Waiting to Photograph Sunrise – What to do Before the Sun Comes Up

By: Peter West Carey

A beautiful sunrise is, hands down, one of the best photography subjects and most beloved by photography viewers and photographers alike. They differ from sunset in the amount of pre-planning that aids a successful shoot. It’s no wonder that sunsets are easier to prepare for, as it is light out and you’re awake. So what do you need to do to photography sunrise?

It’s a good idea to break down the pre-planning for a sunset shoot into three separate task groups:

• The day before you shoot
• The night before your shoot
• Day of the shoot

The Day Before

Planning for a sunrise shoot starts well before the sun goes down the day before. You can’t change the weather, but providence favors the prepared soul.

Seattle and Mount Rainier Before The Sun Comes Up

Scout

The most important part of planning a sunrise shoot is pre-visualization. This is the act of looking at a scene and imagining it at the time of sunrise. There are a number of apps to help with pre-visualization, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris and LightTrac. They can point directly to where the sun will rise and help you decide camera angles and compositions.
These apps often let you mark your favorite locations to help you find them quickly the next day. So don’t guess! Go, scout.

Talk to Locals

If you are in a new location, ask around about great locations for sunrise. You don’t have to state you are a photographer, you can be just another tourist (even if you are in a town next door). Restaurants and bars are a good bet for easy places to start a conversation. You might be amazed at how easy it is to get people talking; everyone enjoys a nice sunrise.

Front side and back side of Delicate Arch in Utah

Some other local options and organizations to try:

• Camera clubs
• Audubon Society or birding groups
• Outdoor gear and apparel stores
• The local Chamber of Commerce

Other Odds and Ends

I suggest taking care of other odds and ends the day before, like packing a snack for the morning. If you’re not used to getting up before the sun, you’re going to be fairly hungry by the time you’re done shooting.
Also, fill your gas tank the day before if you are going to be driving. Anything you can do to reduce the odds of something simple going wrong will help you have a successful photo shoot.

Prayer flags before Ama Dablam in the Himalayas of Nepal

The Night Before

Charge Batteries

More than once I have hit the field with only 25% battery power because my Canon doesn’t shut off the GPS when the camera powers down. It’s frustrating to have to ration something that can easily be topped off the night before. It’s a good habit to get into charging all your batteries ahead of time.

Opportune sunrise over Maui, Hawaii on UnCruise Endeavour.

Clean your gear and wipe your cards

It’s the little things that matter most. Who hasn’t taken a few choice photos only to find dust spots or streaks that need to be sometimes painfully removed in post-processing? Take care of those things the night before. Clean your sensor, clean your gear and make sure it is all working perfectly.
Also, organize your cards and make sure you have fresh, empty memory cards before heading to bed. If you’re on a trip of multiple days, ensure your cards are backed up or at least have enough space available for your anticipated shoot the next morning.
Remember, sunrise scenes are aided by bracketing your images, so they tend to require more space than normal.

Organize

Put on a blindfold or close your eyes right now and point to where everything is in your camera bag. Can you do it? Do you know where your spare batteries and cards are? Your second lens or the Allen wrench you need to adjust your tripod? What about your filters?
Being well organized and knowing your bag front to back by touch is valuable when the sun hasn’t yet risen. Depending on your latitude and cloud cover, it may be quite dark until just before sunrise so it is important to not be fumbling with gear or hunting for your flashlight.
Pack it all up the night before and set your bag by the door, ready to go in the morning without another thought.

Dunes at sunrise

The Day of Your Shoot

Arrive Early

I can’t stress this enough.

ARRIVE EARLY!

Often the best show of colors comes before the sun breaches the horizon if you have decent cloud cover. Arriving 30 minutes before sunrise might mean you miss this colorful show or are scrambling to get set up and shoot before the colors are dashed.
My rule of thumb is to show up an hour before the actual sunrise time. Maybe you can arrive a little later than that in places with deep valleys, like the Himalayas. The reverse is also true if you are on a mountaintop. With a little time on your hands, you can let your eyes adjust to the growing light and look for opportunities and compositions you might have missed on the previous day’s scouting mission.

