CAMERA SHUTTER SPEED

A camera's shutter speed can control exposure, but it's also one of the most powerful creative tools in photography. It can convey motion, freeze action, isolate subjects and smooth water, amongst other abilities. This tutorial describes how to achieve these various effects, in addition to hopefully stimulating other creative ideas for using shutter speed in everyday shots. For a background on how it factors into exposure, also see camera exposure: aperture, ISO and shutter speed.

Improving Sports Action Photos

BY KERRY GARRISON · 

Action photos are some of the funnest photos you can take but it takes a few tips to go from simple snapshot to something that really stands out. Usually the problem is with showing motion. As the image to the right shows, a fast shutter speed and the rear side angle doesn’t really do much for this shot. During this article we will look at other images that didn’t work, and others that did so we can learn how to improve our sports action photos.

Learning to Pan

Taking a shot similar to the one above but with a slightly slower shutter speed and moving the camera along with the bikers helps to blur thebackground and provide a better sense of motion. This technique takes some practice as you need to match the speed of the biker with as little up/down motion as possible in order to get a sharp image. When done well, you get an image that feels like its moving right along with the action. Definitely don’t expect all of these to turn out, you will take quite a few and hope that a few of them turn out good.

Find The Emotion

Sports always have some level of emotion that you can play off of. In this shot we can see the bikers faces that show the grit and determination to stay in first. Shots like this can really pull you in and give you a feel for the action. Using a relatively large aperture of f/5.6 separates the two bikers in front from the pack in the back. The short depth of field focuses the attention on the main bikers by blurring out the people behind them.

Pick The Right Angles

Some angles work well and some don’t work at all. This will vary depending on what sport you are shooting and what else is going on in the scene. In the next two images, you can see that the angle that was used can make a huge difference.

Boring and non-descript side image

Exciting front angle and tighter crop

Leave Room To Move

This may seem odd at first, but you need to leave room for the subject to move within the frame. Using basic composition rules we can often just leave some white space on the side of the frame that the subject will be moving into. These two images demonstrate this. The first one has the biker heading to the right but is too far into the frame and it just “doesn’t feel right”.

Biker to far into the right side of frame

In this next image I used a combination of the techniques above including picking the right angle, getting in tight, and giving room for the rider to go in the frame.

Much Better Action Shot Using Above Techniques

Summary

I am far from being the greatest sports shooter around but using a few simple techniques can really help improve the quality of your images. If you have some good sports shots, please share them in the forums.

Use a simple angle to make a shot more dramatic

BY KERRY GARRISON ·

Here is a quick tip for you that can make a big difference in your shots, try adding a little angle to your shots when you take them. The following two images show what a little turn of the camera can accomplish.

What does your target market actually want?

 Michael Shilling

I hear lots of people saying things like “My target market is people with £35k+ incomes” or “Families that live in Chelsea” but I rarely hear “people who like a particular type of photography”.

By the way, vintage is not a style of photography it’s a trend and while we’re on the subject neither is wedding photography that’s “Natural not too posed”.

The problem is when you ask someone what they actually want they can’t really describe it.

“I don’t want too many props or silly stuff, I want something that’s more simple with less faff”

I’m a big fan of marketing long-tail terms but that’s a tough one to focus on.

The next time you are in a viewing with an “ideal client” make notes on two things.

1. Which images get the biggest reactions (good or bad).

2. What they buy and why.

For example you might get a big laugh at a silly picture but they don’t buy it. If they saw this in your marketing it might attract them to you.

What they buy can be very different, sometimes it can be because the photo is amazing but most of the time it’s because it’s a box ticker like a good family picture.

On your COMPUTER put together two files of images.

1. Images that sold.

2. Images that attract.

How different are these images from the ones you already use to promote yourself?

Photography Marketing: The Essential Steps Toward Landing a Dream Client By Angela Pointon

Photography Marketing: The Essential Steps Toward Landing a Dream Client

By Angela Pointon

   

Let’s face it. We all want to land that dream client. We want that fantasy photo shoot. We think about what it would be like to be there, on set, camera in hand, shooting the photograph of our dreams.

When we ponder our photography marketing and wonder if it’s working for us, it’s critical to make sure our efforts are directly targeted at the type of work we dream of. How do we get from here to there?

