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Photographer’s Tip: Remember What Inspires You

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Mar 042013

To start, let me tell you a story…. An excerpt from my 2009 book – Hong Kong

October 2009. I woke up with an enthusiasm and childish spirit that I haven’t had in a long time. There was an excitement to the proceedings; showering as quick as possible, throwing clothes on in a hurry, checking camera batteries, memory, cleaning all the lenses and bringing every accessory to ensure that not a moment would be forgotten. My breakfast was devoured, my shoes were barely tied and I was already trying to make my way to the trains. For all of the MTR system’s efficiency and speed, today it just wasn’t fast enough. We made our way towards Central where we could pick up our park passes and boarded the appropriate shuttle. 15 minutes said the travel guide. More like 15 hours. Even in a crowded bus full of tourists, children and families, I put my spectacular line-avoiding skills on display. Disembarking with my camera bags acting as bumpers, I managed to squeeze my way out before anyone else could.

Presenting our passes at the front gates and making our way through the colorful entrance, I was reminded of the times at Disneyland with my dad. I grab the park map and quickly scan the list of attractions while taking in the ascending hot air balloons and colorful mascots. The cotton candy, hot dog, popcorn filled the air with a fun aroma, while the brightly colored performers, souvenir stalls all add to the experience and building excitement. As we made our way through the opening promenade, the habitat became visible. A few snaps with the cartoon statues and we were on our way up the ramps and through the lines. As we neared the entrance, I got the camera ready. Lots of memory? Check. High speed burst mode? Check. Fast lens? Check. Continuous focus? Check. We walked through the turnstiles and saw the first one. We walked up, he sat quietly eating his breakfast. I smiled, it was a fat teddy just 6ft away. I brought the camera up to my eye and pressed the button. That was it, I didn’t let go of that button for the next hour. Today was my birthday, and I got to see a panda.

Prior to the visit with the fat teddy bears, photography was purely about capturing what stepped in front of the lens. The first number of years was spent learning the technicalities and building the arsenal of toys and gadgets. Next, it was about finding subjects and practicing the theory until it became second nature. For the most part, the process was professional, robotic and simply targeted at delivering an image. Photographic passion was about mastering the technicalities, all the compositional rules and putting into play the numbers and settings against a real world setting.

I got to the top of the peaks in the Canadian Rockies, witnessed the beauty of countless sunrises and sunsets and had the opportunity to immortalize life events for friends and family. Through it all, emotion took a back seat to the drive to learn and understand how to control the camera. Finally the light bulb moment came when I was able to spend time with the fat teddy bears. The moment a much greater inspiration for being behind the camera makes itself known – the moment you become emotionally star struck at the subject you’re capturing. The Panda bears represent my lightbulb moment – when my photographic world shifted and it became more important to enjoy the moment you’re in and appreciate the special opportunities we have as photographers to experience and document the unique moments in the world.

This was one of those situations in life that let you focus on what makes your world valuable. From the life threatening moments while caught in the middle of a typhoon, the fun memories of being a kid walking through the gates of Disney or the quiet moments spent with a loved one watching a sunset, these moments form the foundation of our valued memories. The moments combine to define our trajectory and more importantly, they allow us to develop the experiences that we can be grateful for. A reminder of the adventures, trials and triumphs that I come across and those that I have the privilege of documenting for others.

Almost 4 years on, the wonder and happiness of that first Panda day is still a very vivid memory. I got the chance to make a return visit in June 2012. I had learned a lot about being behind the camera in those intervening years. I learned how to control my cameras better, the impact of lighting, the emotional impact of capturing the right moment and for the most part, I thought I knew everything I needed to in order to deliver a better technical image. I walked into the enclosure again – better gear, more experience and a swagger that I was going to get a spectacular image. Well, sometimes you just have to let yourself be a kid again. I smiled from ear to ear when I saw them again. I put my camera down, took a seat and simply enjoyed my time with them. I had an hour with the bears. I knew that I could get the photo, but I knew that since it would likely be my last visit, it was more important to simply enjoy the experience this time.

