Point of View in Photography

There are many different ways for photographers to stimulate their creativity, try new techniques or to experiment. Changing a point of view on a subject is one of these ways. A point of view is influenced by the position, direction and height of the camera. Changing a point of view can be a very interesting and powerful technique in presenting your subject in a new and unique way as well as highlighting its features. You are able to change they way a subject is perceived by simply changing your camera's position.

For example, by photographing a person with a camera pointing upwards, the subject will look not only taller but also it will give a more powerful message about that person. In addition, changing the point of view will also influence and possibly alter the background that is behind the subject. This way, if the original background behind the subject is not interesting, changing the point of view will likely modify the background into what is above the subject. Also, changing your point of view when taking a picture can help you in eliminating distracting backgrounds.

Article Picture: I think this is a good example on how to use a different point of view from what we are usually used to when looking a subject. It is a picture of a wine bottle taken from above. What you actually see is a cork.

Antwerp Diamond Triathlon 2010 (ADT2010)

There is nothing more fun and healthy than doing sports, right? Especially, during competitions like a triathlon, where you do three types of sports: swimming, cycling and running. I was asked to photograph Antwerp Diamond Triathlon 2010 (ADT2010), that took place on 12 September 2010 in Antwerp (Belgium) obviously :).  The organizer of this event was FM Team, a Belgian sports club based in Antwerp.

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The weather unfortunately was really bad but I was prepared for it as a photographer. I was following closely the weather forecast already a week before the event and I tried to predict anything that could happen: from equipment failures to really bad weather. The latter one was particularly important as we all know what rain and water can do to photography equipment. The simplest way you can protect your camera in these situations is to buy a rain-sleeve. I got a couple of these from OP/TECH USA company before shooting Antwerp Diamond Triathlon 2010. This is a simple and an inexpensive way to protect your gear from both rain and dust.

When you shoot events (especially outdoor or in harsh conditions), try to be ready for any situation. I have a saying for such cases: "expected unexpected".

You can see more pictures (actually the best pictures out of 630) on the Flickr's Photo Set here.

How to Increase the Frame Rate in Burst & Continuous Modes

I was playing with my NIKON DSLR some time ago after buying a new ultra fast SD memory card and I discovered few things that will the frame rate in the burst mode or continuos mode. Burst mode or continuous shooting might be very useful when taking sports pictures or kids for example. So how to make your camera take pictures faster in burst mode or continuous shooting and how to increase the frame rate? You have to consider at least few things:

1) The File Type (JPG vs. RAW) - whether you shoot in JPG or RAW has a tremendous influence on the frame rate  in the burst mode or continuous shooting. Because RAW files are much bigger in size due to the additional information they contain, it takes much longer for a camera to save them and to process them. Therefore, if you want to shoot faster in the burst or the continuos mode, you should choose JPG as a file type;

2) Memory Card's Speed - I'm not a memory card guru and quite honestly, my knowledge about them is limited. However, what I can tell you is that SD memory cards vary when it comes to their saving and reading speeds. Buying a fast SD memory card will ensure that camera will be able to save faster pictures. IMPORTANT: your SD memory card's speed is not as important as your camera's buffer!

3) Camera's Buffer - the size of camera's buffer is actually more important than the speed of your memory card. Buffer is a specific amount of built-in memory in a camera that serves to store the image while it is being processed. Once the image has been processed, it is sent from the buffer to the memory card.The size of the buffer is important and the bigger the better because when using burst or continuous mode, and the buffer is filled, the camera may slow down the speed of which it takes photos, until the buffer is sufficiently empty to increase the frame rate;

4) Turn Off Noise Reduction - some cameras (NIKON for sure) has a built-in noise reduction function. This features automatically reduces noise for ISO 800 or higher and there are different levels of noise reduction. I noticed that when noise reduction is turned on, it heavily influences the frame rate in the burst or the continuous modes. Therefore, remember to turn noise reduction off in your settings in order to minimize the image processing time and to increase the frame rate;

