Apolline in Sunflower field. Grabbing special moments quickly, with the right exposure and focus, while Composing the shot the best you can is the basic need of photography.
I am used to divide my Essential Photography course in three steps. First, providing essential technical knowledge. Second, explaining essential composition rules. Last but not least, developing student’s conceptual mind. Here is how it works. By Franc Peret
Taking successful pictures is both a simple task and a complicated one.
Simple, because the process involved is almost always the same and quit easy to explain and remember, step by step:
1 – Set the right exposure
2 – Focus on the subject.
3 – Be ready to grab the right moment (positioning or facial expression for example)
4 – Concentrate on your personal creative decision in term of framing, assembling elements (composition), and depth of field.
“Yammi” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/100s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 17 mm f/4.5) Being patient and steady while waiting for the right moment to shoot help to become discreet and out of sight of the subject, even you are next to her.“Ice on lips” (Lumix G85 ISO 400 1/40s + 25mm f/1.4 @ f/1.4) Once the essential set up of the camera is done right, most important is to not miss the moment!
Not that simple
The fact that you often have to solve those 4 steps in less than a second is the complicated part of photography.
Getting the picture right, as often as possible, is possible with training…
More you are going to shoot, better the chance to make the right decision on time.
“Reflective street” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/80s -0.7 + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/8) Searching for interesting lighting and reflective surface is a good start to get out of routine.“Square everywhere” (Nikon D750 ISO 800 1/180s + 24-120 mm f/4 @ 120 mm f/4.8) Step by step you should switch from funny street snapshot to more personal subject and sophisticated composition
Developing a vision
Once you are used to get good results, you have to challenge yourself a little more to add meanings, drama, sparks or personality to your shots.
How to get this?
While pressing the shutter button, you should already get a clear concept in mind, a vision or a directive line to be able to bring together a meaningful series of shots to tell a complete story (journalistic approach) or to express a specific mood (“artistic” approach).
“Quiet Butterfly” (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/400s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 140 mm f/5.6) … While others needs quicker reaction before they are gone…“Lion Cloud”. (Nikon D750 ISO 100 1/80s +28 mm f/3.5 @ f/8) Some subjects allow several minutes to be detected and shot…
Fine tuning
This conceptual mind will also, later on, help you to process your image on computer in the right direction , the one you had initially chosen.
“Followed by her shadow” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/200s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/6.7) Under such a hard source of light, he choice was obvious here, composing the shot with the subject and her shadow for a more 3D visual.“Like a mirror” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/200s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 30 mm f/5.6) My little girl is already a little lady, looking at herself in any reflective surface. I was ready for this one!
Some camera brand (such as Olympus or Fujifilm), with great color science, are better than others to delivery very satisfying results out of the box (jpg file), but most of the time, you will be able to improve the result by working on raw files.
All depends on the final use of the picture, such as quick share on social network (jpg are enough) or print for exhibition (better to go raw).
“Electric Birds 2″ (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/1320s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/6.7). This approach brings in more options and feed imagination but also challenge the original concept behind any creative choice. It is important to never go “too far” and the limit is a personal choice.“Electric Birds” (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/160s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 102 mm f/6.3). The exact same subject can be shot with so many different point of view and post treatment, such as vintage look or dramatic B&W.
No faking here!
“Electric Birds 3″ (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/400s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 140 mm f/6.3) Later in the day, when the sky is all blue and the source of light is not behind the subject anymore, best is to keep it in color.
The aim of Post production (“Photoshoping”) is indispensable to extract the optimum “juice” out of your work:
To get back the details you had seen with your eyes that seems gone on the jpg, to reproduce the right colors, to emphasize some parts of the shot or to improve the visibility of important elements by fine tuning the exposure of your raw image.
Post processing extra value
Of course, processing on computer is time consuming, and a potential painful experience for novices, but it is a very useful way to progress and to keep progressing forever.
Processing the image is a way to think of and judge what you had done with each subject, to discover some mistakes or imprecision, some stuff you should had done better or different to get a better result or more options out of the box.
“Cat rest” (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/1500s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 177 mm f/6.3) When, the light is great and an interesting subject is there waiting for you to shoot, there is not much things to think about prior to press the trigger.
Lasting passion
It also helps to emphasize a conceptual approach of photography, the best way to never get bored of it.
I am shooting for a living since 1986 and I am still not tired of it.
“Pollen Hunt” (Lumix GM5 ISO200 1/1600s + 150mm f/2.8 @ f/4) Lens choice matters on some specific subject needing both speed and short minimal focus distance.“From the Past” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/800s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 140 mm f/8) Longer lenses compress the perspective, extract details from the environment and keep lines straights.
More I know about photography, more I am excited about it, as I can measure the progress I still have to do to reach fulfillment.
Visual Samples
To illustrate my words, find here a series of personal shots (no job assignment here) with detailed captions on the three parts: essential settings, composition choices and conceptualization.
” Too young for her first ride” (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/1000s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 21 mm f/5.6) For most of the lively shots of kids, it is important to quickly find a point of view with the less disturbing background to keep viewer attention to the main action.“Blue Crown″ (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/1640s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 24 mm f/5.6) Color combination is a basic of composition to associate a subject to an interesting background.
I hope that all of this will be useful to my readers.
If you are having questions or if you are in need of explanation, do not hesitate to drop me an email!
“Ice on lips” (Lumix G85 ISO 400 1/40s + 25mm f/1.4 @ f/1.4) Once the essential set up of the camera is done right, most important is to not miss the moment!“Lion Cloud”. (Nikon D750 ISO 100 1/80s +28 mm f/3.5 @ f/8) Some subjects allow several minutes to be detected and shot…“Followed by her shadow” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/200s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/6.7) Under such a hard source of light, he choice was obvious here, composing the shot with the subject and her shadow for a more 3D visual.“Electric Birds 2″ (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/1320s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/6.7). This approach brings in more options and feed imagination but also challenge the original concept behind any creative choice. It is important to never go “too far” and the limit is a personal choice.“Electric Birds” (Lumix G85 ISO 200 1/160s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 102 mm f/6.3). The exact same subject can be shot with so many different point of view and post treatment, such as vintage look or dramatic B&W.“From the Past” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/800s + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 140 mm f/8) Longer lenses compress the perspective, extract details from the environment and keep lines straights.“Reflective street” (Lumix G85 ISO 100 1/80s -0.7 + 14-140 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 14 mm f/8) Searching for interesting lighting and reflective surface is a good start to get out of routine.