Good timing at the Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Setting Up

Tripods are a big help for sunrise shoots and it’s best to set up early. Getting your camera out and mounted on a tripod can also help it acclimate in colder weather. Plus getting set up before the sun arrives gives you time for last minute scouting of the area.
If the weather is cold, it’s also a good time to bring out any filters you may need, such as graduated neutral density filters. I prefer to keep filters in a nice wallet, like the Tiffen Belt Holder so they stay secure and clean while acclimating.

Canyonlands National Park as seen from Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah

Washington State Ferry Chelan in front of Mt. Baker, Washington

Spindrift catching the morning’s rays on the Himalayas, Lobuche, Nepal

Being prepared and planning ahead is a great way to enjoy sunrise photography without the rush. Take the time to scout and plan ahead by having your gear ready. The tips listed here will help you take your sunrise photography from accidental to purposefully beautiful art.

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5 Reasons Why Your Sunrise or Sunset Photos Don’t Look So Stunning

By: Kav Dadfar

The holy grail of travel photography is a stunning photo looking into the vast distance taken at sunrise or sunset. It seems to just work as a blend of color, composition, and light to create something that often makes the viewer utter that famous word that any photographer wants to hear, “Wow!”.
But why is it then that so often when you look at your own sunrise or sunset photos they don’t look so stunning? Here are 5 reasons why your sunrise or sunset photos don’t live up to your expectations.

#1 – What’s the point?

I remember a picture editor once told me, “This might sound controversial, but a sunrise or sunset is actually pretty boring.” What he was referring to was the lack of compelling subject matter in a photo of a sunrise or sunset like for example an empty beach with just the setting sun.
While sitting on a beach and seeing a sunset can seem like a wonderful experience, unfortunately, the camera cannot replicate that. Most successful photos of sunrises or sunsets have a point of interest in them, in that there is a subject that is the main story and the sunrise or sunset is providing the light and the atmosphere.
That story doesn’t necessarily have to be a person or an object in the frame. The story could be the beautiful scenery or the crashing waves against the coast. But the key point is that there is something that gets the viewers’ attention. So, don’t just rely on the sunrise or sunset, try to build your composition using it as an addition rather than the story.

This photo just isn’t very interesting. There’s a lack of interesting clouds or even water movement.

In this image, the big rock in the foreground, footsteps in the sand and the people all add interest and 

context to the photo.

#2 – Clouds or no clouds?

For example, one element that can dramatically improve your sunrise or sunset photos is some clouds. Take your generic empty beach scenario from above, but this time add some dramatic clouds that the light can bounce off and suddenly you’ll go from something mundane to something that looks fantastic.

The clouds here add drama to the scene.

Of course, you can’t control the elements and no clouds in the sky means, there’s nothing you can do. In that scenario, you just have to work harder to frame your shot and give the viewer a point of interest.
While you generally want some clouds in the sky, too much cloud cover and you will often find the light seems flat and dull and the whole photo looks uninteresting (unless the sun can set below the clouds and light them up from underneath). So, in conclusion, while you ideally want some clouds, it’s important not to have a completely overcast day. You can, of course, plan your shoots around times when you will have the best conditions.

#3 – Are your highlights and shadows correct?

One of the big challenges in photographing sunrise or sunsets is the vast contrast you get between highlights and shadows. Your highlights are the light areas of your photo (such as the sky for example) and your shadows are the dark areas in the photo (for example your foreground).
If either is pushed too far you will get completely white areas for highlights and completely black areas for shadows. This means that these areas contain no pixel details and is something you want to avoid.
The problem you face when photographing sunsets or sunrises is that your sky will be bright, and your foreground will be dark (a high dynamic range). The way that you can ensure that your highlights and shadows are exposed correctly in this scenario is to use a graduated neutral density filter to balance out the difference in the highlights and shadows.
There are also other techniques such as exposure bracketing as well that can help you achieve this in post-production and actually just brightening or darkening these areas in a software like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. But whatever you decide, just make sure that your highlights and shadows are exposed correctly and fine-tune them if you need to in post-production.

