Through the lens

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary? Four Easy Steps to Learn panning High Noon Photography Tips Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule Shutter Speed Basics Bracketing

Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking Exposure

26 June 2011

Rule of Thirds

Susan Brannon

The rule of thirds helps you to produce better images. It is something most people learn in beginning photography classes and is a useful rule to remember when framing your subject! Of course, rules can be broken, but if you break this rule, remember the rule and know why you are breaking it!

This rule is actually very simple.

1) Take your frame and divide it into 9 equal squares like this:

2) Now take the intersections of the lines as your points of focus:

Also take the lines as a point of interest. Studies show that our eyes naturally go to one of the intersection points, rather than the center of the shot.

3) Then imagine going in the direction of the “eye” lines that we call power points: by placing our subjects near the power points we can give a balance to a composition making it more engaging to the eye. Here are some examples:

Tree is to the left of the center, notice how the focal points are at the lines.

This tree is focused on the center.

The same tree is on the right line.

Which one do you think is best? Which image draws your eye through the image? Which one looks umm sort of boring? When you center your subject, it gives the impression that something is missing, the image is not complete. The image with the same tree on the left gives more depth to the image, and draws you to different focal points. The same tree on the right, does the same thing, only with fewer trees!

Avoid making the horizon in the center of the frame, putting it either 1/3 higher or 1/3 lower than the center. You can use this rule either horizontal or vertical. When doing this you want to create a visual path. Here are a few examples:

Again, when you put the horizon in the center point of the image,

most of the subjects are missing the focal points, the image looks cut off and not complete. Of course, when you put the horizon at the bottom 1/3 you will have more sky, creating a different feeling than when you focus the horizon at the upper 1/3 line. In this case, it depends on what you want to represent. The land and lines of the olive trees? Or the vastness of the countryside with a broader sky?

When you look through your lens, look at the focal points and imagine the lines move your camera to see which angle you like best before taking that shot!

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning
High Noon Photography Tips
Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics

Bracketing

Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking
Exposure

17 June 2011

High Noon Photography Tips

Susan Brannon
17 June 2011

High Noon: Hard Light
What do you do if you am somewhere when the light is the strongest and you really want to take some images? Remember, photography is based on the amount of exposure of light that is absorbed to your film or sensor. Taking images in the harsh sun can wash out your images, making the colors dull and drab. There are a few ways to get around this problem and still have nice results.

A way to work with light is to play with your ISO, shutter speed and aperture. You can adjust the settings according to the situation. As a rule of thumb, I like to start on f/16 for sunny bright days and then adjust from that point. I also like my ISO as low as possible, because I do not like much grain in my images, the higher the ISO the more grain. Normally, I start with my shutter speed at 30 and go from there. This speed allows for movement to occur around me and can freeze the subject. Also, if the shutter speed is set to low, too much light will get in and you can over expose your image washing it out even more than the natural sun would do.

Above are two images take a few minutes apart. The one on the left was taken at f/16 at 50 shutter speed with ISO 125. The one on the right was taken at f/16 at 80 shutter speed with the same ISO. The one on the left is all washed out and bright. On the right there is more contrast and brighter colors.

*Tip: Remember:
Shutter Speed: The lower the number the less light
Aperture: The higher the number the less light
ISO: The higher the number the more sensitive the film or sensor is to light.

Other High Noon Photography Tips:

•   You can use a polarized or warming filter to help diffuse the light. I use the polarized lens when I am near water or in the desert. It softens the harshness of the light and really helps to bring out nice colors. If you are doing street photography or photojournalism, a polarized lens is a must because you will not have time to tinker with your settings.
•   Go to the shade! When the sun is the strongest, take images in the shade. This will remove the harshness of the image and improve your contrast.
•   Use your Lens Hood. If you cannot take images in the shade, put on your lens hood. This will help with sunspots on your images.
•   Use a reflector when taking portraits, this will help remove the unattractive shadows under the eyes, nose and neck!
•   Play with shadows! When the sun is at high noon, you will notice clear and crisp shadows. Play with them, use them to enhance your images and be creative!

