Today I got to test out the Tourbox. The company behind it claims its the “ultimate controller for creators”. The Tourbox is said to be compatible with many programs including Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator and Capture One, drawing software, like Clip Studio Paint, Comic Studio and SAI, or video and audio editing software, like Final Cut Pro, Premiere, After Effects, DaVinci, Continue Reading
The post Review of Tourbox Controller For Creators appeared first on Photodoto.
The post 4 Goals to Set for Expanding Your Photographic Creativity appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
The new year has come and gone and we find ourselves well and truly into 2020. Traditionally, many significant goals are made around the new year mark. But setting goals is a great way to work towards achieving a desired outcome at any time of the year. So why wait? Here are some simple creativity goals you can set yourself to expand on your photographic practice right now.
There’s nothing wrong with specialising, but branching out in photography can often reveal surprising creative opportunities.
For the first of our creativity goals, grab a pen and paper. Your task is to list at least 10 subjects that interest you but that you haven’t photographed in a while (if at all). Bugs, aviation, food, architecture… the list can be as varied as you’d like.
Once you’ve finished compiling your list, narrow your results down to the three most appealing (and doable) options. You want topics that interest you, but are also realistic and achievable.
Once you’ve decided on your top three, set a reasonable time frame to photograph your chosen subject matter (it can be weeks, months or even years!).
You may also need to consider what photographic equipment you require for your goal. And don’t forget to do your research. Good research into a subject and a realistic time frame will help you make an actionable plan to achieve your creativity goals.
Keep your list nearby as motivation. You could stick it on the fridge, or in your camera bag…somewhere that will remind you of your goal. You could even use the list as a check-list of sorts. The point is that you have identified topics of interest and made a commitment to work towards a corresponding goal.
By creating a list of new subject matter, doing the research, and setting an actionable goal, you’ve already created a solid foundation from which to launch into new photographic opportunities.
Goal setting is a great way to check-in with your own creative process. Grab yourself another sheet of paper and a pen (don’t worry, the whole article isn’t about list-making) and jot down two or three aspects that might be hindering your creative practice. Some ideas are:
Next, write some actionable goals that will make a positive impact in the areas you’ve identified as needing improvement. Here’s my list:
You’ll notice I also added a time frame to complete or perform these goals – this will give you motivation, and a concrete idea of how your goal will impact your practice.
Again, choose a realistic time frame. You can always elect to tackle a goal for a week and then expand the duration from there.
Put your list on your cork board, in your organiser, as an alarm on your phone…whatever works. The list serves as a reminder for you to make time for growing your own practice.
Do your best to achieve the creativity goals you’ve set, but don’t worry if you can’t get everything done. Goal setting is about gradual growth, and every small step toward your goal is a victory. Just do your best!
Not everyone has a spare camera, lens, tripod, etc laying around. But if you do, setting a dedicated goal to put some of your underused equipment to good use is a great way to expand your creativity. The same goes for testing out some new photographic techniques.
You don’t have to set a terribly elaborate goal to make a difference. Committing to experimenting with an old lens can offer a completely new perspective.
Shooting with film for a month can test your photographic approach.
Setting a goal to get out of Auto Mode or tackling a new technique each week in-camera or in Photoshop will grow your practice significantly. Setting creativity goals based around new tools and techniques challenges your photographic approach, thus, building your creative repertoire.
We touched on this before, but inspiration can be a fleeting phenomenon. One minute you’re bursting at the seams with creativity and then running on empty the next.
Creativity goals inspire us to take the time to do a stock-take on our own creative levels. Everyone feels creatively drained from time to time, but making a dedicated gap in your schedule to check-in with what is going on in the artistic sphere creates more opportunities for gathering inspiration and technical knowledge.
Start by setting a goal to dedicate at least 15-30 minutes per day for a week to inspiration. Reading books, going to exhibitions, researching websites (like Digital Photography School of course!), filling up a visual diary, and even checking Instagram can all contribute to a greater grasp of photographic theory and execution.
