Getting out of the rut

Have you ever felt like there's nothing exciting to take pictures of? I have. I got into a rut where I felt that the only things worth taking pictures of were the things you have to take a vacation to get to—Paris, Rome, all the famous travel destinations around the world. But as I looked at the work of photographers I admire, I kept noticing that many of the photos I liked best were of everyday things— a reflection in a puddle, curtains in a window, people's feet in a subway.

Two things happened next. First, I read about The Best Camera Is the One That's With You, a book by photographer Chase Jarvis. Jarvis's idea is that good pictures come from keeping your eyes open and being ready, not from having the latest and greatest equipment. In addition, Jarvis says, “There are at least 10 great pictures within 10 meters of you right now,” wherever you are, whatever you're doing. I felt challenged to find the beauty where I am instead of where I would rather be.

Second, I started a blog, along with two friends, called Downey Daily Photos. Our goal is to post a picture each day that is taken in our hometown of Downey, California. Now, Downey isn't Paris. Or Rome. But once I started looking, and more importantly, once I started looking while I was walking rather than driving, I started to see all kinds of picture-worthy things.

Here are some of the things I've noticed during the last month.


What did I learn?
Getting out of this rut involves a change of mind instead of a change of scenery.

Wedding bells

About 6 months ago, my niece asked me to photograph her wedding. I've never done a wedding before. I'm a travel and nature photographer—you know, where the subject typically doesn't move before you have a chance to get everything right. And when I do take people pictures, I like to take candid shots. But she reassured me that they'd be happy with anything I did, so I agreed.



So I read up on wedding photography, asked my friend to assist me, made lists, gathered all my equipment together, and generally thought I was ready. And the rehearsal reassured me. Things seemed under control, not too hard. And we used the time after the rehearsal to scout out good group shot locations for the next day.

But the real thing was way harder than I expected. The lists fell to the wayside. People didn't stand in the same places as they did during the rehearsal. There were all these guests to get around. And the group shots were a disaster. We totally overlooked the perfect group shot location, and shot instead into an ugly wall and a too bright sky.

And nothing prepared me for the aftermath. Between us, we had four cameras and took over 6,000 pictures. (The advantages of digital?) So many pictures! And of course lots of pictures that would be really great—if only the sky weren't so washed out, if only her face wasn't in shadow, if only his face didn't look so red in that shot. All things that can be fixed in Photoshop, of course, but each fix adds a little more time to the task.

And so, I let it drag on a bit longer than I should have. Four months later, we're finally through. We got through it, and had fun too. Would I do it again? You bet! The whole adventure gave me the opportunity to participate in my niece's wedding at a level I never would have done otherwise. That alone made it all worth while.

What did I learn?

• If you're using more than one camera, synchronize the clocks! We could have saved hours and hours in post-processing time if we could have sorted those 6,000 pictures based on the time they were actually taken.
• Take control of those group shots. Don't expect people to enjoy them, just get it over with as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Tell them where to stand. Tell them when to look at you and smile. (Trust me, candid shots of groups almost never get everyone looking good at the same time.)
• Focus on quality, not quantity. Of course, this one probably comes with experience and practice, as you get better at getting the good shots.
• Wear clothes that blend into the background. That way you won't take pictures of the bride and groom—and your assistant's pink blouse.

Panning – shooting moving subjects

Last weekend I took my dog Ivan to the local dog park, and decided to experiment with panning. Panning is a technique where you follow a moving subject with your camera, producing a picture with a relatively sharp subject and a blurred background. Panning can emphasize the speed and motion of your subject.

To pan, use a relatively slow shutter speed. When your subject approaches, follow the subject with your camera. Press the shutter as the subject crosses in front of you, and continue to follow the subject after the shutter closes. This will help you maintain a smooth shot from start to finish.

This was my first experiment with panning, and I still need more practice. Here are some of the best from the day.

For comparison, a non-panned shot, taken at 1/640 shutter speed.

This is Ivan and a friend. It was hard to predict when and which direction he would go.

This dog was chasing a ball with more consistency, so I tried out some shots on him.

What did I learn?