Step One: Define the dream client’s persona

We cannot attain the shoot of our dreams if we haven’t formally and fully defined the persona of the decision maker we need to win over. In other words, we may have fantasized about what it would be like to be there. But do we know the exact person (or group of PEOPLE) who will make the decision to hire us? Do we know where they hang out, what websites they read, what influencers they have, what things they dislike? If you don’t know, spend some time researching, talking to other similar individuals and determine all of the possible attributes that make up this decision maker’s persona.

For example, a SAMPLE decision maker’s persona might be described like this:

• eats on the go
• loves small dogs (she has two)
• lives and works in the city
• works late at night often
• goes to charity events (at least once per month) with coworkers
• collects VINYL RECORDS
• price of photography isn’t an issue / not reason for deciding
• works for her clients; she is the decision maker, but the client must love her choice
• her shoots are rapid and she needs someone who she can book quickly

Step Two: Be where they are

You might meet your coveted decision maker via an introduction from a friend or the hope of word-of-mouth about your work. But if you don’t want to bet the whole hand on either of those, you need to find a way to be where your decision maker hangs out. Here are some ideas on ways to do just that:

• write a GUEST BLOG POST on the websites they frequent
• submit to speak at events they care about
• offer to do free photography at a charity event they’ll be at
• understand what they’re totally passionate about (tennis, knitting, art collecting, etc) and send them an introductory note, letter or email and include a comment about their passion (ideally you share the passion or can at least relate to it)

Step Three: Make sure your work looks like the work you want to get

This sounds so obvious, but it’s so important. Especially as we’re starting out, photographers shoot a lot of different styles and subjects. But if the work you are currently creating isn’t the work you want to be creating, you have to change that. You are empowered to shoot in a way that makes you happy. Every photographer has that RIGHT. At some point in all of our lives we starting “acting” and then that “act” becomes the reality called: our life. If you start shooting the type of work you want to shoot today you will gain experiences, gain images and gain craft that gets you one step closer to your dream client every day.

If you want more content like this to help catapult the success of your photography business, download Angela Pointon’s newly published book, The Art Of A Photo Business.

Photography Marketing: How to Keep From Overextending Yourself By Angela Pointon

Photography Marketing: How to Keep From Overextending Yourself

By Angela Pointon

   

When you own your own business, you often want to take on the world. You want to constantly do new projects, take on new assignments and launch new stuff. Over committing and over extending comes from good intentions. But, it can often leave a trail of frustration and disappointment for yourself and for others involved.

I adopted this mantra for my own business and even my personal life a few months ago. So far, I’ve stuck to it with steadfast dedication, and it’s unbelievable how helpful it’s been to me. So I wanted to share it with all of you, too. Here it is:

Do what you say you’re gonna do.

Simple, right? Actually it’s not, and here’s why. When you follow this mantra you are unable to commit to doing anything you’re not going to do. It puts an end to empty good intentions and starts every decision with a serious conversation on whether or not I’m going to commit. And if I can’t commit, saying no is hard. But, I remind myself that I’d rather say no than let someone down. And when I say yes, I mean it. When I commit, I do it.

This mantra has one other level to it. I have found that when you over commit to something (or to many things), you skim the surface of what’s expected. You might complete tasks late. You might not give them your all. In the end, even though you made an effort, more than likely you’re disappointing someone by not approaching it with the unbelievable passion you might be capable of if you had only hand selected the things you’re willing to 120% commit to doing… and doing amazingly well.

Make every day within the business much more satisfying and rewarding by following these simple guidelines.

Here they are:

1. Say yes to only the things that help you and your business along its path toward success.
2. If you’re into it, give yourself the room to say yes to a limited number of volunteer or philanthropic engagements. Hint: I find it easiest to set boundaries up in the beginning of the year. For example, if I tell myself I will allot time for 5 volunteer events in the year, I think long and hard before committing to each one because I only have 5 I’m “allowed” to do.
3. Practice saying no, and help people understand why. For example, tell them you have to respect your prior commitments and make sure you have time to give them your all. They might be a bit disappointed, but if you give them an explanation they’re more likely to understand.

If you want more content like this to help catapult the success of your photography business, download Angela Pointon’s newly published book, The Art Of A Photo Business.

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Angela Pointon is the founder of Steel Toe Images. She’s here to prove that creative people can be good business people, too. She inspires photographers and other creative people to kick major butt through her coaching, blog, emails, workshops and her first book (coming soon).

