I just completed my second day of training. In the morning we talked about shooting the restaurant/formal nights, looked at a bunch of examples, and then practiced with the group. With 6 or 7 people around each table, we took turns being the photographer and photographing the 'guests' in singles (just the ladies), couples, families and a group shot of the whole table. We were shown how to approach, what to say, how to pose them, the composition and looking for small details (such as moving the plates and glasses aside so that they don't end up in the photo). After that we took a break for lunch and a bunch of people from Image head office here in Miami came to meet us. After lunch we had to do presentations in pairs where we introduced the other person. I volunteered first just to get it over with, because it was so nerve-wracking! I think I did well, but I kind of rushed and left a few things out, whereas my partner went into great details. We had to do these presentations in front of the VP, COO, Operational Manager, Recruiting Manager and our 2 training instructors!
After that was done we went outside to finish shooting/practicing the Gangway (when the guests get off the ship at a port, you take their picture in front of the ship (or in our case, a gate with a life preserver attached) that bares the name of the cruise ship. (I tried to find a photo as an example but couldn't find any! Use your imagination) You do this at every port, any time the guest disembark. imagine thousands of people leaving the ship at the same time and all coming at you. One person's job is to be loud and get people's attention to guide them to have their picture taken, and then one person's job is to take the pictures (and sometimes someone will dress up in a costume to pose with the guest, think pirate or a full body furry dolphin!). So we practiced doing this yesterday, but not everyone got a chance to do it, so we finished today. UGH! it took 2 hours today, and probably 2 hours yesterday. The rest of us acted like guests and posed for the pictures. I must have been photographed at least a hundred times, if not more! It's very exhausting smiling and posing hahah. We had to pretend we were couples, families and groups. Once we had our picture taken we moved to the back of the line and kept doing this for 2 hours!
Finally after that was done, we moved on to the mobile portrait studio. Learning all the equipment and how to set it all up (backdrops with autopoles, light stands, etc.) We are going to practice setting it up tomorrow and then do some shooting (which I hope goes quicker than it did today). We are also learning about the cameras we will be using (you would think they would show us that first!).
The weather has been warm and fantastic (maybe a bit too hot even? especially all that gangway shooting outside! the hotel is air conditioned). I haven't really been able to see much outside of the hotel, besides the gas station where I bought my calling card (& beer!) and the restaurant we all went to yesterday. But today we will venture out, I don't know where yet (probably the mall). I'll let you know how that goes later.
Edit (22:58): We waited for a taxi to come pick up all 16 of us, but only one van cab came. The rest of us waited nearly 40 minutes until we asked the airport shuttle guy (who was just sitting inside the lobby) to take us there for $20. He agreed. The funny thing is that there is a shuttle that goes to the mall, but it stops running at 5! By the time we got there we only had a little more than an hour to shop. We split into smaller groups and decided to meet when the mall closed. This mall is gigantic! It's called Dolphin Mall, and it's partially outside! i got a pair of light turquoise framed sunglasses & an anchor necklace (both from Forever 21). Not that I really need either things (I brought 2 pairs of sunglasses but I'm afraid I'll break them, and you really need sunglasses here all the time), but they were cheap.
I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. I haven't really taken that many, to be honest, because the area our hotel is in is not that nice (right next to the airport with planes flying right over it constantly) and also because all day (9am-6pm) I'm busy with training.
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