I recently posted an abstract photo of some raindrops with an umbrella showing through them (Instagram post below), and I had someone ask me how I did it and if I could share some of the details of behind the scenes, so I thought I’d do a write up of how I set out with the shot and some of the reasoning behind it.
Tag: Photography
Tutorial – Football Photography
Following on from my previous post about starting out in sports photography, I thought I’d put something together about what I’ve learnt around shooting football matches. When I first started planning out a post on this, I wasn’t going to make it a tutorial (I’m still learning, so no master!) but as I’m writing this it’s apparent it is. So, this will be my take on how I shoot football games, and please comment/message me if you have any other tips or think I could do something better. One of my original aims for this post was that I could provide a sort of reference set, locations and focal lengths with example images to try to help people know what to expect depending on their lens availability and or location flexibility. Note – I’ve also included a video part to this tutorial so you can see what it looks like from where I’m sitting during the game (link to video). In the future I’d like to expand this to some other sports, so let me know if you have found this useful and I will try to make that happen, but for now I’ll start with football.
Sports photography – of the amateur kind
One of the first genres of photography I really spent much time on was sports photography (alongside wildlife), but then after a while it dropped off as I moved away from the area of the team I was shooting. However more recently I’ve got the sports photography buzz back again, so I thought it would be a good time to share some experience of how I’ve gotten the buzz back, and how others may find that trying sports photography is easier than they thought (and definitely something to try at least a few times).
Finding Inspiration pt2
In part 1 I covered the digital forms of media that I find useful for sources of inspiration, in this post I will talk more about other sources of inspiration. With finding inspiration from non-online sources it can take more effort, but often it can have a bigger impact, so is certainly worth exploring. That being said, there are some easy access sources that may be closer than you realise.
Finding Inspiration pt1
In today’s world, access to visual media is prevalent, in fact, we’re bombarded with it daily, and so with photography being a form of visual media it’s easy to assume finding inspiration is simple. In reality, it’s not as easy as you would assume and the age old adage of quality over quantity becomes relevant. Managing our access to material in a way that helps combat the risk of saturation, quantity and not quality is something everyone should think about. Asking yourself if what you’re getting truly is inspiration, or is it that 2 second buzz that’s goes just as easily as it came. Here are a few thoughts on ways I’ve found inspiration, and also some sources that I find I go to more regularly.
Review – Lowepro Flipside Sport
If you want to do any photography outside a studio, you’ll need a bag, and if you’re heading out for long periods of time or hiking with your camera it’s an important bit of kit. On longer trips, it’s not only going to carry your camera gear but also other essentials, food, water etc. I’ve had the Lowepro Flipside Sport (20L) for a few years now, so this is more of a long term review, but at least that means its thoroughly tested.
My start in film
Why film? It’s a question I did ask myself a few times before dropping a few £ on ebay. I’ve always had too many hobbies, and being time poor these days I wanted to make sure it was a wise investment. After some thought, I realised extending my photography into film was going to scratch a few itches I have, and hopefully improve my photography overall. Here are the three main things which made me finally decide to venture unto the world of film. Continue reading “My start in film”
Critique in situ
This is undoubtedly something that is obvious to many, but for those it’s not, it may help.
Critiquing your shots straight after you’ve pressed the shutter button is something I’ve realised that I have started taking for granted (having recently dabbled in film), and honestly, not been doing enough. Now, I’m not talking about chimping, checking blown highlights or any kind of quick glance at the back of the camera. But a true critique, does the shot have those leading lines, contrast, or subject position you was trying to achieve.
I’m sure I’m not alone in getting home and looking at some images and feeling like they just don’t match what I could see in my mind when on site, taking the picture. Continue reading “Critique in situ”
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