5) Turn Off VR (Vibration Reduction) / IS (Image Stabilization) - both Nikon and Canon have their systems which help in minimizing the possibility of blurry images in situations when shutter needs to be opened for bit longer. In Nikon this is called VR (Vibration Reduction); in Canon this is IS (Image Stabilization). If you ever used these, you might noticed that the period between pressing the shutter button and the actual movement of the shutter is much longer when VR is turned on. This would also decrease the frame rate in the burst and the continuous modes. Therefore, turn VR / IS off;

6) Shoot in low ISO - I noticed that the camera works a bit slower and the frame rate is much lower when taking pictures with high ISO. Therefore, I would suggest to shoot in ISO 200 or even lower because higher than that, the frame rate will decrease;

7) Autofocus off or in continuous / continuous servo modes - a camera needs some time to set up focus in the autofocus mode. Thus, depending on the measuring method, autofocus may decrease the frame rate. The best way to increase the frame rate to the maximum when it comes to autofocus is to turn autofocus off. However, there might be situations (for example when taking pictures of a moving object with a small aperture value) when you need autofocus on. Then you can switch the autofocus mode to AutoFocus Continuous on NIKON and Continuous Servo on Canon. This way, the camera will track an object and adjust the autofocus continuously, which reduces the time for adjust autofocus from 'scratch' and increases the frame rate in the burst and continuous modes.

Finding the balance between the theory and practice.

Many aspiring photographers try to find their ways not only on how to enter the photography market, but also on how to effectively and efficiently learn the art of photography. Some of these people find themselves in a rather deadlock - they have the basic knowledge but they can't progress anywhere from there. Such situations quite often occur when we start by reading lots of articles about photography and learning the theory but we forgot the most important thing about photography: it's about taking pictures!

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I believe that only taking pictures in order to learn photography is not enough. The same apply when talking about theory - let's face it, you can't be a photographer without taking pictures. But both theory and practice are required to be a photographer, add passion and creativity and you won't only be a photographer but you will have pretty good chances in becoming a good photographer.

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So where should be the balance between the theory and practice? In general, I think there is no definite answer to this question. However, I would say that every person who wants to do photography either as a hobby or make living out of it, needs to know at least the minimum of theoretical knowledge. I believe that practice and practical knowledge without the theoretical knowledge can limit an aspiring photographer because for me theory helps you in understanding how various things work, what can be different connections and relations between settings, etc. Such knowledge helps in boosting creativity for sure.

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Therefore, I think that everyone should find his and her own balance between the theory: don't let lack of theory limit your photography and don't let practice forget about the theory.

Article Pictures: Marika is a young and aspiring model from Poland. We meet in July for a quick and spontaneous photo shoot in Brussels, Belgium. I have to say that working with her is pure pleasure. We had lots of laugh and fun while shooting.

Thinking outside the box in photography

Being a photographer is not only about knowing the rules of photography and applying them. It's also about being able to break them and to think outside the box. I think that the latter is particularly important for those who try or want to be creative - without the ability of thinking outside the box will make it very hard to stand out in the crowd!

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So what does thinking outside the box mean for me as a photographer? Ohh it can mean so many different things. I think it comes all together to a combination of various things: the ability to break the rules of photography, creativity and the potential to see the world around in a unique way.

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How can you learn to think outside the box? Well, I really can't give a definite answer to that. I can definitely tell you that you don't have to be born with it (although it can be helpful to a certain extent) but you can learn it as well. i can tell you how I try to think outside the box: I look around at the world around me from different angles and various perspectives. I keep trying to see it in a way others don't. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. It's important to train yourself, your brain and your eyes and not to give up. The more you try to see the world around you from different perspectives, the easier it becomes.

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Article Pictures: I visited my friend Ada in Den Haag, the Netherlands in June 2010. I think the pictures correspond pretty well to how you can think outside the box in photography.

How to shoot better pictures - Film Camera Style Tip

I was looking over some of my older photography gear few weeks ago and obviously I ran across my old film cameras and old memory cards from my first digital cameras. I started to recall the times of film photography and compare it with the experience of the digital world.