I was reminded that you should let yourself be a participant and not always a documentarian. I was reminded that you have to take the opportunities to enjoy what’s before you because you might not get another chance. And I was reminded that part of what makes being behind the camera so special is to enjoy and cherish the experiences that are unfolding in front of it. These are the images from that return trip. My reminder that no matter how far you’ve come and what you might know, there’s still something out there that will step in front of your camera that will make you stop, stare and remember that for all the negatives in the world, the challenges we face in our daily lives, the world can be a beautiful place.

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Photographer’s Tip: Remind Yourself of the Journey

Photographer's Tip, Photography No Responses »

Nov 142012

Being a gearhead aside, one of the most compelling intrinsic reasons to take up the camera is to document a human experience or adventure that you go through as an individual. Through personal projects in landscapes, adventure and people or comissioned work such as weddings and travel, photography offers a method to documents the world as it unfolds before you. A critical step in ensuring your continued growth and understanding of your skills is dependent upon recognizing the development you’ve undertaken in your journey over the course of time.

Some of the images you’re about to see are from the earliest of my archives. Some are really really bad. In the end, it’s about evaluating where you started, what led you to take those images and most importantly, be able to compare it to where you are today and finitely define where your skills have developed. We are going to go through a mini journey through time to evaluate some examples of the importance of looking back on your personal body of work. It is a critical part of your journey to remind yourself how important it is to recognize the development and growth of your photography. Today’s lesson is about setting an expectation for yourself to learn from how you’ve documented the past, how it affects your current shooting and how to use those experiences to push your capture in the future and allow your style to evolve as a result.

Our first collage demonstrates the scenic views of Victoria Harbour, HK captured in the summer of 2008. These images show the wonderful skyline and have a basic sense of scale with the boats and ferrys in the image. One thing they don’t deliver however is drama and mood to better showcase the vibrace and business of the harbour.

Flash forward to 2012 and we have a vastly different collection of the harbour. The photographs have become more focused with the skyline gaining better attention and framed with more movement, a better perspective on scale and more life. The intervening years taught me a lesson in integrating the environment that your subjects (the skyline) are in so as to better present them as teeming with life. For a long time I saw Hong Kong as a place of wonderful architecture and tall buildings. While that thought is still true and relevant, taking the images a step further but better integrating their scale to the people and vehicles that busily hop through the city and including motion and dynamic lighting has allowed me to showcase a more “alive” image and one that allows people to better relate to the hustle and bustle this metropolis offers.

Next up, Lake Moraine Canada. One of the most photographed places in the Canadian Rockies, Moraine offers a stunning mountain scape, crystal clear water and a view that reminds you of the beauty of nature. All well and good, except it took me about 2 years to figure out that although it was an easy escape to get to, it was a difficult journey to master. The first photo, taken in 2005, is an example of what I considered good enough at the time. It was framed decently well, the horizon was actually somewhat level and I thought for a long time that it had drama. Well it didn’t, at least not the drama and scale that this wonderful place offered visitors. A return in 2006 showed a slight evolution in composition and marked improvement in mood as the late sunset offered a different color palette. I was more careful to step back and frame a wider shot, but it still didn’t give the impact that I had seen on so many others capture.

In 2009 I challenged myself to deliver the images that made Moraine an incredible place to visit. I knew how to get there, I knew what settings were required for a sharp photo, but I didn’t recognize until this trip that the pain and suffering of landscape stems from the need to go when others won’t, get up when it’s not natural and get to the site when the light accents the subject. Now we had the drama of the red light hitting the peaks, the vibrant colors of summer and most importantly, I finally started to learn and appreciate that good photos require great effort in not just the technical side of things, but also the environment to cooperate and allow you an opportunity to capture what is in your head. A progressive photo the following year allowed me to show a dramatically different, snow covered, Moraine Lake. It was an image that although didn’t have as much visual impact as a beautiful sunrise, offered a unique image that wasn’t seen very often. Cold feet and frosty fingers be damned, I was on a mission to learn from past mistakes and strived to deliver something that wasn’t as common as sunrise anymore.