Once your set period of inspirational activities is over, review and make adjustments to your goal so it better suits your daily regimen.
Then…start again!
Soon, you’ll be in the habit of surrounding yourself with inspirational resources that recharge your creative practice and keep you abreast of creative possibilities and solutions.
Goal setting may seem daunting at first. However, once you break the process down, the usefulness and accessibility of goal-making become more apparent.
Goals encourage us to take active steps towards bettering our photographic practice. By making creativity goals, we commit to expanding our creativity incrementally, bettering our theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
Have you set yourself a creative goal recently? How did it go? Share your experience in the comments!
The post 4 Goals to Set for Expanding Your Photographic Creativity appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
The post Synology NAS – Transforming Your Workspace to be More Productive appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.
Messy People Have More Creative And Productive Minds, Science Says
While science may well say this, I’ve got to admit after deciding that I had ‘no room to swing a cat’ with my stuff everywhere, that I’ve taken some time during this COVID-19 lock-in to plan and execute my office clean-up! Along with that office clean up, I’ve reorganized my external storage, my raw image archiving, and my general day-to-day workflow, and I wanted to share that process with you.
I’ve been using a large external ‘DAS’ for a good while – a raid array (external disk) with a Thunderbolt 3 connection. Without spending a shed-load of cash on a very expensive cable, I wasn’t able to get it a suitable distance away from my workspace.
So, all of those pretty glowing blue lights and the accompanying whir of drives had to be right beside me. Not necessarily a terrible thing – it’s a very well behaved Raid array – however, it wasn’t very quiet. And, it was kinda ugly in my new small, streamlined office.
I had the idea to ‘kill the clutter’ and switch to a complete NAS (Network Attached Storage) setup with a single direct attached drive at the back of my iMac. Then I tucked the second NAS away in my “server room” (a cupboard in the corner of my office with some powerpoints and a Cat6 patch panel).
This would move the big whirring, glowing drive out of my office space and tuck my main image archiving server away, out of sight.
I also added a second monitor to my setup, a stunning 27″ EIZO. I highly recommend checking them out! It’s very easy on the eye.
So I loaded six of my regular-flavor hard disks into the Synology DS1618, the 6tb WD Red disks – the same drives I have in all of my Synology NAS gear.
Setting the NAS up using Synology’s SHR (Synology Hybrid Raid) and splitting my data across the drives for some hardware failure redundancy, is a very simple process I’ve written about here. My workflow with the second NAS has changed considerably and, after a month or so of testing, is working exactly as I’d like it to.
Now when I import from an SD card, I import directly into my external USB-C disk (Invariably, a G-Technology 4-8TB) and at the same time import to my backup location which is an identical library on the freshly installed Synology DS1618, where previously I’d import to the blue whirring beast (It was a Promise R8, an amazing unit, but just not what I wanted in my new space) and the USB-C drive. Over Cat6 the import of RAW files to my NAS doesn’t register as taking too long and hasn’t bothered me once.
Now, when I import from an SD card, I import directly into my external USB-C disk (invariably, a G-Technology 4-8TB) and to my backup location – an identical library on the freshly installed Synology DS1618. Previously I’d import to the USB-C drive and the blue whirring beast (a Promise R8. An amazing unit, but just not what I wanted in my new space). Over Cat6, the import of RAW files to my NAS doesn’t register as taking too long and hasn’t bothered me once.
Indirect benefits of the NAS running DSM as a second image storage location are, I can put any RAW files (or all of them), after conversion by the NAS, into a piece of Synology software called “PhotoStation.” This automagically creates good-looking web albums and can group and organize your photos in many ways. In this modern age of never printing anything and having dinner-table arguments discussions about ‘never seeing any of the photos we take’ is a very good thing!
The other main reason for the setup change is that I consult and, from time to time, have people into my home office to chat. Having my servers out and about, with cables hanging around to trip people over, was not a good look! Now, with everything tucked away, there’s no fear of that happening! I also spend a lot of time in my office, and I like to enjoy the space, so I am very happy with the transformation!
