, kids camp, mens/women’s events, etc): At least 1-2 photographers for these type events.

TFH Production issues a quarterly schedule for all team members (Feb-Apr, May-July, Aug-Oct, Nov-Jan). The schedule will be placed on Planning Center Online (PCO). This will give team members access to view run sheets for the weekend.

Production admin will setup accounts for team members.

Where Do i park?

Weekends: For weekend services you are welcome to park in the VIP lot back stage in a “non-reserved” un marked spot or in the cul-de-sac.
Conferences/Events: For conferences and events, parking will be in the main lot.

SHOTLIST

EVERY WEEKEND/EVENT CAPTURE

Weekly Process

+ Arrive at church for all team Rally (Sat 500p, Sun 800a)

+ Check in with Producer in the control room

+ Grab a Production Pass

+ Worship/Production team huddle in Green room (Sat 520, Sunday Morning 820)
Teams go over the details of the run sheet, would be beneficial for photography team members to know if there are special moments in the service that would need to be captured

+ Set Proper White Balance VV auditorium color temp is 5600k

+ Take Photos

+ Edit Photos in Lightroom or Photos app
Go through and make minor adjustments to ensure all photos look natural. Any stylized edits must also come with a “natural” edit also.

+ Apply lens profile correction

+ Upload ASAP after service