Why People Photograph

To communicate

One of the crucial elements in human being interactions is communication. It is a skill which is developed through time. To become naturally confident at it you have to go through the same process of repetitive learning you have already experienced in developing skills such as reading, walking or counting. We choose the way how we communicate with each other and there is no doubt that for a myriad of us it is way easier to express our feelings, emotions, opinions or attitude by the spoken word, but what about the rest of us? There are several ways how you can express yourself, I prefer photographs or visual arts in general which is not always self-explanatory, but it has its language that can be understood by most of us. Photographers aren’t the greatest speakers, but they are for sure the best storytellers. In order to be able to snap good pictures, you have to think before head considering whether your scenario in the frame can tell a story, spark emotion or at least bring subjective memory into individual viewers head.  

To bring back memories

From the moment the human body is born it begins dying. Sometimes it happens faster sometimes it happens slower. Our perception is being imposed and transformed through thoughts and memories in our brain. Sooner or later you realize that you are not capable to bring back all the memories just by trying to think of past events. In this case, photographs might be useful in fact with just one frame our brain is more likely to remember more memories since over 90% of the information we receive are from our visual understanding. The human brain loves photos, it can process visual information 60 000 times faster than written information. When you start to appreciate the time, you find distinct angles from where you might see photography on a completely different level. Everybody loves going through old photographs but you have to take some to savour that sweet moments years later.

To lie

Sometimes I miss the good-old candid photos especially those journalistic photos from TIME magazine where you as a viewer become part of the story additionally you start wondering about what happened in the scene. When photograph makes you start thinking beyond the frame that’s the point where you can be pretty sure you are looking at a great photograph. Time is moving fast; development of new technologies and last cultural trends are seeking attention from a huge mass of people and they change the way how we treat photography. Photo retouching has never been so accessible as it is today, the question remains where are the ethics? Many would ask, how far is too far? It gave us wider possibilities of how to work with one’s creativity but at the expense of removing the natural form in which we can find real beauty. Do you know that even film photographs were retouched in the 1930s? No? I thought so because retouching was used much less and in the right way so you haven’t spotted it at first sight, not even at the second sight. You cannot say the same about today’s work but you can pretty easily describe the egregious way of how is it harming people's self-esteem.

How I Sold My First Street Portrait

Making money from your passion is one of the greatest feelings ever. People around you start respecting your work and as time goes, you start getting more and more offers and invitations to take part in various projects. At that point, I see two mistakes a lot of people make. First of all, they are accepting all the photography offers even they don't want to work on that project or they are not yet that confident and skillful. Secondly, they don't know how to price their work and mostly end up underpricing their effort. After a while, you'll be bored shooting something you are not interested in even though you are well paid. And of course, not every time you’ll have free reign to do everything you want. Every photographer's dream is to start selling prints of their own work which they are proud of and passionate about.

Here is a story how it all happened. As on any other Thursday, I brought my camera with me to the center of Prague to take some street shots for a couple of hours. Over the years I developed my own style in approaching people on the street while taking photos of them. First of all, I only take candid photographs as they are more natural to me, especially in street photography. I'm just walking until I see something or someone, that really catches my eye, then I come right in front of them and start taking photos of them from around a fifty-centimetre distance. I never ask for permission, because people posing is never as natural as I want. Yes, of course, with this approach, I get a taste of someone’s knuckles occasionally and I’ve gotten into several serious conversations with lawyers. Once in a while people are really nice about it, they ask politely if I can delete the picture. But I'm inexorable and I know my rights and they can't do anything about it. For this kind of street photography, you need to overcome your fear of interacting with strangers and the fear of getting attacked. Anyway, I was walking down the street when I saw two tall men standing and smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk. The reason why they actually caught my eye was that they were pretty nicely dressed. I literally ran towards the older one and started taking portraits of him. I snapped around four or five pictures. Right after I was a little worried about the other guy, who was much younger and he looked tough, but I kept taking photos. The younger man turned to me and he asked me what I was doing, so I answered bluntly, I was taking photos. Later he wanted to see the photos, so I showed him some of them on the screen of my camera. We started a pleasant conversation and it turned out that he was the son of the older man. He pointed on the jewelry store, which was right next to us and he told me to come over tomorrow because he wants to buy a print.