Company: Steel Toe Images
Phone: 610-329-0299
Email: pointon.angela@gmail.com
Website: http://www.steeltoeimages.com
Twitter: @steeltoeimages
Facebook: http://facebook.com/steeltoeimages

Film Photography by Sean Schermerhorn

Film Photography by Sean Schermerhorn

Sean Schermerhorn is a 24 year-old American film photographer, based-in San Francisco. He loves

 to travel around the world, especially in Eastern Europe and takes pictures as the way of recording

 all the impressive moments that he meets.

Sean shoots on film only and his photos are usually about people and nature.

See more of his work at:

• Tumblr
• Flickr

Film's Not Dead (Yet): New Efforts Beckon A Return To Analog Photography

Top Celebrity Chefs (Celebritychef)

By Emerson Rosenthal

With the advent of digital cinema and photography TECHNOLOGIES, and subsequent restructurings of celluloid production at Fujifilm, Kodak, and Polaroid, for years it seemed as if analog photography had all but gone the way of the buffalo. Sure, big-budget productions including Boardwalk Empire and Man of Steel still shot on 35mm (ourCollaborators series on Daft Punk was shot on 16mm), but if Quentin Tarantino's pessimistic take on "digital projection and DCP's" was any indication, this would be a brave new world of (primarily digital) filmmaking. But the situation may not be as dire as the many "film is dead" prognostications suggest—while the Golden Age of silver nitrate may be gone for both still and motion photography, a number of new products and efforts just might keep celluloid alive and burning: 

In crowdfunded documentary Out of Print, filmmaker Julia Marchese features interviews with Joe Dante, Kevin Smith, Rian Johnson, and Richard Kelly on the importance of the preservation and proliferation of 35mm film. Says Marchese, the creator of the Fight for 35mm petition, I don’t think as many people realize they have a choice, that they can voice their preferences to their local cinema and help their local theaters keep their 35mm projectors. But that’s kind of the goal of the film – to let people know that they do, INDEED, have a choice." Lucky for her, she's not alone in her sentiment. 

Recently, it was announced that Kodak, in particular, is getting a lifeline from Tinseltown. Thanks to "lobbyists" including Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Judd Apatow, J.J. Abrams, and, of course, Tarantino, studios have agreed to "buy a set quantity of film for the next several years," regardless of whether or not they decide to use it. Explains Weinstein Company co-chair Bob Weinstein, the deal is "a financial commitment, no doubt about it. But I don't think we could look some of our filmmakers in the eyes if we didn't do it." While its long-term future still remains uncertain, this move allows KODAK'S legendary Rochester, NY film manufacturing plant to keep its doors open, at least for a while longer.

Ferrania Documentary by LUCE from FilmFerrania on Vimeo.

Across the pond, in fact, one film manufacturing plant has announced their plans to reopen its doors to 35mm and 120mm still formats, as well as Super 8 and 16mm cine film production. In a countdown blog post entitled, "The Countdown Begins," Italy's Film Ferrania presented a documentary filmed by legendary production company, LUCE Cinecittá, that SHOWS their factory film production way back in in the 1940's. It's been a few years since Film Ferrania ended production for many of their celluloid products, and we have to say it's good to have them back.

That's not the only big Super 8 news, either: combining techniques culled from both old and new camera TECHNOLOGIES, a father-son team in Denmark has announced the Logmar S-8. The first new Super 8 camera to debut in decades, the sleek device boasts not only its own side-mounted LCD display, but audio recording with 48V phantom power, variable speed, and even timelapse support. While the beta line is already sold out, fret not: with even stars like Ben Affleck using Super 8 in Argo, you can bet your bottom dollar on a Logmar S-8 V.2. Check out some sample footage here. 

Image via

Unfortunately when it comes to instant film, the market has yet to experience its rebirth. Best depicted in Grant Hamilton's Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film, the loss of the click-and-flap photo format was bemoaned from casting couches to college dorm room walls everywhere. Now living on through The Impossible Project, Polaroid 600 cameras were recently introduced to their special edition "Poisoned Paradise" films, which offer a colorful alternative to the white-box borders of traditional instant film. Plus, this film features both three styles of emulsion (cyan, magenta and sepia), and the familiar comforts of an expiration date. 

So for those of us considering the new 1-Hour Photo app to be one of few options when it comes to that "old-school" film feel, consider this your analog wake-up call. Film might be buried in the backyard, but if there's one thing the recent surge in zombie flicks has shown us, history loves a comeback.