Tom Daley out of his trunks and helping out

[JR1]

I was shooting Plymouth Cats Protection fundraising and helping out when TD came to do some shopping

[rpcrowe]

Hi Jeremy...

Congratulations and thanks for working with an animal protection group. Shots of volunteers (especially with well known people) are great both for publicity and for the morale of the volunteers. That is one area in which I had been lacking, early on, in my working with Maltese Rescue California but, now I make every effort to photograph the setup and the volunteers at our rescue events. I try to do this as soon as we set up because our volunteers are usually quite busy during the event. Also, folks tend to place drink containers and other annoying things on the table as the day progresses.

I have two suggestions regarding your image:

1. Fill flash (if you have that capability) usually contributes to a good image; especially when the image is backlit or partially backlit. I will use an on-camera hotshoe flash with a diffuser. Having a flash with HSS capability is nice because then I can use a wide f/stop (with correspondingly faster shutter speed) for selective depth of field. However, although you don't have HSS capability and the power of the flash is rather limited, the camera pop-up flash can help a bit...

2. The background is fairly busy. Obviously, you don't have the choice of there the setup is located but, if your camera has the capability to change apertures, shooting with a wider aperture could blur the busy background somewhat. Alternately, shooting from either a lower angle or a higher angle might minimize the background and or maximize the volunteers and the goodies on the table.

If your organization does many of these type events, a table cover with the organizations name and logo draped over the table with the name and logo facing outward is a great addition to any event. At least here in the USA, this type of table cover is not terribly expensive.

We have table covers than drape down on all four sides of the table with a zipper opening in the back. This provides a "relatively secure" place to store things like the volunteer's purses. At least these items are not out in full view.

Best of luck with your rescue efforts...

I see that you use a donation jar with a identifying label and a slot cut in the top as a way to gain a bit of extra money. We have had more success in getting donations by using a clear plastic jar. In fact, recently we have used a commercially available plastic donation holder. I always "salt" the donations with a few coins and several bills. This seems to get the idea across and seems to increase our donations...

[JR1]

It was a one off outside pets are us, he just walked in, my son grabbed him, he was with his mother, unfortunately I only had a point and shoot with me at the time, is that sods law or what

Thanks

[rpcrowe]

Jeremy...

The best camera is the one you have with you!