A Little News

We all know that everyone can shoot a picture. It is, after all, pretty simple to press a button. All of us who make a living doing this know that it is a bit more complex than that and that there is a huge gulf between a photographer and a snap shooter. There are several things that create that gulf aside from the obvious one which is talent. My friend Jonathan Palmer whom I featured yesterday has a friend at the Lexington Herald Leader who was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He has done a series of pictures and put them on his web site that he shot with his Iphone.

Now that is just ridiculous because his Iphone shots are better than what some folks are doing with gear costing many thousands of dollars. It just goes to show that a great shooter is a great shooter regardless of the gear he is using so put away the Canon vs Nikon debate and just focus on what works for you, even if it is an Iphone! The focus of this post and this series of posts is on helping us all get better fast so lets take the next step. Fortunately it doesn’t require the use of an Iphone.

One of the legends of photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson pretty much coined the whole concept of the decisive moment. He is legendary for many things but this is perhaps his greatest legacy and it is the one thing that can make you better in a real hurry. Concentrate on THE MOMENT. Although I don’t find THE MOMENT in every assignment I am convinced that every photo assignment has the one moment when everything comes together. This is even true of the mundane stuff. This is true of portraits, of ribbon cuttings, of sports events, fires, natural disasters and kids playing in the street. The key is staying mentally sharp throughout the coverage of an event so you don’t miss the moment. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have missed the photo because I saw it happening but I was not ready. The camera was not at my eye or I had the wrong lens or I was just not paying close attention.

Sometimes just the slightest little change in expression makes the difference in a great picture and just another shot. If you really want to get better fast, dig your heels in and get determined to find that moment in every job you shoot. Here are some tips to help you do this.

First, keep your gear ready at all times. Have the exposure mode set properly, and if you are shooting manual, make sure your exposure settings are correct. Think enough in advance to know whether a long lens or a short lens is the one to use. If you are using strobes, make sure your batteries are hot and ready.

Second, maintain your mental focus on what you are doing. That doesn’t mean to be rude to folks who come up to talk to you but keep your conversations as short as possible so you can focus on why you are there. The other side of this coin is you have to not allow yourself to fall asleep mentally and this is tougher than being distracted by people talking to you. I almost missed a very important photo while covering an awards banquet one evening. Two of our most prominent citizens, both over ninety, one black and one white, got up and danced together briefly. The photo was a metaphor for these two pillars of the community and symbolized much more than the actual event itself meant. I had been just sitting at a table thinking how I wished they would just move it along and get this over with. Then they started to dance. Fortunately, people around me began reacting and I was able to get a couple of frames off before they sat back down. Hey, ninety plus citizens don’t typically spend a whole lot of time dancing. Anyway, I got the shot and it now hangs in a new elementary school named for both of them. Ironically, both of them passed away not long after that and they died within hours of one another. Life is amazing and we can shoot it if we are alert.

Third, and this is a result of the first two, predict what is going to happen and where it will happen and be ready. This increases your chances of a great photo exponentially. I know this sounds difficult but you would be surprised how easy this actually is when you are mentally awake and tracking with the event you are covering. Everything you shoot has a flow to it. When you are in the flow you can make nice photos with relative ease. It is tough when you just want to get it over with or when you are rushed to shoot and move on to the next job. Find the flow of the event and go with it. You will find even boring events more interesting and much easier to shoot. As you develop this skill in the boring events you will find it becomes automatic when things are really hopping.

About the photos: The portrait is of an outgoing county commission who had served faithfully for years but in his last year had run into some stormy waters. I though this frame captured his spirit and that final turbulent year very well. Nikon D2H with an 80-200 f2.8 and lit with a single monolight fired using it’s optical slave. I used a very low powered speedlight to trigger the monolight. The second photo is from an assignment on a guy who has taught in the same Sunday School class for fifty years. The little girl seemed unimpressed by his trick of winning the kids over with slices of apple. This was shot available light with a Nikon D1 (what was I thinking?) and a 14mm f2.8 Sigma lens which I find impossible to focus. The final photo is from a golf tournament putt off. The lady looking away is one of the competitors reacting to the crowds reaction to her opponent’s putt. I shot this with a 17-35mm f2.8 on a D2H and wished I had used some fill flash.

Photos copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.