Since we talked last about storage, backups and NAS, my home/office internet has joined the (almost) 20th century in the form of 100Mb NBN. This means that my digital delivery to clients directly from my NAS is MUCH faster. I’m able to share albums and full-res finished images directly from my Disk Station, all from the privacy of my cupboard!
In closing, the process of de-cluttering your workspace is really very simple these days and can be quite cathartic! A small to medium-sized Synology NAS tucked away in your cupboard, and you’re good to go.
Together, Synology and WD provided the equipment for this test setup, but the opinions expressed are my own.
Have you got a storage set-up you’d like to share? Please let us know in the comments section.
The post Synology NAS – Transforming Your Workspace to be More Productive appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime.
The post 5 Different Approaches to Learning Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
There are many different approaches to learning photography. Some people would have you believe that one way is far superior to others. But the reality is, everyone learns differently. People have different lifestyles and learning methods, various time constraints, and different budgets.
You’re already on a site that offers one way of learning photography, but have you considered the other paths that you could take? Here’s a rundown of different ways that you can structure your practice and improve your photos.
It doesn’t take much to find a myriad of blogs looking to help you learn photography. Anyone from the most experienced professional photographer to someone who just bought their camera can start a blog. I guarantee that you can learn something from all of these photographers.
For some people, like myself, blogs are an excellent format for learning photography. I’m the kind of person who learns well from text and pictures, so I read a lot of different blogs by many different photographers.
There are two significant advantages of blogs over other kinds of learning. The first is that anyone can create them, which leads to all sorts of ideas being shared. The second is that they’re quick to respond to new technologies and techniques. You’ll probably see articles about near gear or styles on a blog way before you see the same information in a book.
Having just said that blogs are more likely to have new information than books, books still have some advantages. They often go into much more detail than blogs, especially where the content is unlikely to change even with new technology.
I have several books that cover scientific aspects of cameras and photography, and they’re still useful almost fifteen years after I bought them.
This solid foundation of knowledge can be where it’s helpful to use a few different approaches to learning photography, topping up your foundations with videos or blogs.
You can often pick up second-hand photography books cheap in thrift stores and on online auction sites. I have some real gems from decades back. They are fascinating to use to learn techniques that were in fashion at the time.
My particular favorites are the 70s and 80s glamour photography books I own; when I started shooting male glamour models and wanted an 80s vibe, they were the first place I looked for inspiration!
YouTube is a great place to find both photographic inspiration and tutorials of all kinds. And just like blogs, everyone can start a channel and upload videos to help other photographers learn.
An advantage of video is that if you’re the kind of person who learns best visually, you can get to grips with a technique much more effectively as you watch a photographer demonstrate it. Different approaches to learning photography will suit different people – everyone learns in different ways.
Some websites offer whole libraries of classes to watch, with some of the courses lasting several days! You can generally either buy the class to keep forever or take out annual or monthly subscriptions that allow you to view all the classes on the site for as long as you keep subscribing.
Many people find watching video tutorials a great way to learn. I’ve got several friends who have taught themselves photography almost entirely from YouTube. If you love watching videos, then you’re spoilt for choice. There is a video tutorial on just about every aspect of photography that you can imagine (and a few you’ve never thought of).
If there’s one good thing that will come out of our global extended time at home, it’s that there are now many more workshops happening online. Participating in a photography workshop can now be as simple as firing up some video conferencing software and tuning in to listen to an instructor talk!
The advantage of live workshops over pre-recorded videos is that you can usually ask the instructor questions during the workshop. Many online video conferencing platforms have the ability for you to type our a question or virtually raise your hand. Do take advantage of this feature and ask all the questions you can think of.
Of course, workshops that happen in person are great too because you can often get hands-on with equipment that you might not have at home. Lighting workshops should give you the time to try out the gear that you’re being taught to use, and ideally, there’s scope to play around a be a bit creative while you have a go.