The blue areas on this photo indicate where the shadows are being clipped (black with no detail).

Here the same image has been adjusted in post-processing to hold more detail in the shadow areas. 

#4 – The image isn’t framed correctly

One of the key elements in ensuring the final photo looks great is to frame your composition correctly.
The easiest way to do this and a good starting point for any photographer is the famous Rule of Thirds where you try to place key points of interest on the intersection of the lines. But the Rule of Thirds is also worth remembering for your horizon line. Usually, you will find that placing the horizon either on the top third or the bottom third will look better than slap bang in the middle.

Horizon centrally framed.

Using the rule of thirds, the horizon here is on the lower third – off-center.

But try to consider the whole picture when framing your shot. Think if there are any areas that are just wasted space where you can crop in tighter. Or if your camera angle is slightly off and you can benefit by just moving a little to either side.
The beauty of photography these days is that you can usually take as many photos as it takes to get your shot framed right. So, play around with your composition and capture a few alternatives that you can then review later in post-production.

Your camera may have the option to display the Rule of Thirds grid when you’re shooting or in image

 playback mode.

#5 – You haven’t fixed mistakes

Usually, the first bit of feedback that I often give newbie photographers when I look at their sunrise or sunset photos is on elements that could easily be fixed in post-production. Whether you are an advocate of post-production or not there are certain things that you simply should not forego on any photo.
The two biggest of these are:

1. Ensuring that your photos are straight, that means the horizon line needs to be dead straight.
2. Making sure you have the correct white balance for the photo (if you haven’t already done so when taking the photo). Think about the scene that you are showing, is it a warm and golden scenario or is it a cool and crisp setting? Either way, tweak your white balance until it is correct.

If you do nothing else in post-production, just making sure these two settings are correct will immediately improve your photos.

This image is clearly not straight as can be seen from the horizon line.

Here the image tilt has been corrected.

Sunsets and sunrises are wonderful times in the day to photograph things. The soft golden light can transform an ordinary scene into an extraordinary one. When done well, they are often the photos that will be the “show stoppers” in any portfolio.
But always remember that a sunset and sunrise needs to work in combination with your composition and subject matter to create a wonderful photo. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to capturing great photos of sunrise and sunsets.
Now it’s your turn to get involved. Share your great sunrise and sunset photos.

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The (Almost) Perfect Autofocus of the Sony a7R III: a Hands-On Review

By: Anabel DFlux

Focus is one of the most important concepts for a photographer. It can make or break an image. Whether you’re a pixel peeper like me who always looks for technical critical focus or an image maker who uses specific focus points to tell a story,  how the camera focuses is everything.

#SonyAlpha #AutomaticAF #AF

That’s why the newest addition to the Sony Alpha series is so conversation-worthy. With the 399 focus points on the Sony a7R III, and its ability to track focus like no other, the company touts it’s hard to get a shot that’s out of focus. This camera is like an artificially intelligent robot – it can predict and figure out exactly what you want in focus on.
With the thumb joystick on the back of the camera, you can quickly and easily change your focus point. And its AI Servo is out of this world. It could figure out the entire outline of a subject and hold on to it for dear life.
I take varying images – shooting animal action sports, live concerts, and everything in between. So I took all the boasting I’ve heard about this camera and put it to the ultimate test.

About the Sony a7R III

The a7R III is one of Sony’s newest and flashiest addition to its impressive mirrorless line of cameras. According to its website, the Sony a7R III sports the following drool-worthy perks:

• 42.4 MP 35mm full-frame Exmor R™ CMOS and enhanced processing system
• Standard ISO 100-32000 range (upper limit expandable to 1024005, with a lower limit of 50)
• Fast Hybrid AF with 399-point focal-plane phase-detection AF and 425-point contrast-detection AF. The focus modes include:
  • AF-A (Automatic AF)
  • AF-S (Single-shot AF)
  • AF-C ( Continuous AF)
  • DMF (Direct Manual Focus)
  • Manual Focus
• Face detection, with Modes:
  • Face Priority in AF (On/Off)
  • Face Priority in Multi Metering (On/Off)
  • Regist. Faces Priority (On/Off)
  • Face registration (max. number detectable: 8)
• High-speed continuous shooting of up to 10fps (12fps with AF/AE tracking)
• 5-axis image stabilization with 5.5-stop exposure advantage
• 4K video recording
• Dual card slots with simultaneous or consecutive recording
• Silent Shooting Mode

The camera is compatible solely with Sony E-mount lenses, including G-Master and Zeiss lenses (sought after in the Sony world). The aspect ratio is 3:2, and the camera can record still images in JPEG, (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.31, MPF Baseline compliant) and RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format). The images are quite large: a 35mm full-frame image is 42MP (7,952 x 5,304 pixels), which in uncompressed RAW format takes up about 80MB of storage.
The camera also has built-in noise reduction software you can turn on or off as needed.
But what really set this camera apart (and why I fell in love with it) is the autofocus.

The Sony a7R III Autofocus Features

The a7R III allows for silent shooting at up to 10fps with AF/AE tracking – great for those who do wildlife photography. Shooting at 10 FPS yields up to 76 images at a time (when shooting JPEG).
Its phase-detect points cover around 47% of the sensor area. When you combine that with the contrast-detect sensor areas, the total AF coverage is nearly 68% of the frame.

Advanced algorithms provide high AF precision down to light levels as low as -3 EV for more reliable autofocus in dark scenes. The enhanced Fast Hybrid AF speeds up AF approximately two times faster under dim lighting conditions. The camera’s infrared technology allows it to autofocus even in extremely low or difficult lighting situations.

The camera also has an ‘eye autofocus’ setting. You read that right: it can find eyes on your subject and lock focus on them with the push of a button. This is photographic witchcraft and I love it. The a7R III’s Eye AF evolves with twice the effective eye detection and tracking, even when shooting a moving portrait subject. It’s touted by the company to work when:

• the subject’s face is partially hidden
• the subject is looking down or wearing glasses
• the subject is backlit
• the lighting is dim or low
• the subject is far away.

The a7R III includes a touchscreen that provides touch AF, focus point dragging and focus racking features. The AF-C (continuous autofocus) option feature is extraordinary. The camera can keep tracking the subject even if it’s changing direction erratically or an object gets in the way.

Tip: The ‘Expand Flexible Spot’ mode is a good one to start from, and works well with the AF joystick for quick adjustments to the preferred focus area.

Real Life Use

This camera is fast and accurate. With my DSLRs, I usually have to refocus multiple times. But I didn’t have to do it once on the Sony a7R III. I think mirrorless cameras really outshine most DSLRs in the autofocus department.
Here’s how it did in various scenarios:

Action and Sports

I photograph a lot of action, and when I first bought this camera I took it to a Frisbee dog competition to test it out. I was absolutely blown away by the autofocus. The camera even recognized a dog’s face with its facial tracking autofocus and maintained focus on the dog’s face throughout its trick-induced performance. When the dog moved further away the focus changed to the animal’s entire body, which I appreciated.
Regardless of how spontaneously the dog moved, the focus remained locked.

I typically use my Canon 7D Mark II for animal sports photography due to its speed and the fact the body is intended for action. But I now prefer the a7R III due to its superb tracking. The 7D tends to get lost when there isn’t much contrast between the subject and the other objects in the frame, such as photographing in the fog. (Many of these dog sporting events happen around 7am when the fog rolls onto the field.)
The Sony mirrorless clearly identified the subject despite the lack of contrast. It can even refocus on dogs running at me without needing any prompting or additional technique.

Portraits

Portraits are an absolute breeze with this camera. From face tracking to eye tracking, it’s almost impossible to take an out-of-focus image unless you have your settings wrong. As I mentioned earlier, the eye tracking feature is said to work in problematic scenarios (the face is partially hidden, the subject is looking down, etc.)
Well, I can confirm that what Sony promises is true. It works in all of those scenarios. Even when I shot a model wearing unnatural contacts and bright glittery makeup, the camera had no issue.

