Toys For Shots (doubling as training for wedding rehearsals)

Last night was the 9th annual Toys For Shots event put on by my friend Dan Vega and three of his closest friends. In collaboration with the U.S. Marines, the event seeks to collect toys for needy families to be able to give their kids on Christmas. It's a fantastic event, and I highly encourage you to check it out next year and donate if you can.

I was lucky enough to photograph this event for my second year, and this time by myself. Last year I was a second photographer, so I didn't have a lot of chances to do step-and-repeat photos, but rather walked around and captured candid or posed photos here and there. Lots of fun, but I was glad I got to do it all in this event, studio lighting and all. Having a quality studio light is the best thing ever, because it makes it super easy to get the photos right out of the camera and basically need no post editing work, unless you miss the exposure. But once you got your settings, there's really no reason to change them.

The event had tons of dancing and exchanges between people that made me have to move from step-and-repeat to a hand-held flash. I'd have to switch from the 55mm to the 25mm to do nice shots of dancing crowds as well, which added another challenge. The reason I like doing these event so much is that they're very relaxed and they allow me to hone down my technique of switching lenses and lighting methods on the fly. I figured out a few do's and don'ts last night, to say the least. Anyway, I'll keep myself from getting too wordy on the technical stuff and just share some photos that hopefully encapsulate what an amazing time we had last night. Thank you again, Dan Vega, for letting me capture these moments. You and your entourage are doing an amazing job helping families give their kids some moments of happiness.

To see the entire collection, click here