Two for Tuesday 5.19.09

Welcome to Two For Tuesday – where you'll find two tips (one by a fellow pro and one by me) each. . . Tuesday :-)


Freeze It
Barry Zeek
www.barryzeek.com

I try to always plan my shots and not shoot from the hip. In this shot, taken on a bright, sunny day, my goal was to freeze the action.

My subject was traveling at 175 mph – pretty darn fast. Using my Canon EOS 1D Mark III, I chose a high shutter speed (1600th of a second) with the camera set to TV (time value) mode.

The reason to choose the TV mode is that if the light level changes, the shutter speed remains the same, while the camera changes the f-stop to compensate for the change in light level.

I set my camera on the AI Servo focus mode, which tracks the subject right up until the time of exposure.

And because the subject was moving so very fast, I set my drive mode to high speed, which gave me a series of pictures from which to choose.

To help ensure sharp, clean shots of fast-moving subjects, try the aforementioned camera settings. Also shoot with both eyes open, so you can see if any other subjects are coming into the scene.

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The Camera Looks Both Ways –
In Picturing the Subject, You are Also Picturing a Part of Yourself

Rick

When it comes to photographing people, the most important photo tip I can share with you is this: “The camera looks both ways – in picturing the subject, we are also picturing a part of ourselves.”

“Every picture is a self portrait” is another way of conveying that point. Let me explain.

When you are looking through your camera’s viewfinder, viewing and framing a subject, if you realize that the feeling, the emotion, the attitude and the energy that you project will be reflected in your subject’s face – and eyes – you’ll get a higher percentage of pictures that you like. That’s because by your actions, you are subconsciously “directing” the subject to mirror the way you feel.

In looking at this picture of the three school girls in Costa Rica, I don’t have to tell you how I was feeling at the moment when I snapped the shutter. Well, even though I don’t have to tell you – I was having a blast!