Often I have trouble deciding what to photograph. The inspiration just doesn’t come to me. A good idea trick I use to get those creative juices flowing is this: come up with a theme and shoot as many photos as you can that relate to it. I’ll give you an example:
Recently I was walking in my neighbourhood when I saw a boarded up old house. It had obviously been like this for many years and it gave me a theme for some photographs. Now the theme I took from this old place was dilapidation, ie. things slowly falling apart. But I could just as easily have chosen a theme of old houses, or empty houses, or boarded up houses.
So once I had picked a theme I needed to brainstorm as many ideas as I could that related to it:
* boarded up houses
* empty stores
* rusting car wrecks
* broken computers
* rotting fruit
Now I had a list of things to photograph, see how this works? It’s really just a tool to get your mind thinking about things differently. How about another example: dogs. How many things can you photograph that relate to dogs?
* someone walking their dog (d’uh!)
* dog running in the park
* a dog in someones yard
* a guard dog at a business
* the local police dog
* a dog bowl
* dog food
* the dogs leash hanging by the front door
* a dog house in the backyard
* pawprints on the beach
These lists can become really huge! But it’s a great way to come up with interesting new angles to look at things. These lists could really be about anything, you could do a set of themed photos about your partner or kids. Photos of them at home, work and play could make a great present for their next birthday or Christmas.
So how many themes can you think of? Start brainstorming now…
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Videographers Could Learn A Thing From Photography
Wedding photographers and videographers are often the center of a love/hate relationship. Perhaps it’s their shooting mentality, ego, or business interests. As a videographer I find this unfortunate because photography is a very powerful medium that can be used for video production. Some of my best work resulted from a combination of photographs and video. In fact, I don’t even need to be a great photographer to still come up with a great edit. Let me explain …
First of all, a great wedding video incorporates a compelling and entertaining story. After all, this is why they hired you. Pictures are a very powerful tool for a professionally edited video.
This past month, I filmed a bridal shower for a dear friend. Now I could’ve taken the easy way and layered down a track of music and some simple editing. No thanks. While I was shooting, I gathered as many of her closest friends/family as possible and sat them down for quick interviews. This was all part of my game plan for creating a masterful edit. Once I had all my assets digitized, it was time to get to work. First step, I carefully selected music that fit her personality without dominating my interview audio tracks. Attention is required that your music choices do not conflict with the freq range of your voiceovers or your resulting mix will sound mushy.
For the opening of my video, I began with wide angle establishing shot . As I transitioned into the first interview I cut away to photographs that depict what my subject was talking about. In other words, the photographs followed the context of the interview. This creates a seamless edit that is coherent yet emotional and interesting. Most importantly, our goal is achieved and we‘ve created a great video.
This approach is often seen in documentaries and is an established form of filmmaking. Now, I could’ve had cut to b-roll footage instead. However, for the sake of weddings there is something more magical and emotional when your looking at a great photograph. For the videographer, photographs are a great tool to add to your editing and production arsenal.
First of all, a great wedding video incorporates a compelling and entertaining story. After all, this is why they hired you. Pictures are a very powerful tool for a professionally edited video.
This past month, I filmed a bridal shower for a dear friend. Now I could’ve taken the easy way and layered down a track of music and some simple editing. No thanks. While I was shooting, I gathered as many of her closest friends/family as possible and sat them down for quick interviews. This was all part of my game plan for creating a masterful edit. Once I had all my assets digitized, it was time to get to work. First step, I carefully selected music that fit her personality without dominating my interview audio tracks. Attention is required that your music choices do not conflict with the freq range of your voiceovers or your resulting mix will sound mushy.
For the opening of my video, I began with wide angle establishing shot . As I transitioned into the first interview I cut away to photographs that depict what my subject was talking about. In other words, the photographs followed the context of the interview. This creates a seamless edit that is coherent yet emotional and interesting. Most importantly, our goal is achieved and we‘ve created a great video.
This approach is often seen in documentaries and is an established form of filmmaking. Now, I could’ve had cut to b-roll footage instead. However, for the sake of weddings there is something more magical and emotional when your looking at a great photograph. For the videographer, photographs are a great tool to add to your editing and production arsenal.
