You Only Get One Shot

As I’ve previously said, I enjoy shooting in manual mode. The satisfaction of shooting photographs without a safety net is indispensable. Having said that, certain situations require me to be more precise in adjusting my camera’s settings. Shooting strangers is a good example; they may not have the patience to pose multiple times while I tweak these settings to optimal values.

Consider Saturday night’s shoot at PFL 39. After the fights were over, I asked a few of the fighters to pose for photographs. I got a few good photos, but only after unfocused first attempts. In that regard, I must thank PFL Commissioner Stacey Case, Shady Godiva, Bobbi Pinn and TV Starr for their patience and understanding as I adjusted my focus for their second shots. I must also thank them (along with Dinah Mite) for letting me photograph them in the first place.

Furthermore, in the case of Case and Pinn, I forgot to turn on my flash for my first attempt at capturing them. On my second try, I got the shot I wanted, but it was a little bit dark when I reviewed it at home. Ergo, I tweaked the lighting a little bit in Photoshop Elements and ended up with this final product.



Overall, this was a challenging but ridiculously fun shoot. I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot another Pillow Fight League event, if only to photograph fighters I didn’t see on Saturday (like Olivia Neutron-Bomb).