And that brings us to Moraine by Starlight – you’ve seen the previous post here – This was the end of the Moraine journey – it was a culmination of the lessons of grand composition, exceptional lighting and pure effort and determination to stay awake as well as not get eaten by an unseen cougar or bear under the moon & starlight. From the first lesson in 2005 to this effort in late 2012, Moraine has provided a consistent challenge that demands attention to detail while pushing you to capture something unique of such a well documented space. Light, sunrise, stars and the season – these are the variables which, applied to all fields of photography, defined the learning curve that I’m grateful to have undertaken. Had I an opportunity to accelerate this lesson instead of taking 7 years to go through it, I definitely would have, but at the same time, I’m not entirely sure I’d have gotten as much out of it without the downtime in between.

Revisitng the same locations or subjects is a theme of this lesson. It’s about reminding yourself of what you’ve been able to accomplish there before and pushing yourself to getting something better the next time. Photography is not just about capturing the scene before you, but to become better at finding those scenes, you have to invest time and energy into analyzing the past. Your own work and the ones that inspire you help to define where you want to be and also act as a constant reminder of what little details are required to get there.

7 years on, am I done with Moraine? No, I have a few more trips left on the list to conquer this little place and maybe one day deliver the image I know is still left uncaptured.

I’m not going to beat to death the lesson of reviewing your past work and comparing it to what you have now, but I am going to share a few more then and now examples of how things have evolved over the years – here’s a travel photo of cabs in Hong Kong – 2008 vs 2012 – it’s become about mood and lighting. Colors pop, the scene gains drama and it’s gone from a simple snap shot to something that is more telling of the busy city that these cabs operate in.

Calgary Alberta Canada – 2006 vs 2011 – understanding the interplay of sunset, downtown lights and making the best use of the blue hour. Dramatic sky exists in the first with storm clouds but no dramatic lighting gives it a very flat look. Fast forward a few years and patience and a little luck pays off with a much more vibrant color palette and attention to detail with cars filling the parking lot and bringing needed life to frame the city.

That’s it for this round of examples. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a line at francis@fymphoto.com. Also don’t forget to stop by my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fymphoto and show your support by hitting the “Like” button. Til next time – don’t forget that photography is a journey and more importantly, don’t forget to keep shooting!

Photographer’s Tip – Never Stop Pushing for Clarity

Photography, Portraiture No Responses »

Jun 022012

The act of photography involves many factors including being in the right place at the right time (event, lighting, context), the vision to pick out the captures and finally your underlying ability to deliver these moments coupled with a working knowledge of your camera’s capability. That brings us to our 3 part lesson today – Never stop pushing for clarity. Clarity in your workflow & process, clarity in your subject, and clarity in displaying your best work. Clarity in these areas defines the connective nature of photography – sharp images draw our eyes and give us a defining focal point. Nothing delivers this lesson from planning to workflow to production better than a portrait with a very sharp set of eyes. Pushing for clarity is a three-fold process – a clear goal of what capture you would like to walk away with, a sufficient knowledge of your equipment in order to properly capture your vision and finally, a defined approach to post processing in order to finalize your vision and help your share your best work.

This week’s assignment we put together for this article encompasses the need to push for clarity – Our goal was to deliver portraits in various lighting conditions to challenge your abilities and push your camera settings to discover yours (and your camera’s) limits without resorting to art filters or editing which conceals the shortfalls of our ability to create a good capture.

1) Photography should be about having a clear vision of what you intend to capture. Sometimes this intent is built in a matter of seconds as is the case for photo journalistic assignments or perhaps sports events. In other cases, vision is defined over coffee, dinner or perhaps conversation with friends, sometimes organized by committee for assignment, or maybe even just specific shots you decide on in order to build up your portfolio. Regardless of the reasons which might present themselves for you to pull out your camera, it’s important for you to define the subject, the environment (whether you show it or not) and the overall context of the shot you’re going to eventually present to friends, family or a prospective client. Having clarity of what your photographic subject is will help you achieve stronger composition, better dial-in the settings which will best represent your subject and most importantly, eliminate the feel of a snap shot that looks like you walked by and clicked the button.