Above, I used shadow as part of the composition for the images. You can take a simple weed growing along the wall and create a nice image from it.

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning

Tips for Night Photography
Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics
Bracketing

Common Photography Terms
Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking

13 June 2011

Shutter Speed Basics

Susan Brannon
13 June 2011

The shutter is what controls how long the sensor is exposed, the longer the shutter is open the more light can be absorbed onto the sensor. The shutter speeds are controlled in seconds and fractions of seconds. There are numbers that represent the speed of the shutter, 1/1000 of a second is fast and 3 seconds is slow. Remember, the lower the number the less light will be let in.

You can see on your manual camera, or digital various settings of numbers that represent the shutter speed.

These are called full stops:

1/1000 s 1/500 s 1/250 s 1/125 s 1/60 s 1/30 s 1/15 s 1/8 s 1/4 s 1/2 s 1 s

A fast shutter speed (faster than 1/500th of a second) will allow you to freeze or stop motion while shooting movements.

The term “long exposure” normally refers to the amount of time the shutter stays open, for 1 second and over. It is difficult to shot long exposures without a tripod because your camera will pick up the slightest movements. It is difficult to shot a photo at anything from 1/60 and lower. Sometimes a good trick is to lean against something like a wall, and hold you breath while making the shot. You can also find something nearby to set your camera on for the shot.

I made some samples of a fixed f-stop with different shutter speeds in the daylight.

f/16 at 1/10 shutter speed

f/16 at 1/13 shutter speed

f/16 at 1/15 shutter speed

f/16 at 1/20 shutter speed

f/16 at 1/25 shutter speed


f/16 at 1/30 shutter speed


f/16 at 1/40 shutter speed


f/16 at 1/50 shutter speed

f/16 at 1/60 shutter speed

With the samples, you can see the difference with how much light the shutter speed is absorbed to the sensor or film. When there is too much light, the colors are all washed out as in shutter speeds 10/13/20 and 25. The images are too dark when there is not enough light as in shutter speeds 50/60. The foliage in the background has lost its details and dimensions.

*Tips:
Action: It is good to set your shutter speed at the fastest speed you can depending on your lighting.

Landscape: You will want the slowest shutter speed possible with a higher f-stop to generate a good depth of field.

Night shots: You will want the slowest shutter speed possible (good to use a tripod!) turn off the flash, and use the fastest film speed.

Related lessons:

25 May 2011

What is the difference between Street and Documentary Photography?

Susan Brannon

“In photography there is a new kind of plasticity, the product of instantaneous lines made by movements of the subject. We work in unison with movement as though it were a presentiment of the way in which life itself unfolds. But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it.”

*Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Decisive Moment

There are various opinions between photographers between street, photojournalism and documentary photography. The discussions can become confusing thus leaving the person who asked the questions without any real answers. Some would argue that street photography is documentary, because they are documenting something in turn, when they are doing street photography they are then doing documentary as well. Others would argue that photojournalism is documentary photography in the simple case that the photographer is documenting something and telling a story.

The definitions:

Street Photography – Wikipedia says, “Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and other settings.” A.D. Coleman says, ““more and more photographers took to the streets with concerns that were not those of the reporter but rather those of the novelist and poet—a search for resonant contrasts, rich metaphors, and found dramatic scenarios.” Susan Brannon says, “I view street photography as get up and go, snap and shoot, with a light weight camera taking images of things that intrigues the photographer of happenings in the street or in public places. It is an image of something that was not planned, and generates some type of emotion.”

Documentary Photography – Walker Evans, “where true "documentary photography" would be photographs that served a function.” Wikipedia says, “usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people.” Susan Brannon’s says, “It is telling stories that are not necessarily newsworthy, it is the documentation of an event or occurrence.”