One type of workshop that it’s particularly helpful to keep an eye out for is when camera manufacturers release new equipment. Often they hold cheap (or even free) seminars that allow you to get hands-on with new lenses and cameras. Even if you don’t intend to buy a new camera or lens, this can be a great way to have access to a professional photography teacher who you can ask questions!
Perhaps the ultimate long-term commitment to learning about photography is going to university and doing a degree. It’s not an option for everybody, of course. But for those that can afford both the time and the money, it’s incredible to be able to immerse yourself in a single subject for three years and one of the most intense approaches to learning photography.
If this is an option that you’re considering, then do think outside of the standard photography degree. Some universities let you combine photography with subjects like marketing. This combination would be an incredible option for those wanting to go into advertising photography.
If you wanted to go into photojournalism, then you might choose to find a way to combine photography with international politics.
And don’t forget fine art as a subject either! There’s often lots of scope for photography practice on a fine art degree.
I chose to go to university to study art history as a mature student. It is genuinely the best decision that I ever made as a photographer. It has matured my work, given me a greater understanding of issues when it comes to artistic practice, and it has opened my eyes to a whole incredible history of creativity and art. I liked it so much that I’m now doing a PhD. You never know where studying photography might lead you!
The advice that I always give when photographers ask about how best they should learn is that they should pick the route that makes the most sense for them and their photographic aspirations.
There are so many different approaches to learning photography that everyone should be able to find an option that suits their life, budget, and their dreams. And remember that if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, then try something new! You can always ask photographers that you know and see what worked for them.
Do you have anything you’d add to this? Feel free to share any other tips, or your experiences of learning photography with us in the comments section.
The post 5 Different Approaches to Learning Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.
One of the most frustrating things that can happen while editing photos is lag. Especially photoshop brush lag. Imagine, you’re right in the middle of doing some intricate touch-up edits to finalise an amazing photo for your portfolio or for a client and you cannot get the photoshop brush to do the edits in the exact place that you want Continue Reading
The post How to Fix Photoshop Brush Lag: 5 Steps appeared first on Photodoto.
The post The Five Key Features on any Street Photography Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Are you struggling to choose the perfect street photography camera?
You’ve come to the right place.
Because while picking the perfect camera for street photography can be tough, it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, there are five basic features you’re going to want with any street photography body. While finding them all in a single camera can be tough, depending on your current lens lineup and preferred system, I’d recommend getting a camera that offers as many as possible.
And if you can find a camera that includes all of these features, you know it’s going to be a great street shooting option.
Let’s dive right in:
When you look for a street photography camera, the very first aspect you’ll want to consider is size.
Because here’s the thing about street photography:
The less that people notice your camera, the better.
As soon as people start to see your camera, they get nervous, you get nervous, and photography becomes uncomfortable.
And while it’s inevitable that your camera will be seen, the smaller it is, the less this will happen.
That’s why I recommend you get the most compact camera you can find. Or, at least, a camera that offers a small form factor.
One option is a higher-end point-and-shoot camera, such as the Fujifilm X100V. That camera is tiny but still manages to offer excellent image quality.
But if you’re a fan of interchangeable lens cameras, you have other options. Some APS-C mirrorless cameras are designed to be near pocket-sized, including models such as Sony’s a6000 series, or the Fujifilm X-T200. Same with quite a few Micro-Four-Thirds cameras, such as the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III.
These bodies are light, they’re compact, and they’re some of the most inconspicuous cameras I’ve ever come across.
(Another advantage of a compact body is that they’re easy to carry around. You can take a Fujifilm X-T100 with you wherever you go, so that you never miss a shot!)
So start your search by looking for a small body, and only then should you consider the rest of the features on this list.
By the way:
It’s not just the camera that should be small; you’ll want small lenses, as well. One of the best ways to ensure you have plenty of small lenses to choose from is by working with a Micro-Four-Thirds camera (offered by both Panasonic and Olympus).
These systems have unusually compact lenses, thanks to their smaller sensor size.