Dimly-Lit and Golden Hour Portraits

Much like the camera’s success with well-lit portraits, the Sony a7R III can focus on portraits in dim light as if they were lit to perfection. I’m happy to say there was absolutely no difference between the two. Night portraits were a breeze.
The golden hour portraits were just as easy (not to mention exquisite). My other cameras have focusing issues when the sun is low and hitting the lens at an angle. But the a7R III breezed through and held focus on the subject no matter how the sun was hitting the lens glass.

Live Concerts

Dogs may wake me up in the mornings, but it’s the rock stars who keep me awake at night. In the evenings you’ll probably find me shooting a live concert with an arsenal of camera equipment to get me through the job.

Live concerts are extremely difficult focusing situations. In fact, they’re like a low-light sports situation. For the most part, you’ll have limited lighting, and have to deal with colored bulbs that can paint the subject with a very saturated color (such as the dreaded red hue).
Live concerts are also high-energy and filled with action as the guitarists swing their guitars and the drummer pounds away. You may not always have enough contrast to work with, and plenty of annoying obstacles to get in the way of whatever musicians you’re photographing.

Much like I found success in dog sports photography, the Sony a7R III does mighty well at maintaining focus on the subject despite erratic movement or instruments getting in the way. If the light is low but even, the camera does a splendid job of finding the subject thanks to its Advanced AF algorithms.

Unfortunately, live concerts are also where we hit a bit of a snag. As venue goers know, most music venues (especially small indie ones) don’t have consistent lighting on the stage. It can be uneven, sporadic, and wild. Some genres of music (e.g. metal and rock) really love using strobe lights on the stage as well.
And this is where the Sony a7R III flops terribly.
The moment strobes are used, the camera completely loses its ability to focus or find the subject. It’s a negative I haven’t seen covered in other reviews and one that keeps me from bringing this camera to a live concert (after having a particularly bad experience at a recent show).
When strobes were involved, none of the autofocus settings or adjustments worked. The camera began to hunt and then failed to focus at all. This happened with other native and non-native lenses. My guess is the infrared technology is affected by the strobing effects, but that’s just an assumption.

Non-Native Lens with an Adapter

As an avid 16-year Canon user with an army of L lenses, I have no plans on switching brands anytime soon. When I added the Sony a7R III to my kit, I immediately looked for ways to adapt my L glass to the Sony camera. (That way I’d need to buy only buy one native lens for the Sony and use the rest of my existing kit.)
After testing out several adapters I found that the Metabones Smart Adapter worked best.
Now it was time to test the autofocus on a non-native lens.

Although some of the autofocus features (e.g. eye-tracking) are disabled on non-native lenses, the facial recognition and AF-C (continuous autofocus) features worked like a charm. Once I’d calibrated the adapter to my lenses I didn’t experience any lag, searching or loss of focus. And despite certain features being unavailable, the camera was just as fast with non-native lenses as it was with native ones – even in low light. (I took this set up out for a spin during a club event.)
But the strobing issue was still there, which is why I’m convinced it’s a camera issue rather than a lens issue.

Final Thoughts

I have no regrets investing top dollar in this mirrorless camera. I find myself using it as much as my DSLRs, and I have three of them. I’ll often pick the mirrorless for more complex shoots simply because of its exquisite face tracking with autofocus.
Have I got you salivating? Think the Sony a7R III might be your next camera?

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How to Pose People for Headshots

A Post By: Natalia Robert

Headshots today are not what they used to be. Gone are the days of marbled backdrops in an indoor studio! Saturated markets filling up with fresh entrepreneurs, means that headshots are more important than ever these days. While location and wardrobe play a major role, knowing how to pose your subject is also vital in creating a successful headshot image that will stand out from the crowd. Let’s take a look at several examples of poses to keep in mind for your next shoot.