Street Photography

There are no rules, expectations, limitations or steps of order with street photography. These images do not need text to accompany them. The images are normally of people interacting, or alone in some particular environment. The images speak for themselves, however one may not know where or when. The images create some type of emotion and are normally reflect something that occurs at that moment that was not planned.

The images below are from walking around Florence, Italy.

Documentary photography is when the photographer wants to “document” something some event, or” how to do something”. The images in documentary photography need to be accompanied with text of explanations. It takes some planning, maybe making appointments, setting up your camera with lights and interviewing the person. Such as “How to make tiles” , “Women over 40 in NY City” or on the fly as, documenting your injured car after an automobile accident for proof of insurance. Some good samples of documentary photography are from Mary Ellen Mark.

I decided to run outside and take some images of Fashion on Salah ed-Din Street in E. Jerusalem as an example of documentary photography.

22 May 2011

The Holga Camera

Susan Brannon
20 May 2011

The Holga camera is an inexpensive medium format “toy camera” made in China. The camera is known for generating pictures of blur, leaking light, distortions and vignetting (clear in the center and fades in the edges). Some photographers have won awards using the Holga camera in news and art photography.

The camera first appeared outside of China in 1982. Once the Holga hit the foreign market, photographers started using the Holga for its surrealistic, impressionistic scenes for landscape, still life, portrait, and especially, street photography. David Burnett won a prize for the image of former vice-president Al Gore during his campaign using the Holga camera.

There are several types of Holga camera’s; light weight, fixed shutter speed, plastic lens, glass lens, built-in-flash, color flash, twin-lens reflex, 6x4.5 or 6x6 format, pinhole versions, 26mm versions, switchable from standard to panorama format, in 110’s, 120’s, and 24x36. There is an aperture setting switch from sunny and cloudy, with a normal value of f-11 and f-8/

My advise is to use ISO200 speed films and shoot in the sunlight for best results. With the Holga you can shoot 16 exposures with a 6x4.5 format or 16 exposures with the 6x6 format, that you can choose the option on the backside of the camera.

However, when choosing the option by viewing the “window” do NOT look next to the red window but instead pointed to the arrow on the switch.

Using the Holga is pure fun, and you can adopt the camera to suit your needs, by learning to change its parts. The plastic lens breaks up the sterility of the digital lens and creates colourful and blissfully innocent images.

Here is a great link to learn to “hack” your Holga, troubleshooting, and techniques for the Holga at Life through the Plastic Lens. http://www.squarefrog.co.uk/

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning
High Noon Photography Tips
Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics

Bracketing

Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking
Exposure

holga commercial

This is not an official commercial for Holga

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartièr-Bresson

Susan Brannon

"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life."

Henri Cartièr-Bresson was considered the father of modern photojournalism. He used the 35mm format, and mastered candid photography. He helped develop street photography or

“real life reportage”. His style of photography influenced photographers from then on.

He was born in France on August 22, 1908 and died on August 3, 2004 at 95.

He started out as a painter, then later experimented with photography His work was influenced by the Surrealist movement in the 1920s and he started hanging out with the surrealists in France and felt to crush tradition and photograph things as they really are.

After a trip to Africa and studying literature in the UK, he returned to France in the early 1930s.

He is quoted as saying “The only thing which completely was an amazement to me and brought me to photography was the work of Munkacsi. When I saw the photograph of Munkacsi of the black kids running in a wave, I couldnt believe such a thing could be caught with the camera. I said damn it, I took my camera and went out into the street”

It was then that he stopped painting and took up photography seriously. He purchased the Leica camera with a 50mm lens that was his camera for many years. This is what made the Leica so famous for street photographers!

For a great link to Cartier's images click on Magnum Photos
Related lessons:

Tips on How to Use our Disposable Cameras

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning
High Noon Photography Tips

17 May 2011

Street Photography Tips

Susan Brannon

Street Photography!

· With a 35 or 50mm lens, you will have to get close to your subject in order to make them the primary object in the frame.

