Photography News Issue 45

Photography News | Issue 45 | absolutephoto.com

DaysOut

Discover different ways to deal with those pesky humans on your photo day out 5. Use people power

crowds are moving; enough to show motion, but not too much to make people disappear entirely. You’ll need to shoot from a locked off position, though, so it’s another good reason to take a tripod along on your days out. And if you can’t get the slow shutter speed you want, add an ND filter to the lens, blocking light and lengthening the exposure. The other aspect is portraiture. It goes without saying that you need to be careful who you point your camera at these days, but if you’re attending an open day, museum, or re-enactment, you’ll find a wealth of enthusiasts ready to pose for you. First get their permission and make sure you offer them a shot or two via email, then you can go to work. Shooting in aperture-priority mode, base your aperture choice on how strongly you want to feature the background. For example, if the scene is related to the subject, or they’re interacting with it somehow, use a middle to high f/number like f/8 or f/11 to increase the depth-of- field, keeping it mostly in focus. But if the background is distracting, or unrelated to the subject, use a low f/number like f/1.8, f/2.8 or f/4; this will give a shallow depth-of-field and help them stand out.

When we head to events or popular locations, we often spend time trying to avoid people in an attempt to declutter pictures. But shot the right way, a crowd can make a shot, and of course the right subjects can produce great character studies, too. Tackling crowds first, the throng can often providemuch needed scale in a scene, illustrating towering architecture, forming a backdrop to interesting subjects. Captured in a regular fashion, crowds can be a distraction, blocking the subject, or drawing the eye, but lengthen your exposure and they’ll soften with motion blur. A shutter speed of something between 0.5 and 4secs should be enough, depending on how fast the

Above When presented with crowded scenes, try using the people as a benefit. Here, a slow shutter speed is used to showmovement in the crowds, providing some scale without being a distration. Left Visits to museums or re-enactments are a great chance to shoot portraits full of character and impact.

Pick the right shutter speed for a better slice of the action 6. Capture themovement

miss affair, but looks great if you pull it off, as you’ll keep the subject sharp, but motion-blur the background. Depending on the subject, speeds of 1/15 to 1/100sec canworkwell. For fast jets, you can increase the shutter speed to 1/1000sec or above. This may mean increasing the ISO setting on dull days, but it will give you a better chance of keeping them sharpas theyspeedpast your shooting position, and it’s better to have a slightly noisy shot than a blurred one. Whatever type of moving subject you’re shooting, try switching to the camera’s continuous AF mode and turning on any subject-tracking function you have. This will help keep the subject in focus as it moves towards or away fromyou. Another way to improve chances at race days or air shows is to shoot as the aircraft or car is turning; at these points they’re slower and therefore easier to followwith your camera.

If you’re attending an event where there’s lots ofmovement, suchas a race day or air show, you’ll need to master the art of capturing movement. It’s all down to the shutter speed that youuse in adapting to the speed of the subject, and howyouwant to show its action. For instance, at air shows you’ll get lots of different types of aircraft; mainly split into prop-driven planes and jets. Prop-driven aircraft respond much better to slower shutter speeds, as not only do they travel more slowly, but they also look better when there is movement to be seen in the propeller. Topickupa spinningprop, try shutter speedsofaround1/160secor1/100sec. Below that it can be tricky to keep the subject sharp as you’re also likely to be using a long lens which exaggerates camera shake. You can go slower still but you’ll need to follow the subject as it passes you to keep it sharp. This technique, called a panning shot, is a hit-and-

Above In this shot, a shutter speed of 1/160sec (f/13, ISO 100) allows enough movement in the propeller to stop it looking too static, though a ‘full spin’ is the most preferable look. Right Here, going slower still, to 1/100sec (f/10, ISO 200) and following the subject creates a panning effect. The slower shutter speed also creates a ‘full spin’ of the propeller. Above right For a faster moving subject where you want to freeze any movement, both from them or your camera positioning, increase the shutter speed. Here, a 1/2000sec (f/8 ISO 400) exposure keeps everything nice and sharp.