#Headshots #Successfulheadshots #Poses

Basics

Before we go through some photos, let’s go over the basics of any pose. The fact that it’s for business use means that your subject should always be aware of their posture in a headshot. I simply tell people to put their shoulders back and their chest out. Once they adjust their posture, you can suggest gentle shifts if needed.
Another key point to mention to your subject is that they should lead with the forehead. This one can be a subtle, but powerful, shift in their pose. To lead with the forehead simply means that, depending on the overall pose/activity, they should always aim to have their forehead lean ever-so-slightly toward the lens, while pushing their face slightly forward. Below are two photos to compare – the left photo is with the model looking more or less straight ahead, while the photo on the right is when she followed my instructions about leaning the forehead slightly toward the lens. Note that I almost always have to slightly adjust the subject, because most people will tend to either lean in too far or lower their chin too much, so have them make slight adjustments until you find that ideal angle for them!

Left photo shows subject looking straight at camera. Right photo shows subject leading with the

 forehead. Now let’s get into several options for poses:

Crossed arms

First, let’s talk about one that harks back to traditional headshots – the crossed arms pose. While this general pose is nothing new, by simply changing location, having the subject add a slight lean, and loosening up the tightness of the crossed arms, this pose can feel modern. In the example below, the subject is slightly leaning in to the brick wall, while crossing his arms and maintaining an upright posture. When having women do this pose, encourage them to very loosely cross their arms; otherwise it will feel quite severe and cold. Men do have a bit more room to keep the arms tight, but be mindful of how tight they are to avoid that same severity.

Here we see another example of a headshot with crossed arms, only this one relies on location to add warmth. Since the subject is a woman, she is also adding a slight tilt to her hip and dropped her shoulder closest to the camera. This all helps to soften up a traditionally harsh-feeling pose.

Lean

Adding a slight lean can make a big difference in headshot posing. Many people are looking for a lifestyle feel to their headshots, which typically will call for an outdoor location. So if you go on location, why not use it to add personality?
I’ve already mentioned adding a lean to the crossed arms pose, but a simple lean against a wall or railing can also provide a more natural feel to your pose. In the example below, the subject is leaning against a clean wall. The detail is in the texture of the wall, and the lean provides a softening to the pose. The wardrobe helps maintain some formality (this subject in particular is a lawyer), while the slight lean and setting add a touch of modern casualness.
Note that even though the subject is leaning, it is still important for them to maintain good posture. You can let them know to lean with their bottom half, but not let their entire back slouch into the wall. Or, they can gently lean with one shoulder to maintain balance, while keeping posture upright. If the subject starts to look a bit stiff, have them “shake it out”, take a deep breath, and settle back into the pose. Sometimes all they need a break from the stiffness!

Here is another example of a lean working to the subject’s advantage. In this case, below, the subject is portraying a casual brand, but still needs to look polished and professional. Using the railing of the foot bridge that is the setting, the subject raises one arm to lean on the railing. This helps to give the subject something to do, rather than having their arms dropped to the side. In this case, the crossed arms would have portrayed an image that was too formal for the client’s needs, so this alternative was ideal.

Sitting pose

There are a few variations of sitting poses that work well for headshots. One option is to have your subject sit and join their hands over their knees. Ideally, this would happen if they are sitting at a location where the knees end up being slightly higher than their hips, which can easily happen if they sit on stairs. In the example below, the subject is sitting on steps, loosely laying her hands over her knees, and still keeping her posture upright (very important!). This gives the subject something to do with their hands, and it adds a bit of formality to a pose than can very easily feel far too casual.

This next example is a bit more formal overall in terms of location and expression, but the pose is meant to soften it a bit. Here we have two subjects, each sitting on different stairs. Note that the subjects are quite different in height, so the different steps offer an opportunity to balance out the heights a bit. In this photo, the subject on the top step is sitting and leaning slightly on the railing. His arm is casually laying over his leg. The lean towards the railing helps to show a bit more of his torso since there is another subject in front of him. The front subject is slightly leaning back and to his left, helping to unify him with the other subject. Since these two men are business partners, it was important to maintain a sense of partnership in their poses.