If you’re planning on doing lots of street photography, then you’re going to need a camera that shoots fast.
Why?
Because the best street photos tend to involve a convergence of elements. Three people are perfectly aligned with a building, a person makes a sudden strange expression, or a biker passes in front of an interesting facade.
And you’re going to miss out on these moments…
…unless your camera can fire off a burst of shots in quick succession.
I’d recommend a continuous shooting speed of at least five frames per second, and more is better. For me, the 8-10 range is ideal, which you can find on quite a few cameras these days.
And honestly, anything more than 10 fps is overkill for most street photography purposes. You’ll run through your memory cards ridiculously fast, and end up with a huge amount of unnecessary shots.
You’ll also want to get a camera with a decent buffer. There’s no use in being able to shoot at 10 fps if you can only capture 15 frames. So I recommend you look for a camera with a buffer of at least 25 RAW files (and more is better!).
As I said above, street photography happens fast.
And you’re often reacting to moments that come and go instantly.
That’s why the best street photography cameras have lightning-fast autofocus and, ideally, face/eye detection.
I’m talking about systems that can nail focus instantly, as well as track a subject through a complex array of objects without losing focus.
For this latter requirement, a great option is any of the more recent Sony a6000 models (including the a6100, the a6400, and the a6600). These cameras offer fantastic tracking, great AF speeds, and amazing Eye AF.
Now, it is possible to do street photography with a less AF-adept camera. But you’ll frequently struggle, especially when trying to lock focus for spur-of-the-moment shots.
You’ll also want good AF for situations when you’re shooting from your LCD or from the hip. If your camera can grab focus with ease, you’ll end up with quite a few keepers, even if you’re firing the shutter without looking!
Getting a camera that can shoot in silence was a real game-changer for my street photography.
Finally, I could shoot without people realizing, and it made me feel so much less anxious.
And the truth is that most street photographers feel anxious at one time or another, and a loud shutter sound just made that anxiety worse.
(If you’re a street photographer that never feels uncomfortable, please share your secret in the comments!)
In fact, I almost quit street photography. It was only once I had a camera that could do true silent shooting that I was able to resume and feel better about what I was doing.
That’s why I recommend you get a street photography camera that has some sort of silent shooting mode. Ideally, it has an electronic shutter, one that allows you to shoot in total silence (though any silent shooting mode is better than nothing at all).
You’ll want to be careful, though:
Some cameras can be restricted when using a silent shutter. For instance, my Sony a6300 can only shoot bursts at about 3 frames per second when silent, and this can be extremely frustrating. So, I’d suggest looking for a camera that can maintain both silence and fast continuous shooting speeds.
That way, you can capture bursts of action without dealing with the chatter of a camera shutter!
This feature is a bit more optional, but it’s still useful in quite a few situations.
You see, there will be times when you want to shoot from the hip (i.e., keep your camera held down low and fire off some shots).
I do this while walking past people on busy streets because I don’t want to bother them with the sight of my camera. And I also like the low-angle look that it creates!
Of course, you can do this blindly, and you’ll end up with some keepers.
But if you have a tilting screen…
…you can look down at the camera while you walk, in order to ensure perfect focus and composition!
Note that you don’t need a fully articulating screen, as you won’t need to shoot from ultra-strange angles. A screen that tilts up 90 degrees will do just fine.
And since we’re talking about screens, I’ll mention that a touchscreen can be pretty useful in these situations, too. If you can tap to set focus, you can quickly choose a subject while looking down at your LCD, then fire off shots as they come closer.
Make sense?
Choosing a camera for street shooting doesn’t have to be hard.
Just make sure it has as many of these characteristics as possible, and you’ll be capturing stunning shots in no time!
That’s the power of a great street photography camera.
The post The Five Key Features on any Street Photography Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Tips for Organizing Photos in Capture One Pro appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
No matter which RAW photo editor you use, organizing your photos is probably one of the least enjoyable tasks in your photography workflow. However, setting up your catalogs correctly, or making changes to its structure, can ultimately save you a lot of valuable time. In this article, I’ll give you some tips to get you started on organizing photos in Capture One.
