Scouting – Behind the Lens

GSLAC is fortunate to have 20 individuals dedicated to capturing scouts in action. Photographers attend events all over the Council to capture the mission of Scouting. You can find the team's photographs in the service centers, Council publications, Boy's Life, and Scouting Magazine.

The diverse selection of photographers and their backgrounds bring various perceptions to each event. No two photographers are equal, and each has a unique approach guaranteeing no two images are the same.

Photographers may capture an event on their own or work in a team. Events like the annual Council dinner and major campouts are often team events, where two to twenty photographers branch out across the event to capture the images of Scouting. We work as a team, capturing images assigned to various activities and areas across the site. Often the photographers trade activities and locations to get multiple images from multiple photographers. The photographers work hard to capture images that represent the mission of Scouting.

Photography is considered the art of capturing light, and today's digital SLRs have more than 20 settings that can affect the quality of the final image. The team leads reviews, edits, crops, corrects color, and adds keywords for each image. The Council uses over 300 keywords in 9 categories, and it's not unusual to assign ten or more keywords to a single photograph. Keywords provide a quick way to retrieve photos from the collection.

After each event, the images appear on the GSLAC Flickr account. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stlbsaphotos/albums

Here are a few guidelines while capturing scouting images:

• Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes; there's more interest in closeups than scene photos.
• See faces, expressions, eyes open
• Shoot action events and avoid posed photos.
• Seek out mentoring moments where older Scouts work and teach younger Scouts.
• Capture the emotion in a Scout's face.
• Snap the photo when a Scout is smiling or concentrating.
• Document the humor and fellowship between Scouts
• Be aware that Scouts come in all sizes and shapes and capture them all.
• Catch 2-3 scouts having a good time.
• Photograph Scouts in uniform or class B attire for visual recognition of the Scouting program.
• Capture adult volunteers diligently working to keep our Scouts safe.
• See interesting projects or activities
• Represent the true diversity in Scouting
• Get on their level

If you enjoy taking photographs and want to work on a team, please contact Bruce Levitt, BruceALevitt@gmail.com 314-348-3577.