Walking

This is one of my favorite classic moves for headshots, and it does several things including:

• It loosens up their body if they are a bit stiff in front of the lens.
• It encourages a more natural expression because I get the opportunity to banter with them as they walk.
• It creates a sense of movement that translates into a deeper connection with the lens.

Below are several examples of headshot subjects walking towards the camera. As always, be sure to let your subject know to maintain good posture while walking.

Action

Here is where modern headshots get fun. Especially with entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to express something about what they do, and what their personality is like. If they make a product, you can have them show you their product, If they do some sort of training, you can have them perform a bit of what they do. With these, giving detailed direction about posing is not as important as letting them do their thing. In the photos below, the subjects were given free reign to do what they want to express themselves. In these cases, be prepared to snap quite a few frames! The final images will need to not only capture the movement and activity, but also have flattering facial expressions.
Regardless of the poses used, be sure that they are a good fit for the branding of the client. Getting to know the client’s needs is absolutely the best way to know how to pose them.

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6 Expert Tips for Ski Photography

by Michael Fraiman

Ski photography is a dangerous game—there’s snow flying everywhere and skiers shooting past you, and through the chaos you need to be ready to capture every moment while your subject is zooming down a mountain. You can’t ask them to turn back and try again, because that will take at least 10 minutes of waiting on a chairlift and getting back into the same position. In this video, veteran extreme sports photographer Corey Rich shows us six key tips for shooting downhill skiing:

#skiphotography

#sixskitips

#snowflying

1. Choose a good model.

Don’t just choose someone who looks good or is a good skier, but someone who understands that this is a slow process, with a lot of stopping and waiting around for you, the photographer, to get ready.

2. Select the right clothing.

Lay out the athlete’s clothing first thing in the morning and select an outfit that will work all day. Blue tends not to work against a bright blue sky, but contrasting bright colors (lime green, hot pink, tangerine) tend to work well. If there’s a bit of matching with the skis and boots, that also turns out nice.

3. Bring a backpack.

Rich recommends the Lowepro Flipside 500 AW, but anything will work as long as it zips up tight. Even if you don’t have a lot of gear, having the space to store extra clothes is nice.

4. Have both wide and telephoto lenses.

Rich carries a Nikon D4s (“the ultimate sports photographer’s camera,” he says, for its sharpness and terrific auto-focus) with a 14-24 f/2.8 for wide-angle shots and a 70-200 f/2.8 for close-ups.

5. Protect yourself against the sun.

The sun can be a harsh mistress, and if you’re spending all day under the bright blue skies, strong sunblock and a baseball cap are good ideas. Re-apply the sunblock as often as your pale skin requires.

6. Have space on the chairlift.

Before you sit down, ask the person beside you in line if you can have the space to yourself. This will allow you to use the space for your presumably large and heavy backpack. Place the backpack in your lap if there is no chair space. With enough room and agility, you can prepare lenses or even snap a few shots while you’re up there.

“I’m never leaving the backpack on…. You’re gonna get pushed right off the chair. You feel pretty foolish when you’re laying on your face in front of everybody as they have to stop the chair.”

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by:Kelsey Dayton

In 2013, Colorado-based photographer Liam Doran was shooting professional skier Caroline Gleich at Grizzly Gulch, a backcountry spot near Alta Ski Area, when the temperature suddenly dropped, squeezing the last drops of moisture from the snow and making it float like dust. The sun took on a rich, late-afternoon hue. Doran knew he needed to capitalize on the prime conditions.

#professionalskier

#Coloradobasedphotographer

#primeconditions

“Go hike, hike!” Doran told Gleich. She scrambled up the slope, then came ripping down, laying one perfect turn in a dreamlike haze of snow and sun. The result would become a Powder magazine cover shot, as well as the publication’s 2014 Photo of the Year.
Photos like that are the unicorns of the ski world, requiring perfect snow, perfect light, and a perfect turn. If any of those elements are missing, you have a Facebook image, not one fit for print. They require luck, but they also require a huge amount of skill, which Doran has in spades. We caught up with the pro last week to find out more about how he captures hero shot after hero shot.