2) That leads us to – Push to become better every single outing – know your equipment, use your equipment and seriously, you paid good money for a good camera – use it to the best of its ability and invest time and effort into learning what your camera can deliver. Don’t be a photographer that uses “creativity” as a shield for not knowing what settings to use to properly expose & capture a sharp image. Knowing what your camera can do translates to what you can get away with – our photo set today runs the gamut of really terrible lighting conditions requiring super high ISOs to the very last one shot in perfect studio lighting. The photographs below range anywhere from ISO6400 in a sodium-lit tunnel (first 2 images), perfect golden hour back-lighting (photo 3) to ISO100 in the studio (very last image).

The characteristic which defines all of the shots regardless of the lighting condition is sharp capture of the eyes – we had to deliver a head shot – that meant sharp eyes and defined features – the challenge was the various and mostly less than ideal light we had to work with. As we touched upon in the Zoo Photography Tips, sharp eyes define the subject and can allow you to get away with murder (metaphorically speaking) as it gives a focal point to your viewer that they can connect with and delivers an emotional anchor for your photograph. The range of lighting conditions challenges your skills as a photographer to step up to the next level – “It’s too dark”, “My lens isn’t good”, “It’s an entry level DSLR” – these aren’t valid excuses preventing you from taking any of the photos below- cameras available today far exceed anything that film stalwarts ever had to work with during the heydays of film. If the old cameras without autofocus, super-high ISOs and modern lenses could capture exceptional photos in war zones and sporting events, there’s nothing stopping you from delivering a great kids or pet picture.

Sometimes a support system such as a tripod or monopod might be in order depending on your combination of light, focal length and general hand stability, but if you’re going to go through the effort to setup, shoot and edit photos, you may as well make sure it’s the best representation of your subject that you can deliver. Strangely enough – only the studio shot is using a tripod whereas all of the “poor light” shots were completed hand-held. The shots below turned out well not because of the equipment we were using – they turned out well because we had a clear vision of the shots we needed to get, knew what our cameras allowed us to capture in the given environments and finally, we had;

3) A Mental benchmark or reference for the final image you intend to deliver. Post production in Lightroom or Photoshop should be treated in the same way as the film days – develop in order to best represent the qualities you captured in the frame. Understanding what you want to achieve in post production helps to narrow down what work is required of you to present it well. Therefore, post processing is about finishing the image – by this stage, you should have done everything to ensure the lighting, framing, composition and emotion is already included and you’re only visiting Photoshop or Lightroom in order to better bring it out of the frame. If you want to accelerate your knowledge of the first two parts of today’s lesson, step away from this section as much as you can. Get things right in camera from the beginning and you will learn faster. There’s nothing wrong with post processing if you’ve done everything you can during the capture process to get as close as possible to your vision, but until you explore the limits of your actual photographic skill, you will continue to shortchange your learning curve by relying on post production to “fix” things that you could otherwise have tackled and built experience on in the field.

Now, for those that haven’t been to my workshops, I would like to clarify that this has nothing to do with digital art where you add, create or remove elements for composites and or artistic representation, what I’m advocating is using & improving the technical capabilities of you & your camera to ensure a capture which retains the most detail, maximizes your subject impact and most importantly, gives you latitude when you do get to post to have the most creative range because you’ve got the best file to start with. This is a photography blog and my first priority is to offer advice into maximizing your shooting experience so that you can best capture your life moments when they present themselves.

Push yourself to be a better photographer by having a clarity of mind when shooting, having a clear understanding of what your equipment is capable of delivering and clearly presenting your subject as a completed work. Til next time, happy shooting!

Photographer’s Tip – Round Two for the Zoo!

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May 152012

I’d like to thank the readers for their awesome support and crazy sharing of the last few articles – please continue spreading the word and practicing your photography!