Mastering Photography – How to Take Your Pictures to the Next Level
When you’ve taken a few pictures and gotten a few compliments on your abilities, it’s only natural to want to do more with your camera. But unless you’re a professional, you might not know where to begin. If you’re not looking to create a career out of photography, but you are looking to take your pictures to the next level, you need to follow these three simple tips.
Taking more pictures is the best way to start increasing your photo taking abilities. The more pictures you take, the more you will learn about how to compose a picture and how to create a beautiful result. Try taking pictures of everything around you, even bringing the camera with you during the day. Take pictures of nature and take pictures of architecture to see what works and what doesn’t. When you get the photos back or you upload them to your computer, look at the pictures to see what worked and what did not. Make mental notes of what you could have done better with each picture. If you can, go back and try to take the picture again if you want to improve it.
Experience is really the best teacher for your picture taking. The more you try to take pictures, the better you will innately become – even if it doesn’t seem like you’re trying. Here are some quick tips that you can use when you are taking more pictures:
Think about how you are centering your subjects in the frame
Think about trying off center subjects, like bridges, for example to see what they look like
Think about the surrounding you are capturing as well as the main subject
Try different lightings
Try going in close to a subject and then taking it from far away and then zooming in
The second step to improving your pictures is a simple one that many of us just simply do not think to do – read your camera manual. Even if you don’t have a digital camera with a million different functions, this manual is often the key to creating better pictures with minimal effort. Read the manual to see what advice it can give you as well as what other functions your camera might have that you didn’t know it had. For example, on many digital cameras, there is a function for taking close up pictures of flowers, but many people don’t realize this.
Sit down for an afternoon and read the manual and then try out what you find in the pages. You might find that you have been using the wrong film or that there are other settings that might have made the picture better. In any case, you need to find out what your camera can do before you can do more with it.
And finally, taking your picture taking to the next level is usually a matter of purchasing a better camera. Digital SLR cameras are the latest rage for camera hobbyists and professionals, but simply upgrading to a camera with a higher megapixel range can also offer you more clarity in your shots. If you have a standard film camera, you might want to experiment with lenses and different grades of film to see if you can increase your photo quality.
You might also want to consider taking a local class in photography. Often community centers will offer these classes on a regular basis, and they can help you network with other photography lovers as well as learn how to use your camera more effectively.
In the end, improving your camera skills is really a matter of experience and a matter of having the best equipment you can afford. After that, you just need to be out there taking more pictures to improve your chances of that winning shot.
Taking more pictures is the best way to start increasing your photo taking abilities. The more pictures you take, the more you will learn about how to compose a picture and how to create a beautiful result. Try taking pictures of everything around you, even bringing the camera with you during the day. Take pictures of nature and take pictures of architecture to see what works and what doesn’t. When you get the photos back or you upload them to your computer, look at the pictures to see what worked and what did not. Make mental notes of what you could have done better with each picture. If you can, go back and try to take the picture again if you want to improve it.
Experience is really the best teacher for your picture taking. The more you try to take pictures, the better you will innately become – even if it doesn’t seem like you’re trying. Here are some quick tips that you can use when you are taking more pictures:
Think about how you are centering your subjects in the frame
Think about trying off center subjects, like bridges, for example to see what they look like
Think about the surrounding you are capturing as well as the main subject
Try different lightings
Try going in close to a subject and then taking it from far away and then zooming in
The second step to improving your pictures is a simple one that many of us just simply do not think to do – read your camera manual. Even if you don’t have a digital camera with a million different functions, this manual is often the key to creating better pictures with minimal effort. Read the manual to see what advice it can give you as well as what other functions your camera might have that you didn’t know it had. For example, on many digital cameras, there is a function for taking close up pictures of flowers, but many people don’t realize this.
Sit down for an afternoon and read the manual and then try out what you find in the pages. You might find that you have been using the wrong film or that there are other settings that might have made the picture better. In any case, you need to find out what your camera can do before you can do more with it.
And finally, taking your picture taking to the next level is usually a matter of purchasing a better camera. Digital SLR cameras are the latest rage for camera hobbyists and professionals, but simply upgrading to a camera with a higher megapixel range can also offer you more clarity in your shots. If you have a standard film camera, you might want to experiment with lenses and different grades of film to see if you can increase your photo quality.
You might also want to consider taking a local class in photography. Often community centers will offer these classes on a regular basis, and they can help you network with other photography lovers as well as learn how to use your camera more effectively.