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The Gear

Every day, I ski with a Canon 1DX or a Canon 7D Mark II because of their high frame rates. The 1DX shoots 12 to 14 frames per second, and the 7D Mark II goes up to ten. With each, I can shoot a skier all the way through a turn instead of just getting one shot and hoping for something good. Both cameras also have incredibly fast autofocus systems that let me lock onto a skier.
My lenses are all Sigmas: 12-24mm f4.5-5.6, 24-105mm f4, and 70-200mm f2.8. I like the 12-14mm because it’s wide enough to help me set the scene so the reader knows exactly where the shoot took place. The 24-105mm is a great versatile lens—it’s wide enough for scene setters but tight enough for action. And the 70-200mm is pretty much all action all the time. I carry all three lenses every day. I went with Sigma because the company delivers professional-quality results at a fraction of the price. Full disclosure: I bought my own Sigma lenses, and now they sponsor me.
I also carry spare batteries, all my lens-cleaning stuff, and up to 128 gigs of memory cards, which is enough for a couple days of shooting in the backcountry when I don’t have access to a computer. Most days I also carry a beacon, shovel, probe, skins, water, and food. It makes for a joyful pack that weighs about 35 to 40 pounds.

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The Bag

I use a Clik Elite Contrejour to haul all my gear. It’s meant for cameras but carries extremely well—more like a technical pack than a photo pack. At 40 liters, it’s big enough for everything I need. In snowy weather, the bag protects my gear inside, but I don’t cover the camera in my hand while I’m shooting because I don’t have time to fiddle around with extra gear. By the end of the day, when it’s dumping, everything is pretty wet. I always take my gear back to wherever I’m staying and dry it off really well. I wipe everything down, take off all the caps, and make sure it’s in a warm, dry spot overnight.

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The Snow

In a perfect world, the snow comes in warm and wet and leaves cold and dry. The warmer snow covers everything so the skier can’t feel the old snow underneath. But the colder snow creates that vapor trail behind the skier’s turn. In terms of depth, I like eight to ten inches. Any deeper and you can lose your skier in a white cloud as it flies up around them. That might create a cool look for editorial work, but if you’re shooting for a catalog, you need to see something. And, of course, you want to avoid anything with a wind crust or breakable crust on top. Running around and searching for that storm and then getting the right snow in the right moment is a big part of the game.

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The Skier

Communication is a huge part of ski photography. When you are really pushing for your best stuff and you have the light, it’s very much a game of inches. I need the athlete in an exact spot, which can take a lot of planning. And it changes as you get on the slope. For example, the athlete and I might start at the bottom of a slope and find the best line, but then the athlete will get to the top and realize they have to go right instead of left, which means I have to change my position and what my background looks like. There’s a lot of talking before any photos get made.

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The Moment

You want the light to be directional and hit your subject from an angle instead of above, which creates hard shadows. Early in the year, you can get away with shooting throughout the day because the sun is at an angle. As the season goes on and you get into mid-February, you have to be cautious and shoot on the edges of the day so the light is at a better angle.
South-facing slopes get way too bright by late morning, so you have to shoot those early in the day. Later in the season, I also like to shoot north-facing slopes, just as the sun pops over the top, because that kind of light creates a nice texture.

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The Story

I always start with a super-wide-angle lens. That gives you a sense of place. A good opener makes the reader want to be skiing in the location you’ve photographed. After that, I can start going a little tighter with a longer lens. A good, tight action shot makes the viewer want to be that skier because the action is so intense. I also try to shoot everything around the skiing—the food and the après scene—because you have to tell the whole story, especially if it’s a travel piece.

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The Advice

Find a spot with a good backdrop and have your skier come through the shot. For example, if you have an angled ridgeline with blue in the background and the skier coming through the frame, the skier is really going to stand out against the blue. You can capture the power of the turn. The worst thing you can do is put your athlete in the middle of the bowl, because they just disappear. Also, be sure to use a fast shutter speed—1/1000 or higher—something that will capture the action.


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