The Calgary Zoo is offering an exceptional opportunity on June 9th, 2012 to participate in the “FOCUSED” photography event. Doors open early and help enthusiasts of all skill levels to explore the zoo without the hustle and bustle of kids running around while offering more opportune moments to capture the animals in their more active states. Unfortunately due to some prior commitments with awesome Giant Pandas in Asia, I will not be able to make an appearance at this June event. I wish you all the best at this excellent event and let’s all work towards spreading the word and ensuring a successful event so that we can get more of these opportunities!

By popular demand, here’s round 2 of Zoo Photography Tips

Patience Patience Patience - Observing other visitors on multiple occasions leads me to believe a number of people stop, read the sign, peek to find the animal and then move on in pretty short order. If you’re trying to capture a moment with your favorite furry friend, patience and the art of slowing down will pay huge dividends. As mentioned in the last article, it took the better part of a few visits due to weather and circumstances beyond my control before I finally had the opportunity to capture the Siberian Tiger in the pose I’d imagined. Alternatively, the Giant Panda pictures below took almost two hours of waiting in the enclosure before they finally positioned themselves and undertook activities that gave an interesting capture. Pick the animal which you’d like to photograph, and carefully walk around the enclosure to find an interesting angle. Then wait. And wait some more. Or heck, visit another fur ball and come back again. But be mentally patient and wait for them to give you the photo instead of just taking a snap shot. Exercise patience and don’t forget – Keep your eye on the ball!
Invest in and use a support system – Tripods are simply too bulky and cumbersome to setup given the fences you butt up against as well as the potential hazards of other guests tripping over them or worse yet, knocking over your camera (I’m a photographer not a humanitarian ). Invest in a monopod to help stabilize your camera and minimize the physical tasks that could otherwise distract you from getting a sharp shot. Monopods can help stabilize shaky hands, balance the weight of long lenses, combat slow shutter speeds and even double up as a walking stick. Check out my previous photographer’s tip to see what gear I bring with me to the field and adjust accordingly to suit your needs.
Get down low (or at least eye level) – Eye level shots just like portraits of people help delivers an emotional connection. We talked about focusing on the eyes in the previous zoo article, this tip is more about adjusting your perspective to shoot from the same level as the animal’s face instead of shooting down and shooting up. It’s a subtle difference, but the finished image can deliver greater impact and intimacy by removing the ‘snap shot’ perspective normally associated with non-eye-level shooting. The mental association that your viewer makes with an eye level shot is that they’re participating in your subject’s world instead of just looking into a world on the other side of the fence which is the feeling zoo photos can give off when we’re shooting from above or below.
Watch the background – Trash can, fence, zoo signs can all detract from the experience of your viewers getting lost in your photos. Part of the patience exercise should be evaluating not just the right angle for your animal shots you want, but also making sure any distractions in the background that doesn’t fit with the animals’ environment is not present. Animal photos work best when we subconsciously view the background as an integral part of their natural environment. A washroom sign in the background or a kid with his face pressed against the fence detracts from the depth of your photo and highlights the captive environment of the animal. Keep an eye out and aim for the cleanest backgrounds you can. Note – for those paying attention from the last article, a long lens and large aperture will help to diffuse your background. Know your camera equipment!
Watch out for reflections – If you’re attempting to shoot through fences, get your front element as close to if not through the openings but be mindful of the sun. If the front of your lens is too large to fit in the gaps of chain link, choose to shoot from a shaded area to minimize reflections from the fencing which can appear on your images and fuzzy lines and ruin your perfect shot. If you’re shooting through glass, as inopportune as it might be for your framing, shooting directly against the glass and try to avoid shooting at an angle against it. This will cause both distortion as well as a loss in image quality due to the light diffraction as the glass can act as a prism reducing the quality of light hitting your camera.
Charge your batteries, bring an extra one and don’t be embarrassed to bring your charger – If you have to, be that person sitting by a power plug waiting to get a small charge on your camera. Whatever you do, don’t be the person stuck walking around with a useless camera and never ending missed opportunities because your battery doesn’t hold enough of a charge. Going with the entire Photographer’s Tip theme of knowing your gear, knowing the shooting endurance of your camera’s batteries is crucial. As we covered before, when it comes to animal photography – shoot shoot shoot. This takes a massive toll on your batteries especially if you’re the type to continuously review your shots as you go. Pack extra batteries, bring your charger and don’t get left out. As a side note, find out from your camera manual where your battery charge indicator is, how to read it and if possible, find out what the rough lifespan of shots you should get our of it are. Make a mental note of this number and be conscious to look at your charge indicator regularly so you’re not in the middle of the lion finally walking into your frame after you’ve patiently waited for 30 mins and your camera gently powers off. It’s happened to me before. Profanity ensues.

