If you would like to develop your skills for event photography, an ideal opportunity would be photographing for SNAP (now SNAPD) Community Newspaper. SNAPD is a franchise business ascribed to various communities across Canada and along the North-eastern U.S. seaboard. Photographers cover local community events and two or three photos along with a write-up for each event are published in a monthly newspaper printed on white, heavier-than-typical newsprint. Along with the published events are ads primarily for local businesses. The newspaper is free and distributed in boxes and local businesses throughout the community.

The magic of the business is that people would seek out the free monthly newspaper to see themselves in print or at least see the event they attended and perhaps neighbours and friends in the photos, if not themselves. Reading the paper, one would have a comprehensive view of local activity in the community the previous month. And of course they'd see the ads, ads given the value of the positive and local community spirit represented in the images and write-ups.

SNAP's idea was to have photos of people looking into the camera and smiling. Photos of people in context weren't expected; for one, the printed photographs were small. And second, smiling faces readily get the readers' attention and the smiling helped promote a positive expectation for the products and services displayed in the ads.

SNAP gave me unparalleled experience. I could choose what events I wished to cover and so fit the shooting into my personal schedule. The range of events available was from a small group in the back of a craft store working on scrapbooking on Saturday morning to weekend-long arts festivals.

The experience was invaluable as shooting practice, as I had only about ten photos to get, two or three which went into the paper - not a lot of pressure. However, with access to the event, I was able to develop my skill and shoot images I got excited about. How else was I to practice on people, especially children? One can't just walk around taking pictures of people, street photography becoming an increasingly difficult pursuit.

I treated each shoot, even if a simple store opening that could be covered in 15 minutes, as if I was on a National Geographic assignment. National Geographic does not accept failure; you cannot fail your National Geographic assignment. So I could give myself a high standard to apply professional standards yet in the end, any failure I had was of little consequence but was an exceptional learning experience.

SNAP wasn't all that particular about quality of image. They processed all photographs from all different photographers in all different kinds of light and light quality with one photoshop action! I always felt it was intentional that the ads looked so much better than the content.It didn’t bother me how the photos looked in print. I made sure my own files were of the highest standard. SNAP also was an opportunity to refine post-production skills even if it had no bearing on the published work.

It wasn't seeing one's photos in print that was the benefit of the experience but the practice shooting. I learned to organize my equipment, everything kept in the same place all the time. I learned to evaluate light finding weird colours in my images from all the mixed light and so learning to manage that. I learned to see light, where it was coming from, how to use it. Flash is essential for event photography because many times light is not ideal. Flash photography is difficult to manage. I got lots of practice making lots of mistakes, experience that is essential to controlling flash well and providing quality images for a client. I learned how to pack gear so as to manage the weight, ensure I didn’t forget anything and find what I needed quickly. I learned what gear I liked to work with, what gear got the job done. All trial and error, study and practice. I made the most of this opportunity that I haven’t always in prior life. No matter how insignificant the event, I made sure to present myself professionally, establish good rapport with host and subjects and be respectful of and true to the activity I was covering.

I am so grateful for all the experience. Because of it, I can confidently offer my services for hire. I can deliver quality images for my clients, give them more than they might expect in fact. I couldn't have learned about my camera equipment, understood getting good exposure, controlling flash exposure, engaging subjects, and managing a shoot efficiently without the opportunity of hours and hours shooting for SNAP.

While the last point I make, it really is the most significant for why the SNAP work was so wonderful and that is the people I shared that time with. Management was incredible, really supportive and encouraging. My colleague photographers were highly skilled and exceptionally nice people I could learn from and still count as friends.

I and my photography owe a lot to SNAP.

Below are selects from each year's events, images I like. The ones I really like are at the top in a selection called Selects. My preference is for images that somehow catch the human spirit at play, a look in the eyes, a gesture of body language, a telling composition. Some of the images I value for myself are the typical SNAP look of people facing into the camera, but the goal I worked on is to capture a moment, a telling expression, a suggestion behind the eyes and in the body language that something else was going on, something more, something human.

I feel the most value for these photos will be appreciated in the future. At some time the hairstyles and the clothes and the demeanor seen in the images will be of a time past and for that will acquire a look of the exotic. The photos will be a future window into another age, a different social order and preoccupation. I hope the images are good enough not only for historical interest, but also be a recognizable expression of humanity, something not only about this time and neighbourhood, but something in them that’s universally human, reveals the beauty and commonness of who we are, social animals that we are.

Thank you to SNAP for all it has given me.