• Panning works best when the subject is moving in a relatively straight line at an angle perpendicular to your position. Subjects that are moving erratically can result in shots that are rather messy. The perpendicular position provides the greatest emphasis to your subject’s speed.
• Panning takes a lot of practice. Even when you master this technique, you’ll end up with a lot of duds.
• Panning is easier when you can anticipate the action. The dog park is not the ideal setting for practicing. For practice, cars on a busy street would be easier and more predictable.

For more information about panning, see Mastering Panning – Photographing Moving Subjects.

When there’s not enough light

I hate carrying around a tripod. Even the little ones like the Gorillapod (Joby GP3 Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod for Digital SLR Cameras). But these days it seems like I always want to take pictures when there’s not enough light. Low light means slow shutter speeds, where even a little bit of camera shake can turn your picture into a bunch of wavy lines. What can you do to reduce camera shake when you can’t (or don’t want) to use a tripod?

1. Hold your camera steadily. Keep your elbows close to your side. If you have a DSLR camera, support your camera lens with your other hand.
2. Brace yourself. Find something to lean against. Lean your elbows on a convenient surface. Or sit, and lean your elbows on your knees.
3. Brace your camera. Lean the camera against a pole or wall.
4. Hold your breath when you click the shutter.

Recently, I walked around the Naples (Long Beach, California) canals to see the Christmas lights. I brought along my camera with my fastest (and lightest) lens, just to see what I could capture. Using the tips above, I was able to get several clear shots of the lights and decorations. (I also got a lot of fuzzy shots, especially of the reflections in the water.)

What did I learn?

• My camera is slow. It’s old. I can’t wait until next year when I’ve saved enough for the next generation of digital camera.
• Even so, remembering these tips helps. About a third of my pictures turned out in focus, even though most of the shots were taken at a shutter speed of less than 1/20.

Adding interest to those wide-angle shots

One of the characteristics of a wide angle lens is that the lens enlarges anything in the foreground, as you can see by the foot in the picture to the right. You can take advantage of this and add impact to your pictures by placing objects of interest in the foreground of your wide-angle shots.


To try this out, I took some experimental shots around my house. The first set of pictures shows the vegetable garden. By stepping up closer before taking the second shot, I emphasized the flag and provided a focal point to an otherwise blah scene.



The first shot in the second set of pictures shows a typical pool scene. By getting in lower and closer to the cue ball, the second shot emphasizes the player's point of view.



Here are a couple of real-life examples.





What did I learn?

• I looked through my old photos and found I don't use this technique nearly often enough. Often, a landscape shot can be improved by adding some interest in the foreground.
• It occurred to me that this same technique can be applied to the typical tourist shot ("Look, Mom, here I am in front of the Eiffel Tower!"). These shots often don't do justice to either the people or the site. Instead, try putting some distance between the person in the shot and the site, get up close to the person, and then shoot the scene with both the person and the site in the frame. I used a remote to do something similar in the following picture showing my friends and me in front of the Seattle skyline.
  

Thanksgiving rehearsal

This year, Joan and Allison decided that one Thanksgiving wasn't enough, so we had a Thanksgiving rehearsal. As long as we were rehearsing, I figured I'd rehearse the pictures.

They decorated...


And cooked...

I was thankful for our new ovens that fit perfectly into the space left by the ones that stopped working.

What did I learn?

• A lens hood is a great tool out in the sun. But you have to take it off when you use the flash. (Notice the shadow below the ovens?)
• With or without flash, it's hard to get the white balance right in incandescent lighting. But I think that the color in the shots without flash is truer to the actual lighting. No flash means higher ISO settings to eliminate blur, and therefore more graininess.
• I was in a hurry to take the pictures, so I used the on-camera flash instead of my (new) external flash. The new flash would probably have resulted in better color. I need to rehearse it between now and the real Thanksgiving next week.
  

Fall leaves and pumpkins

I love fall — the colors, the pumpkins, and all the leaves lying in piles in the yard.

Actually, all the leaves are lying in other people's yards, since the only things that our trees drop are pine needles. If I want to take pictures of fall leaves, I either have to crawl around someone else's yard, or fill a bag with leaves to take back home. I chose to bring some leaves home.





The other thing I love about fall is the pumpkins. If you wait until the morning after Halloween, you can get a great bargain on all the pumpkins you want.





What did I learn?

Macro photography requires a tripod, or at least something to rest the camera on or against. Getting the focus right seems to be my toughest challenge these days.