Thanks for stopping by – good luck to the Calgary shooters participating in FOCUSED and a big thank you to everyone who has shared and supported this site. Remember to stop by our Facebook page and show your support by liking our page. As always, feel free to drop me a line via e-mail at francis@fymphoto.com or write on the Facebook wall for what you’d like to see, what we’ve done well or share some of your shots!

Photographer’s Tip – We Photographed a Zoo

Photographer's Tip, Portraiture 2 Responses »

Apr 052012

A wonderful day at the zoo with some early access and some very cooperative animals. Thank you Calgary Zoo for always being an awesome place to visit and explore. Please have more cotton candy available at the stands

Zoo shooting can be awesome practice prior to taking a hike in the wilderness and encountering animals in open spaces. Zoos offer a great opportunity to practice framing, composition and also a little bit of patience as you elbow your way through the crowds (an allegory for bushes, trees, general obstacles) in order to best setup for the shot you like. Here’s some quick tips to get the most out of your zoo photography experience.

Dress appropriately for the day – as you go in and out of pavillions and into the various weather climiates that the animals are in, treat it as practice for when you’re out in the middle of nowhere on a hike. Dress in layers that are easy to lighten as the weather warms and have enough of them so that you’re prepared for the wind and cold should things change. This is a mental prepardness exercise – being attire appropriate to all the conditions you may encounter will give you more time to focus on the task at hand instead of trying to get the feeling back in your fingers or giving up prematurely due to less than ideal conditions.
Shoot long – Want to get rid of or minimize the fence between you and Mr Pooh bear? Shoot long – use your lens in the 200+mm range (if you’ve got access, beg and borrow 300 or 400mm units for the best effect). Long lenses compress the subjects and detach them from the background. The nice byproduct of this is that they also help blur obstacles such as fencing which may be seperating you from your subject. Most of the shots below are shot at a minimum of 200mm. Get up against the fence, shoot long and compose in that order. This will give better clarity and framing for your animal shots as you’re forced to pick a subject instead of just taking a wide angle photo of the entire enclosure which is about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Shoot wide open – As open as you can go – I love to shoot wide apertures (F2/2.8) in order to pop the subject out of the background as much as possible. There’s always something more compelling about animals when you isolate them as individuals. Go as open as your lens allows you to. Couple this with shooting long, and you’ll be able to isolate your subject with a creamy smooth background, minimizing distraction and maximizing impact.
Focus focus focus - The eyes are the window to the soul as they say. Animals like people have a reflective personality that can be seen in their eyes. Focusing in this area, coupled with the isolation of long lenses and wide apertures will help bring life to your subject. It’s also an exceptional training tool for mastering quick and precise control of your autofocus system or perhaps, if you’re a little more daring, manual focus. Train your camera to the subject you want, and focus on the details which defines them.
Bring memory, lots of it. And use it, all of it – you’re there to shoot – fire away and capture every angle and every possible idea that comes into your head. If it means an hour at each exhibit, so be it. This is a great opportunity for practice in a controlled environment and more importantly, maybe you’ll walk away with a smiling Panda or a roaring lion. Like we talked about in the last Photographer’s Tip – keep your eye on the ball and shoot everything that interests you. Fill up those memory cards and have fun.

That’s it for today – I’d like to thank you for supporting this site and ask that you continue to share it with your friends and family and shoot me an e-mail at francis@fymphoto.com with your ideas and suggestions on what you’d like to see on the site as well as what workshops you’d like me to host.

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page and hit the “Like” button to show your support. Thanks for stopping by!