In the end, improving your camera skills is really a matter of experience and a matter of having the best equipment you can afford. After that, you just need to be out there taking more pictures to improve your chances of that winning shot.
Candid Street Photography
Street photography is very different from controlled, pre-meditated outdoor photography or studio photography for that matter. When you photograph candid subjects on the streets, you do not have all the time in the world to plan and execute a shot. Street photography is a rewarding past time, as you photograph and capture a moment of real life on your camera. Every street and candid image has a memory attached to it – the city street you were in, the mood at the moment subjectively and objectively, the mood of the people around you, the incidents before and after the image was photograph all make a candid photograph an imprint on the photographer’s memory, and on the memory of the audience that sees the image. Photojournalists all over the world roam the streets of their cities in search of that image that could tell a whole story. A photograph does speak a thousand words doesn’t it? Or at least so it should be where street photography is concerned. How many images can you remember about a famous event? Remember the photograph of a boy kneeling down beside JF Kennedy just after he was shot? US troops raising their country’s flag on Iwogima as a symbol of victory? The ‘Afghan Girl’ photograph from National Geographic? A sailor kissing a nurse after WWII ended? All these images have become imprinted on people’s minds as symbolic of the whole events that they were used to describe. That’s what a good journalistic photograph is all about, and that’s what you hope to capture when you go outdoors with the purpose of capturing a lively moment.
Working as a journalistic photographer, however may not always be as exciting as the above paragraph may lead one to believe. We don’t mean to discourage anybody, but do understand that you cannot start off at the top of the rung! As with any other form of photography, one may need to assist an established professional for many months before he or she is handed the responsibility of photographing an important event by the editor! Also, the competition is fierce…it is all very well to read success stories of levi-clad photographers “camera-slung-around-the-neck” and making it big in LIFE magazine, but those were the days when photojournalism was just being given shape as an important part of news reporting as we know it today. That is not to say those photographers just got lucky breaks. On the contrary, they were giving shape to something that we follow today, and making a path as we all know, is much more of a job than following in one! If you want to truly be a photojournalist, you and are sure you do not want to be anything else, we believe that’s half the battle won!!!
Working as a journalistic photographer, however may not always be as exciting as the above paragraph may lead one to believe. We don’t mean to discourage anybody, but do understand that you cannot start off at the top of the rung! As with any other form of photography, one may need to assist an established professional for many months before he or she is handed the responsibility of photographing an important event by the editor! Also, the competition is fierce…it is all very well to read success stories of levi-clad photographers “camera-slung-around-the-neck” and making it big in LIFE magazine, but those were the days when photojournalism was just being given shape as an important part of news reporting as we know it today. That is not to say those photographers just got lucky breaks. On the contrary, they were giving shape to something that we follow today, and making a path as we all know, is much more of a job than following in one! If you want to truly be a photojournalist, you and are sure you do not want to be anything else, we believe that’s half the battle won!!!
Just the Right Angle – A Photographic Perspective
While in Korea I learned that sometimes the best way to take a picture is to look like you’re not taking a picture. With today’s digital cameras that have LCD viewing screens that can twist, turn, or flip so that you can view the image at almost any angle it would have been much easier. At the time I did not have that privilege, so I was focusing by estimating distance. The average non-photographer assumes that if you don’t have the camera up to your eye then you can’t be taking a picture. People tend to relax, and you get more natural results.
When shooting pictures in a crowded area there are two angles that many photographers over look. The first is the waist level shot which we just mentioned above. The second involves putting your camera on a mono pod, using your self timer, and lifting your camera as far above the crowd as you can. This “bird’s eye view” can often have interesting results.
When you are taking picture of a subject with a lot of straight lines, like someone against a wall or a fence for example, turn the camera itself at a 45 degree angle. Remember, straight lines tend to be boring. Diagonal lines on the other hand, are much more dramatic and will lead your eyes right to the subject.
If you are shooting a public event, like a wedding, it is always good to ask in advance, “Is there any location you do not want me to shoot from?” In most cases they will have no objection, and legally this helps protect you later on. Some of the best shots are usually found at some of the most unusual angles. Taking pictures from behind the minister and looking towards the couple as they take their vows for example. Most people attending will only get shots of the back of their heads at this point.