So here is the photo that I picked to be printed. I would say it’s a pretty decent portrait. When I was photographing the old man I was really focused on fitting him into the frame. I was also concentrated on the background as I wanted it to be as clean as possible. Another important thing was the angle from which I was capturing him because of the light that fell on his skin. It made a really nice shadow on the left side of his face. When you are taking a portrait of someone, you always want to focus on expressing their personality and character through photography as it is the most powerful and essential thing. The day after I printed a 30 x 40 photograph on matt paper and successfully sold it to the guy in the jewelry store for $70. And that is how I sold my first ever print.

How To Shoot Concert Photography

1/ Get your photo pass  

Tom Odell

Before anything, you need to find local press media you would photograph the concerts for. They will provide you with a press card, and then you are set to apply for photo accreditations. No one will give you a photo pass unless you publish an article before the concert. After the gig, you will need to publish a photo gallery from the concert. Try to get into the biggest online media you can find to increase your chances of getting a photo pass. Because the organizer will need to promote the concert as well, they will usually have five spots for photographers. So they are choosing online media carefully.

2/ Do your research before the gig 

Macklemore

Research before every concert. It’s worth it. If the musician is on tour, go and immediately get benefits of social media. For example, you can find concerts footage from the actual tour on youtube. Then you’ll know which songs they’ll be playing and when. Also, make sure you know the layout of the stage. It's very important because you don't want to miss any unexpected moments. Sometimes singers get off the stage to interact with the fans, and this can be an emotional moment, which should be captured.

3/ Don't forget the rules  

Tom Odell

A photo pit is a place right under the stage, and it has some rules. You better know these rules to avoid amateur mistakes.

Rule 1: You usually only have time to photograph during the first 3 songs, some bands allow only 2.

Rule 2: You are not allowed to use flash.

Rule 3: Don't camp on the same spot.

Rule 4: Don't hold up your camera above your head. You could ruin shot of the photographer behind you.

4/ Equipment and settings 

Milky Chance

Many concerts, except for summer festivals, there is low light. So, you will need to get a full-frame camera that you can set high ISO. Without it, you’ll notice a visible grain. You would need to use a lens that has a low aperture, as you want to get as much light inside of the camera sensor. I would recommend these two lenses. A 24 mm-70 mm 2.8 for open scenes like the crowd and 70 mm-200 mm 2.8 to for portraits of the artists.

So, remember, each concert has a different lighting setup. You want to keep your shutter speed at least at 160/s, the aperture should be around 2.8. ISO really depends on your camera but try to keep it around 1600.

5/ Look for the eye contact  

Tom Odell

One of the most powerful things in concert photography is when you get the eyes of the musician looking at you. It happens rarely, but when you capture that shot, you will recognize the difference.

6/ Hand gestures 

MØ

Focus on hand gestures because they are great in two ways. They can add to your photography, that kind of movement and drive you want. Also, a lot of hand gestures are expressions of the artist. They are a connection to his mind.

7/ Avoid racks  

Kodaline

Any kind of racks, wires and even big speakers are nightmares in concert photography. You don't have much space where you can move under the stage. Sometimes these obstacles are placed awkwardly, and the singer is not moving. So, you are pretty much in a pickle. Or you can use these things to help you with framing the photograph.

8/ Photograph from the crowd  

Tom Odell

After the first three songs, you need to exit the photo pit, but you can stay in the main audience until the end of the gig. Why not take the opportunity? But remember to take care of your gear. You won't have any security guards with you like in the photo pit.

