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Ribbon Cutting Event with Mayor Bill Foster at Office Depot

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St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster (3rd from left) helps with a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Office Depot on 34th Street NOn Tuesday I was able to continue my great photography relationship with Office Depot in St. Petersburg by photographing a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new store on 34th Street North.  This was also another chance to photograph St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster helping cut the ribbon on a new local business.  I am starting to get familiar with who in the local government attends these events, like Council Chair Leslie Curran (4th from right) and Council Member Bill Dudley (5th from right).  

Office Depot handed out "big checks" to several local non-profit groups and donated 200 backpacks for school children.After I photographed my first Office Depot event in December I realized how a large corporation like Office Depot actually reaches out to be a helpful member of the local community by investing in local non-profits through donations of both cash and goods.  They continued this custom handing out three more checks and 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to be given to local school children.  Being able to photograph and be a part of an event like this is a satisfying experience.  Office Depot has earned my business, which is mostly the purchase of printer ink, but still, in my mind through their charity work they have established a very positive image.  It was also my second time to meet some of the regional management and they remembered me as well.  I hope to continue to be able to photograph future Office Depot events showcasing their community work and new stores.

Office Depot Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Event St. Petersburg Florida

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Event for a new Office Depot location in St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 800 1/60th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerI have a new respect for Office Depot after photographing their ribbon cutting ceremony for their new location on 40th Ave NE in St. Petersburg.  Not only did they help support a local business by hiring me to photograph the event, they also took this opportunity to give to local businesses doing community work.

Nothing like being handed a big check! Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 800 1/60th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerPhotographing an event like this is pretty straight forward and I was provided an excellent shot list and agenda by the home office.  When big checks are in shots, they can tend to act like reflectors and being more blown out than any other subject in the shot.  I balanced the exposure of the check itself in the above shop by selecting just the check in Photoshop CS5 and then adjusting the highlights until it matched more with the rest of the image.  This also makes the red in the check look a more true, deep red instead of a light pinkish red.

St. Pete TV was there filming the event and interviewing Office Depot managers and other VIPsI really like photographing ribbon cutting events because the atmosphere is celebratory, I am always trying to top my previous ribbon cutting action shots and there are often great cookies or other treats up for grabs.  I look forward to continuing my business relationship with Office Depot and using them as a customer for my printer ink needs as they are located very close to my neighborhood.