If you want to make something look larger than life and much more dramatic, try laying on your back and shooting straight up. Sometimes, it doesn’t need to be that dramatic and standing on a step or getting down on one knee can make all the difference in the world.
The point of finding the right angle is not to be different for difference sake. The point is to find the angle that gives you the greatest insight to your subject. The right angle can be dramatic; the wrong angle can be boring. Often when you are looking for the perfect angle, you are looking for the angle that has the least distractions in the background. There is no set right or wrong for any given photo, that’s where creativity becomes a factor.
Earlier I mentioned the “Bird’s Eye View”, don’t be in such a rush that you forget the other side of the scale as well. Every day; millions of people, photographers and non photographers alike walk over, by, or around spectacular shots. What I am referring to is the “Worm’s Eye View”.
Let’s say you are walking through a National Park and you glance down. If you see a mushroom from the very top, you basically see a round dot. If you get down on one knee, you get to see the shape of the overall dome and the stem. But . . . if you lay down and shoot up into the mushroom all of the sudden you see the dome, the stem, the fins that make up the dome, the contrast between the fins and the rest of the dome, and in some cases you see the life that takes shelter under the dome as well.
Obviously, I’m not saying you have to lay in the dirt for every single shot you take. What I am saying is that you as the photographer have to constantly be on the look out for what most other people miss. This is one of the many skills that you have to master to be considered a real photographer. The difference between us and them is not big or tall, black or white, male or female . . . the difference is how we view the world around us. We are the ones who show the world just how blessed they are to be here. From my perspective; it is part of our calling to uplift, motivate, inspire, inform and educate the rest of the planet. Of course, that is just one photographers’ perspective, and each of us has a different point of view. But that’s OK . . .
that’s what makes life interesting.
When shooting pictures in a crowded area there are two angles that many photographers over look. The first is the waist level shot which we just mentioned above. The second involves putting your camera on a mono pod, using your self timer, and lifting your camera as far above the crowd as you can. This “bird’s eye view” can often have interesting results.
When you are taking picture of a subject with a lot of straight lines, like someone against a wall or a fence for example, turn the camera itself at a 45 degree angle. Remember, straight lines tend to be boring. Diagonal lines on the other hand, are much more dramatic and will lead your eyes right to the subject.
If you are shooting a public event, like a wedding, it is always good to ask in advance, “Is there any location you do not want me to shoot from?” In most cases they will have no objection, and legally this helps protect you later on. Some of the best shots are usually found at some of the most unusual angles. Taking pictures from behind the minister and looking towards the couple as they take their vows for example. Most people attending will only get shots of the back of their heads at this point.
If you want to make something look larger than life and much more dramatic, try laying on your back and shooting straight up. Sometimes, it doesn’t need to be that dramatic and standing on a step or getting down on one knee can make all the difference in the world.
The point of finding the right angle is not to be different for difference sake. The point is to find the angle that gives you the greatest insight to your subject. The right angle can be dramatic; the wrong angle can be boring. Often when you are looking for the perfect angle, you are looking for the angle that has the least distractions in the background. There is no set right or wrong for any given photo, that’s where creativity becomes a factor.
Earlier I mentioned the “Bird’s Eye View”, don’t be in such a rush that you forget the other side of the scale as well. Every day; millions of people, photographers and non photographers alike walk over, by, or around spectacular shots. What I am referring to is the “Worm’s Eye View”.
Let’s say you are walking through a National Park and you glance down. If you see a mushroom from the very top, you basically see a round dot. If you get down on one knee, you get to see the shape of the overall dome and the stem. But . . . if you lay down and shoot up into the mushroom all of the sudden you see the dome, the stem, the fins that make up the dome, the contrast between the fins and the rest of the dome, and in some cases you see the life that takes shelter under the dome as well.
Obviously, I’m not saying you have to lay in the dirt for every single shot you take. What I am saying is that you as the photographer have to constantly be on the look out for what most other people miss. This is one of the many skills that you have to master to be considered a real photographer. The difference between us and them is not big or tall, black or white, male or female . . . the difference is how we view the world around us. We are the ones who show the world just how blessed they are to be here. From my perspective; it is part of our calling to uplift, motivate, inspire, inform and educate the rest of the planet. Of course, that is just one photographers’ perspective, and each of us has a different point of view. But that’s OK . . .
that’s what makes life interesting.
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