Monday 19 August 2013

How to Get Into Concerts as a Photographer

How to Get Into Concerts as a Photographer

Link to PictureCorrect Photography Tips

How to Get Into Concerts as a Photographer

Posted: 18 Aug 2013 05:38 PM PDT

While entertaining, attending concerts and sports events can get pretty expensive, especially if you want good seats for photographing. On top of the expense, many events won’t even allow you to bring a camera.

Here is how you can get free tickets to big events and gain practice with event photography. This method doesn’t always work, but it will work more often than you might think…

"George Adams" captured by Tom Marcello.

“George Adams” captured by Tom Marcello.

One thing all event promoters want is publicity. Even better is FREE publicity.

As soon as you hear about the event, contact magazines and newspapers that are not local. To save time, make a list of them in advance. The list will be handy for contacting publications every time a new event comes to town.

All of these newspapers and magazines have an entertainment section and they not only want photos and stories about these events, they really need them. But few have reporters in your area. It just isn’t worth the expense.

Here’s where you come in.

Offer to cover the event, but don’t ask for payment. The promoters and news outlets don’t know you and won’t want to make an offer. Tell the publications that you will send them photos and a story in exchange for a press pass. In the industry, this is called being a “stringer.” News outlets work with stringers all the time. Just as important, the event promoter works with them, too.

This tactic is particularly effective if the event is going to be coming to the news outlet area. The promoter will see your offer as free advance publicity, and the news outlet will see it as a multi-part story.

While you get free admission to the event and get to meet the stars, the news outlet has nothing to lose–a press pass doesn’t cost them anything. If the photos are good, the story can be edited or even rewritten, if necessary. And they have coverage of an event they would not otherwise have had.

If you do a bad job, if it is all garbage, they just toss the story and they haven’t lost anything. (Of course, I recommend you do the best job you can or you won’t be able to get any future passes.)

Do this a few times. Get copies of the published articles and start a portfolio of your work. It won’t be long before they actually will start paying you. Plus when you can send out samples, it will be easier to get the initial press passes from other outlets.

"The Flaming Lips Rock Austin @ SXSW" captured by Kris Krug.

“The Flaming Lips Rock Austin @ SXSW” captured by Kris Krug.

If you’re into concerts and sporting events, this photo tip could save you a ton of money, give you concert and sports event photography practice, and even lead to a professional photography career. For more information, check out the resources box!

About the Author:
Dan Eitreim writes for ontargetphototraining (link currently down). He has been a professional photographer in Southern California for over 20 years. His philosophy is that learning photography is easy if you know a few tried and true strategies.


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Concert Photography Commentary & Tips Along with a Point of View Perspective

Posted: 18 Aug 2013 03:34 PM PDT

Jared Polin scored a paid gig photographing Macklemore in concert. Lucky for us, he filmed his experience using a GoPro mounted above a Canon 1D X, which he was using for the first time. Along with the high-end camera, use of the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens helped the photographer capture tack sharp focus and accurate colors. See a photographer in action as Polin narrates the video he created during Macklemore’s three song set to give us an insider’s perspective of concert photography (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here):

Polin’s experiences from the pit give valuable tips to concert photography novices:

  • Position yourself on the opposite side of stage of the hand that holds the mic in order to get clear shots of the subject’s face.
  • Find an open space to stand. In this case, the photographer stood next to a person doing video, because he knew no one would be standing nearby.
  • Wait for the performer’s microphone to be away from his or her mouth.
  • Protect your gear. Turn your back if the musician throws water from the stage.
  • Work around speakers and other obstructions by waiting for the subject to be in just the right place.
  • If the musician is wearing sunglasses, look for opportunities to capture his or her face when the glasses are removed.
  • Move up to a higher position when you see a musician moving off of the stage and into the crowd. Be sure to move back down as soon as you see the musician turning to return to the stage.
  • Step back and zoom in so you’re not shooting directly up at the subject. It’s difficult to get a good view of face when you’re too close to the stage and below the performer.
  • Bring a step stool when possible.

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At the end of the video, Polin discusses his editing decisions. Though he shot 240 frames during the set, he narrowed his final image choices down to just eight to ten shots. Choosing photos that all capture a different scene and pose creates the kind of well-rounded cross-section of the entire event that publishers are looking for.

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Jared Polin’s commentary offers information and advice that many professional photographers don’t want share. By taking these tips and first-hand experiences to heart, you can improve your success rate with concert photography.


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What Is Aperture in Photography?

Posted: 18 Aug 2013 01:23 PM PDT

Aperture refers to an adjustable opening in your camera lens that is able to limit the amount of light passing through the lens and hitting the camera sensor. Just think of it like your eyes. When you open your eyes, light enters through your cornea, and is bent through the pupil, which is a round opening in the center of the iris. The iris and pupil works exactly like the aperture of a camera, controlling the amount of light being emitted.

what is aperture

“Warmth” captured by Edson Reece (Click Image to See More From Edson Reece)

To control your camera’s aperture, switch your camera mode to aperture priority. In this mode, you are able to manually control your camera’s aperture. The camera will change the shutter speed automatically to match the aperture that you had selected to create a picture that is properly exposed when the shutter release button is clicked.