· Gain trust by talking with the people you want to photograph to get them relaxed.

· You will tend to get nice photographs when you are part of the scene and reacting to the emotions around you.

· Try to choose places where the camera is “normal” such as a park, the zoo, a tourist attraction and sporting events. You will blend in with the crowd.

· Avoid touristy shots! Get behind the scenes and real life situations.

· Expect the unexpected, keep your eyes open and be ready for that shot!

· Best to go auto focus

· Adjust your shutter speed according to the light changes as you walk around.

· Always remember to have your hand on the camera and ready to click away, if you have to spend all your time adjusting the focus, the frame, the shutter speed…your shot and subject will be gone.

· If you have a digital, show your subjects the images you took of them they will love it and probably let you take more!

· Blend in with the crowd, don’t wear a mini skirt or high heels, or professional photo gear draped all around you that gains attention.

· Keep yourself light for fast movement.

Angles and Framing:

· Don’t be afraid to go diagonal.

· Find ways to go high and low.

· Stand on a wall, or lay down in the park.

· Experiment with angles before shooting.

· Exaggerate the moment, make the background blurry and the subject crisp!

· Look for the composition. A person standing near a sign that points to her, etc…

Your mindset:

· Don’t worry too much, relax and enjoy the moment, the environment and the people!

· Observe the moment and the people around you.

· Don’t feel shy or timid, it will show in your images and the people around you will feel it.

· Be creative, have a since of humor, view the fun part of life and humanity it will come out in your images.

People:

Photograph different ages, genders, situations that are representative of that culture.
Don’t just take images of one person, but two or three interacting.
Get close and fill in your frame of the persons face, then show them the photo!
Pay attention to the background, don’t put a pole coming out of the persons head!

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning
High Noon Photography Tips
Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics

Bracketing

Focused Bracketing or Photo Stacking
Exposure

Street Photography and Cameras

Susan Brannon

Normally, in street photography, the photographer wants a natural look of the environment. You don’t want to pull out your 24-70 mm lens when trying to create the natural environment because it grabs too much attention! I like using small, non evasive point and shoots with either a wide- angle or 35mm lens. For my Crossing Borders Project, I distribute disposable cameras with a 35mm lens and surprising enough they take wonderful images.

Outside of the project, the ultimate dream camera is the Leica M9, the new digital camera or the older manual . This camera gives the totally manual feel. It has the components a street photographer would want: it is non invasive quick, silent in terms of the shutter sound, can control your exposure through aperture and shutter speed and built like a tank! However, with this rangefinder, the lens window does not reflect how your image will show up. Inside there are lines showing the borders of how much of the frame your camera will actually capture. The new digital is a replica of the classic 35mm. However, the camera is very expensive to buy but do not fret! There are many other options to choose from.

There are the disposable cameras, automatic, in color or black and white that are small. However, with these camera’s you need to look at the lens window, and give some room for the “real” lens view. The windows are normally a bit higher than the lens, so the photos do not turn out like the view that you see. You will need to compensate for that difference. Sometimes these cameras work best in the natural light when the subject is in the sun. The flash distance is not very far and normally unless you are right next to your subject, the flash will not cover the subject when photographing inside or in the shadow.

Holga’s can be quite fun for taking images in the streets. I have the Holga that has a medium format. It is small, but because it is film and automatic I found that it is best to take images in the sunshine! However, each Holga is different and the fun of it is that you never quite know what you are going to get. I have three Holga’s when I go out and about.

What camera to use, really depends on the photographer, their mood, and the type of essence they want to capture through the lens. The camera arena is wide open for a street photographer. It is quite possible, to set up a SRL with a telefoto lens onto a tri pod and stay in a public place to snap shots. After awhile the crowd will get used to you and life will continue as normal.

What is the difference between Street Photography and Documentary?
Four Easy Steps to Learn panning
High Noon Photography Tips
Tips for Night Photography

Aperture and f/16 Rule
Shutter Speed Basics

Bracketing