For more Photographer’s Tip, check out the article archive here.

Photographer’s Tip – Keep your eye on the ball

Photographer's Tip 2 Responses »

Apr 032012

As deeply entrenched as I am in my technology and toys, photography offers me an opportunity to get away even for a little bit to focus on something external to the connected world. Photography gives us both an escape from the modern world to focus on the subjects which interest us while also delivering an opportunity to explore and enjoy the world like a child. As of this writing, I’ve been shooting for almost 4 days straight on both assignments as well as workshops. In conversation and instruction with the wonderful people I’ve worked with these last few days, one topic kept coming up – what am I supposed to be taking a picture of? Well frankly, it’s simple – whatever interests you. Keeping your eye on the ball applies to the subject, the equipment, the scene and your personal growth goals as a photographer.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a landscape or portrait, the important part of capture is that the final image is a reflection of how you see the world and is wholly determined by your perceptions, experiences and timing. This defines the practice of photo-journalism. Whether you’re a mom capturing your kids running around the playground or you undertake a hike or expedition to capture the perfect mountain sunrise, you are directly documenting your experience and sharing it with others. What images you share are the so-called flash bulb memories committed to a picture frame and whether you consciously recognize it or not, is a reflection of your vision. Don’t be afraid to pick and choose what interests you and forget the world around you or what people might think of your photos. Just keep shooting what interests you.

Building on the idea of shooting what interests you, I also encourage workshop participants to not be afraid to hammer the shutter button when it comes to portraits and wildlife. Sometimes the best moments we capture are the moments in between the the ones we planned in our head. Over years and through hundreds of thousands of photos, some of my favourites are the ones in-between the ones I planned. This principles can apply to landscapes where a few extra shots here and there might capture the difference between the sun highlighting the correct mountain peak or fast moving clouds might take your subject in and out of the shade delivering you dramatically different looks. More importantly, in portraiture, keeping your eyes open, camera aimed and shutter button ready can help capture the candid moments between set poses. The in-between moments capture emotion and particularly when not working with experienced models can help deliver the connective quality which presents stunning photos.

This wasn't the scene we were there to shoot, but keeping an eye open allowed us to capture this and it turned out to be the best shot of the day.

All of this is summed up in the photo above. It had nothing to do with the assignment we were there to shoot, but in the end, this candid moment turned out to be the best shot which I can proudly add to my portfolio. It’s a moment capturing a dramatic landscape, which is what we were there to get and the sunset became even more dramatic by my assistant stepping in to block a little bit of it and creating the wonderful glow you see. It’s a basic photograph, it’s a technically poor photograph due to the lens flare, but in the end, it is simply a nice photograph that we couldn’t re-create because the candid smile is what makes the photo compelling and adds to the overall warmth of the scene.

Photography is about patience, not necessarily a patience of sitting on a mountain for hours on end waiting for the right light, although that’s just inspiring for your soul, but patience for yourself and taking control of the scene before you to capture. I believe that everyone will take a beautiful picture at some point in their life, but the ones that excel are those who can deliver a compelling image on a consistent basis. Defining yourself as a photographer is about finding that internal drive to push for the 4am wakeup or to sit in a lonely mountain peak to capture the stars. That takes a special focus & attitude that is a core requirement to get the photos that not many others will effort.

Beyond that, as we’ve discussed in previous Photographer’s Tips, it’s about knowing your gear. I constantly harp on workshop attendees that it doesn’t matter what gear you show up with, but you have a huge responsibility to yourself to intimately and efficiently know the equipment you have, the operational requirements and the execution ability. I don’t care if you show up with $15k in cameras and lenses, can you actually control your focus, can you control your composition and do you know how to best set your camera for the cleanest output? That’s what defines the complete photographer. Drive, understanding, and most importantly, the ability to simply stop and stare to take in the scenes before you, enjoy it and then capture it for presentation.

Setting up for the landscape shot and scouting the right angle

In the end, what we specifically went to shoot didn't produce as dramatic a shot as what we kept an eye out for.

For more in the Photographer’s Tip Series, check out this archive link.

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