9/ Look for the fog  

Chvrches

Fog during a concert is easily one of the best effects. It creates a cool atmosphere in the photo. Fog often makes the light softer and creates more contrast and that's a big advantage for you. There is nothing perfect, so sometimes be aware that might be difficult for you to focus properly and when it happens I recommend you to switch from automatic focus to manual focus. I'm not a big fan of post-processing, so I want to set everything right before taking a photograph. I only post-process white balance, contrast and highlights.

 










10/ Use the power of social media  

 

The Kills

After the show, make sure that you pick only the best pictures. Then use the concert’s Facebook event to your advantage by sharing your photo gallery with a link to your website. You should do this with any social media possible, from Pinterest to Instagram. But don't take it too seriously. You just want to promote your work. You don't want to get hung up on the number of likes or comments you get. They don’t have any relevance whether your photographs are good or not. Finally, take a break, get a cup of tea and enjoy the rest of the day.

Photography Mistakes You All Do

1/ You don't compose

Paris

First of all, the composition doesn't have any fixed rules, but if you follow some of the classic ones, your photography will be set to another level. Composition basically directs the eyes of your viewer to wherever you want, so you can simply highlight your main intention in the photograph. Or on the other hand, you can hide an object, which you don't want to be shown. All the objects and the people in the photo needs to be in position, which is pleasant to your eyes. The perfect composition comes to play when you don't have to change anything in the photograph, especially when it comes to still-life.

Follow the basics such as rule of thirds, leading lines, frame with the frame, central composition, and you'll see the difference. Above all in art, in your vision or in the whole universe, there aren't any limitations, you have the power to do whatever you want, so take advantage of that and express yourself, your emotions, and your opinion with any composition you like.

Krakow

2/ You are not close enough

This is from my point of view one of the biggest issues in photography overall. Get as close as you can to your main object and then shoot. Real McCoy is definitely Robert Capa, who once said: "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." He was one of the founding members of Magnum photo agency. As a war photographer, he was always in the first line with the soldiers, that's where the quote came from. Unfortunately, he stepped on a mine in the Vietnam war and died at the age of 40, but his images are still alive. He filled the frame with emotions instead of blood. Most people choose a telephoto lens when they want their subject to appear closer to the camera, they just zoom in. What they don't know is that their photographs will be less intimate. Use 28 mm lens to really understand what distance in photography means, principally in street photography. Getting closer to your subject will give a feeling of being in the action, and that's very powerful. So once you are holding a camera and taking photos, remember to take one step closer, it won't hurt you.

3/ You are using an automatic mode

Verona

Always shoot in manual mood as it allows you to do whatever you want while capturing the reality around you. Once again, reconsider learning exposure triangle, it’s crucial for your photography. Just imagine driving a car without knowing what each of the pedals does. The car won't get you as far as you think.

4/ You don't care about light

Moving to one of the most important things of all. In a nutshell, light is the main tool with which you are literally painting your photographs. Learning about various lighting gives you new

Prague

opportunities. Is the light hard or soft? Where does it come from? Is the intensity enough? Natural light or studio lights? You have to take all these factors into account.

5/ You are buying gear instead of books

This is the best advice which has been ever given to me. Everyone is obsessed with new gear, best cameras, and lenses. You know what? You can take great photographs even with your phone. I mean it's not about technical parameters, rather about how you can tell a story in only one frame or if you can strike viewers’ emotions. By books, I don't mean technical ones, but photo books made by your favorite photographers. Do you take portraits? Buy a book made by Richard Avedon. Do you like fashion photography? Go and get Annie Leibovitz's fashion photo book. The main idea behind this

Prague

theory is that you are learning photography through your eyes. Where do you think you can get the best inspiration from? When you get the book, first of all, everyone loves to really feel the book, the structure or even the smell of the book. As you are going through the book, page by page, at one point you'll ask yourself, “Oh boy, these photographs are awesome, how did he or she take them?” Right off the bat, you are learning something new, even if you didn't realize it yet. Soon you’ll start thinking about the composition, light, meaning…