It took me awhile (being so deep in digital cameras nowadays) to realize that film cameras limited me by certain number of pictures a photographic film roll could contain (not like digital cameras, which can take from few hundred to few thousand RAW pictures, depending on the capacity of a memory card). The limitation of a number of ‘exposures’ (in photographic jargon of course) in film cameras forced me to spend some time and think about a composition of a picture, how to frame a subject, inspect closely foreground, background, double check the lighting and any other details that could improve a picture so that no film and frames would be wasted. This limitation of a film camera was (and for someone who uses a film camera still is) a very important step in the learning process of the art of photography and I personally believe that it still should be a part of the learning process of photography.

I think that digital cameras with their huge memory cards give us the freedom that actually does more harm than good for those who want to learn photography – we don’t take that extra time and effort on checking composition of a picture like in a film camera because we know that we can re-take a picture countless number of time and delete easily ‘bad’ pictures without any financial costs (as it wasn’t the case in the photographic film roll era).

I think I have found a solution for those who own only digital cameras and who want to learn composition in a way it was done before. The solution is quite simple: next time you will go for a photo walk, do an assignment for yourself or just take pictures, leave your 8 or 16 GB memory card at home and take with you only one memory card of 1GB or even less (the less capacity, the better; I just checked that 1GB for shooting 12.1 MP RAW will give you about 68 exposures). Depending if you shoot RAW or JPEG and how many megapixels your camera has, you should find a memory card that enables you to take not more than 30 exposures. And remember to leave all other memory cards at home! This way you will limit your gear but you will definitely expand your knowledge and experience in composition!

I strongly encourage you to try it out few times and I guarantee that you will see improvement in your photography soon.

Happy Shooting!!!

Article Picture: I took it in the evening with my Nikkor 35mm f1.8 lens in Jubel Park in Brussels (Bruxelles), Belgium. Jubel Park in a part of Parc du Cinquantenaire (click to see Google Maps). EXIF info: Nikon D90, Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec., f/1.8, ISO: 200.

Exposure Is NOT Shutter Speed!

I met a group of young photographers in Brussels (Belgium) few days ago. I overheard them discussing various aspects of photography so I joined them of course. At some point, they got to the point of talking about exposure as if they were talking about shutter speed (for example that the exposure was 1/60 sec.). To be honest, I was confused at first and I started to question my knowledge on the differences between exposure and shutter speed. Thankfully, it didn't take me long to do a quick and quiet analysis in my head and to assure myself that I was right in the first place:

Exposure is NOT the same as shutter speed!

I won't go in detail but I will just give a quick summary to those of you who are still confused a little: exposure is the total amount of light that passes on a film (or a digital sensor). That total amount of light depends on the aperture and on the shutter speed.

Note: Some photographers use 'exposure time' as a 'shutter speed'. Although this is correct (shutter speed defines for how long a film or a sensor are exposed, therefore 'exposure time'), I personally don't use 'exposure time' because it's very much different from 'exposure' itself but can create much confusion.

Article Picture: This is another picture taken at the Cemetery de Molenbeek in Brussels (Bruxelles), Belgium (see google map). Previous one was posted with THIS article. I saw this statue while walking around the cemetery and I was amazed with it's look. EXIF: Nikon D90, Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec., f/1.8, Aperture Priority, ISO: 200, EV Bias: +0.7

Indoor and Outdoor Sports Photography Tips

I have drafted a list of indoor sports photography tips few days ago for Photography101 , which is hosted by Scott Wittenburg. After reading them over and over again, I realized that many of these tips apply to outdoor sports photography as well. I believe they are crucial for every sports photographer, an amateur and especially a pro. However, remember that these tips will vary depending on sports and situations and some might be more important in certain situations than other. As Scott Bourne keeps saying: "Photography has always been about compromise." Remember it when shooting sports. Before providing you with indoor and outdoor sports photography tips, I have identified so far the following variables, which might make some of these tips more or less important:

- lighting conditions (how much there is natural and directional light from sun and how much equally distributed artificial light); - your position in relation to the subject(s); - type of sports; - your preference on the subject and the focus of photography.