Aperture is measured in F-stops. The lower the F-stop (e.g. f/2.8), the wider the opening of the aperture. While the higher the F-stop (e.g. f/22), the smaller the opening of the aperture. This concept can be confusing for beginners to understand as it is counter intuitive. However, it should not be too hard to understand once we know exactly what aperture is and how it affects the outcome of your pictures.

When the aperture is wide open (e.g. f/2.8), more light will enter through the camera’s lens, therefore, less time is required for proper exposure which meant faster shutter speeds. Wide aperture will also cause a shallow depth of field in your picture, where the foreground and background of your picture is blurred except for the subject which you are focusing on. However, the opposite applies when the aperture is small.

aperture photography

“Bokeh Love – Leaf” captured by Alex Lewis (Click Image to See More From Alex Lewis)

When the aperture is small (e.g. f/22), less light will enter through the camera’s lens, therefore, more time is required for proper exposure which meant slower shutter speeds. Small aperture will also cause a deep depth of field in your picture, where everything in the picture is in focus.

Wide aperture (e.g. f/2.8) is useful for taking pictures in low light conditions as more light gets to enter and hit the camera’s sensor. It allows you to use faster shutter speeds as well that can be used to freeze action on moving subjects such as a running dog. It is also suitable to use when you want to take portraits or macros where you want a shallow depth of field so that the subject will be sharp and stand out in your picture.

Small aperture (e.g. f/22) is useful for taking pictures in good light conditions as there is more than enough light that will enter and hit the camera’s sensor. It allows you to use slower shutter speeds which can be used to give your subjects a motion effect in your picture. Remember the running dog example? We can use slower shutter speed to create a motion effect of the dog, running in your picture, bringing your picture to live.

digital camera aperture

Photo captured by Simon Marsden (Click Image to See More From Simon Marsden)

A small aperture is also suitable to use when you want to take landscapes or group shots so that everything in the scene is considerably sharp.

About the Author
Roy Lee is a freelance photographer residing in Malaysia, who specializes in wedding, portrait, and landscape photography.

© Copyright – Roy Lee. All Rights Reserved.

For Further Training on Photography Basics:

There is a popular downloadable multimedia guide with videos that teaches you how to take control over your camera, and get creative and confident with your photography. By combining illustrations, text, photos and video, it will help you get control in no time. Includes a bonus Field Guide—a printable pocket guide with some of the most essential information beautifully laid out inside.

It can be found here: Extremely Essential Camera Skills


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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

Resort Photography Tips as a Commercial Photographer: Tell a Story

Posted: 18 Aug 2013 12:22 PM PDT

What’s your dream job? How does travel photography for a luxury island resort sound? Joe McNally was hired to do just that on Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Learn more about his tricks to telling a story with commercial photography by watching this video (for those of you reading this by email, the video can be seen here):

McNally, who is working on a book project for the Anse Chastanet, a resort with breathtaking views of the Piton mountains, shares some lessons he’s learned from travel photography. The ultimate goal of travel photography, he says, is to make someone interested in going to the place you’re photographing. To do this, you must tell a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

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The start of a travel photography story usually shows a place in its entirety. Travel photographers must identify locations that look out over the destination. Under very fortunate circumstances, a client may hire a helicopter to help with the job, but in most situations, the photographer will need to find peaks, roofs, or windows to use. Adding scale to the image shows the grand size of the place. Scale can be demonstrated by including a human, boat, or landmark in the photograph.

The middle of a travel story is a great place for details. This part of the storytelling includes people, recreational activities, services available, and food. Pictures in the middle of the story need not explicitly show an entire scene. Symbolic photographs work just as well. Music and massage, for example, can be represented by images of hot stones in a massage therapist’s hands or a small part of an instrument.

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The detail images in a travel story benefit from the use of shallow depth of field. McNally prefers to use prime lenses for photographing details, because they’re fast in low light situations and have wide apertures. His go-to detail lens is the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G AF-S ED Nikkor Lens.

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A final note for illustrating the details of a destination is the importance of drawing the viewer into the photo. Pull subjects into the foreground to create interest in a photo.

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The closing of a travel story reminds the viewer why they want to be at the location. In the case of a resort, you can set the mood by using warm gels on flashes and using pictures that represent relaxation.

travel-photography-storytelling

If landing a commercial photography gig with a resort is one of your goals, practice seducing viewers with your travel photography by fabricating a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Pull your viewers into a world they want to visit.


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Article from: PictureCorrect Photography Tips

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