Event photography doesn’t come much bigger than the Monarch’s Coronation.
May has been an incredible month. Jam-packed with an amazing variety of corporate and editorial assignments. The highlight of the month was photographing the King’s Coronation. It was a great honour to be selected as one of the few ROTA photographers actually inside Westminster Abbey. Thank you The Daily Telegraph for commissioning me and Buckingham Palace for selecting me as one of the few photographers positioned inside. I was selected for the West Door Platform position looking directly into the Nave.
Planning ahead of the big occasion
As with all big events, it’s always important to plan ahead. Because of the security involved with this historic event, I was unable to visit my position to calculate what lenses would be required. Therefore everything I could possibly carry was essential. The position I was allocated had a multitude of possible shots. Guests arriving, the build-up of musicians and choristers entering their positions, then the Royals and World Leaders and politicians entering the Abbey, and finally, King Charles III and Queen Camilla Consort arriving ahead of the two-hour ceremony. Then after the ceremony the big shot of the King’s procession coming towards me exiting the Abbey.
Choosing the correct lens
On the morning I was required to meet Palace officials to access my position at 6.45 am at s security rendezvous point. Once through this, I had to climb up a two-ladder scaffolding platform to access my position. It was quite a climb with all the camera equipment I decided on taking. Although the Palace requested we took as little equipment as possible, there was no way I was going to regret not having enough lenses to get the best shot. I carried a backpack containing RF15-35mm f 2.8, RF 24-70mm f 2.8, EF 70-200mm f 2.8, then over my shoulders a EF 300mm f 2.8 + 1.4 converter, RF 600mm f 4 + 1.4 converter, and then 2 x Canon R5 Mirrorless cameras, not forgetting my monopod. Then there was the wait until guests arrived for the 11.00am ceremony.
The shot
Once the Coronation Ceremony came to a climax, the moment arrived when King Charles III would come down the Abbey towards my position wearing the crown. For this photograph I chose the Canon RF 600mm for the initial shot, quickly changing to my second body giving me enough time to shoot a looser picture on my second Canon R5 body with 70-200mm f 2.8. My final shot was a quick lens change for a final wide shot using my Canon R5 with 15-35 f 2.8 mm. The picture I’ve included for this post was shot on the Canon RF 600mm f 4 lens. An amazing lens, razor sharp and light enough to be carried up two flights of scaffolding!
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