Indoor and Outdoor Sports Photography Tips:

- Burst Mode - because there are lots of fast movements and action in sports, it's good sometimes to shoot in the burst mode to capture the most interesting and thrilling moments. In order to increase the rate of frames per second (FPS), do the following: shoot in JPG, turn off VR (Nikon) or IS (Canon); turn off in-camera noise-reduction; get a fast memory-card; having a battery-grip attached to your camera with AA batteries also increases FPS (but you need to change settings in your camera, the best is to refer to the camera manual);

- Focusing - set up focusing mode to continuous (Nikon) or AI Servo (Canon); also activate to automatic all the focusing points in the camera and subject-tracking if available. Extra tip: make sure you're in the AutoFocus Mode;

- ISO - set up ISO to Auto (so the camera can determine the best ISO based on your shutter speed and aperture, especially if you shoot in one of those priority modes). Remember that in poor lighting situations, your camera will likely use higher ISO. ISO above 800 tend to have higher noise and visible noise than ISO below 800. If you want to keep noise minimum, you can also specify the ISO range your camera will use in the Auto ISO mode.

- Shutter Speed - fast shutter speed is essential when shooting indoor or outdoor sports in order to freeze action. To freeze action and motion, shoot in Shutter Priority Mode and set it up to 1/1000sec. However, don't be afraid to play with it as it might depend on sports you shoot and especially when you want to achieve the optimal results for combining shutter speed, ISO and aperture according to your needs;

- Perspective - get low on you knees to get more interesting and unique perspective of your photography. If possible, lay even on your stomach. Remember that this tip might not apply to some sports and it also depends when you want to have a subject and focus in your photos.

- Use Fast Lens - a fast lens is crucial, especially in poor indoor lighting situations and when you want to freeze motion with high shutter speed, while avoiding high and noisy ISO. F/4 or lower f (higher aperture) is recommended;

- Long Focal Length Lens - long focal length lens is also crucial because it allows you to nicely zoom to a subject and 'get closer' to it so to speak. It depends on the type of sports you shoot and your location on the field but I would say that -200mm- lens is a minimum; -

Both Eyes Open - when shooting and looking through the viewfinder, keep your other eye open (so keep both eyes open). This way you don't limit your view-angle to what happens in the viewfinder and you also see what happens around and where the action is as sometimes fights break somewhere in the field, coaches go crazy, etc. and it's a pity to miss such great and unique shots;

- Expect Unexpected - this actually applies to many things: your main camera or lens breaks, your run out of space on a memory card or it starts raining during an outdoor sports game. Always have a backup, especially when you're shooting for a customer;

- Protect Your Gear - be careful with your gear when it comes to weather and other circumstances - there is lots of action during games: players concentrate on the game and fans drink beer and alcohol. Neither of these people worry about your expensive camera and gear when they bump into you or hit your gear - be extra careful with it and position yourself in a spot that looks the safest for you. Also watch for your gear or ask a friend / an assistant to come with you to watch it for you because pickpockets love crowded places.

- Monopod - not mandatory but often useful because holding a camera and pointing it towards the field during the whole game can make your arm feel really tired. However, if you don't point the camera towards the field all the time, you might miss some very good and interesting shots. Therefore, putting a camera on a monopod allows you to point the camera towards the field all the time and manipulate camera, move it, etc very easily because monopods are much better than tripods when shooting sports when it comes to portability and maneuverability. In addition, there is not always space to set up the legs of the tripod, people are walking around and can bump into your tripod with a camera on it and believe me: you don't want to be in a situation where camera hits the floor. If you don't have a monopod and you can't afford to buy one, you can use your tripod but don't set-up the legs. Extra tip: having a camera on a monopod, instead of holding it, also speeds up focusing.

Feel free to leave any additional tips in the comments below.

Article Picture: The picture you see above was taken in Maastricht, the Netherlands during the Dutch National Sport Week on 18 April 2009. EXIF Info: Nikon D90, Shutter Speed: 1/2000 sec., F/8, ISO 360, Focal Length: 105 mm