Today, I’d like to share some tips of photojournalism. I am pretty sure many people already know this, but I want to go over it again.
First, try to avoid posed pictures. Posed pictures are boring. Second, try to capture emotion. Get faces, not backs. Get up close, let your pictures tell a story. Use different angles/levels, use the rule of thirds and be prepared.
Most importantly, in my opinion, is knowing your camera well. You need to learn how to use the settings on the camera such as ISO, shutter speed, focus, and aperture.
ISO is the indication of how sensitive a film is to light. It is measured in numbers. The lower the number the lower the sensitivity of the film and the finer the grain in the shots you’re taking.
When I go skate with my friends and brother, I take pictures. I started with the lowest ISO, because I am outside and I don’t need to use such a high ISO at outside. However, the pictures didn’t come out very well and the weather was partly cloudy.
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| Photos: Yun Shik Park |
So I tried a higher ISO. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds. I only changed the ISO from 250 to 600, but the pictures look clearer and it was easier to get fast actions.
Unlike day pictures, taking pictures at night is pretty tough, because you don’t have enough light. If you don’t focus or wait for the perfect moment, you will get blurry pictures.
From my experience, I prefer to use 1600 ISO and 1/60 shutter speed, because a faster shutter speed creates better pictures.
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| Photo: Yun Shik Park |
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| Photo: Yun Shik Park |
Light is always good for photography. You need to practice in the light. Pay particular attention to the position of sun. If you don’t realize where you are sitting and the sun is against you, sometimes the good light can fail you.
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| Photo: Morgan Hydinger |
Your pictures are amazing! I would have never known (besides for reading this) that you could take pictures like that. They look so professional. I really enjoyed when you said "let your pictures tell a story." I think that every picture can create a story in your mind and looking at yours I can definitely see that as well. But I'm not sure what a "rule of thirds" is that you mentioned in the first paragraph?
ReplyDeleteI really am a blind person when it comes to photography, and I never really knew what ISO was, but now I do! Thanks for the great information. I will be able to learn a bit more about photography and be able to use my digital camera with knowledge. :P I like the active skateboard pictures that you posted as well. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I can read this blog to read more about photography! You are very well informed, and I've already learned more from reading today than I knew from any small experience I've had with cameras in the past. I completely understood what you meant when you mentioned that candid pictures are more visually appealing. I saw some photo's from my cousin's wedding recently, and the ones that capture a moment are certainly more moving. I love your photographs, the one with your friend boarding with mountains in the backgroud is great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the helpful entry. I appreciated that you addressed both technical and "big picture" kinds of ideas.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're planning future entries yet, but I'd love to learn more about different types of cameras--even if you had to speak somewhat generally. How do you pick something in the range between a lowly point-and-shoot and a high-end digital SLR? Might be something to address later in the semester if you ever run out of ideas for a week.