Capture One offers you the ability to work in Catalogs or Sessions. It’s recommended that you work with both.
A Catalog in Capture One functions like a Catalog in Lightroom in that it helps you organize large libraries of images; however, it offers more functionality. On the other hand, Sessions are great for on-set shooting and tethered shooting in studio and are an efficient way to organize the images from a specific shoot.
There are different importing strategies you can use when organizing photos in Capture One. However, before you get started, you should, decide where you’ll put your catalogs.
They don’t have to live in the same location as your photos, but your catalog should be kept in the fastest, most high-performing place you can put it – which is usually your computer’s internal hard drive.
In short, consider the performance limitations of any storage medium that you use when organizing your photos in Capture One.
If you’re new to Capture One, you’ll want to start a new Catalog. Creating a Catalog creates a new database; it tracks photos and adjustments, and stores metadata and keywords, and a small preview of your photos
You can have a single catalog for all of your images, which is further broken down into Sessions and Albums etc. depending on how you want to set up your workflow. You may choose to have more than one catalog; for example, a catalog for personal photos and another for client work.
I shoot food and still life photography for several stock agencies. I like to keep these images separate from my client work, as it helps me feel more organized. However, this is simply my preference. You may decide to organize your photos in Capture One differently.
The chances are that you shoot a lot. If you shoot RAW files, it doesn’t take long for your computer’s hard drive to fill up with thousands of image files. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep your image files on an external hard drive to keep your computer’s performance at an optimal level.
I keep my Capture One catalog on my iMac but have my files stored on two 4TB external hard drives – my main storage drive and a backup with duplicate files.
I also shoot tethered to a laptop when I shoot for clients. In this case, I save a backup of my files on a 1TB external hard drive and upload the photos to my main external drive after my shoot.
Before you get started with importing images, make sure that your image preview size is at least as large as your monitor, to ensure that they render properly. You can set this in your Preferences.
If you want to move files between folders, you can just drag and drop them. The database understands that you’re doing this within Capture One. When you attempt to do this outside of Capture One, this is where you get into trouble.
Moving outside of Capture One is slower, and you’ll have to relocate the files.
You’ll get an Offline notice and will have to locate it by right-clicking on the image and choosing Locate and navigate to where your image is. Capture One will re-establish the connection.
If you move a whole folder, it’s the same process.
You can move folders the same way you move files, and move them from your internal drive or an external drive.
User Collections is the best way of organizing your photos within Capture One. If you use Lightroom, you’ll be familiar with the concept of Collections.
There are too many limitations when trying to organize by folders because you can’t bring certain images together for a specific purpose, such as printing your work, unless you move them. Therefore, User Collections is the perfect solution.
There are four powerful organizational tools in User Collections:
Project is like a master container to put your Albums in. You can’t just drag images here; there has to be an album inside.
Much like a physical photo album, Album is a way to organize groups of photos that have a similar theme, such as vacation photos, or photos from a wedding shoot.
Smart Albums are a way to take this a step further, by giving you the ability to organize with star ratings and color tags. If you’re a Lightroom user, you’ll also be familiar with this concept.
Smart Albums populate themselves based on the criteria you pick. If you click off a star or rating, it will disappear from the collection, because this feature is dynamic.
Click + to add your search criteria, or use preset color and star ratings.
Organizing your photos in Capture One takes some effort and experimentation using the various tools the software has to offer. It’s a powerful program that has a lot of intuitive tools to help you create the most efficient workflow for your photography.
If you have any other tips for organizing your photos in Capture One, let us know in the comments!
The post Tips for Organizing Photos in Capture One Pro appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.
Paddling in blue: blue sky, blue paddleboard, blue paddler, blue leash … Happy accident or conscious color selection? I am not sure. This picture in from my morning paddling in May on Beaver Pond in Arapaho Bend Natural Area, one […]
paddling with a camera
The post 15 Quick and Easy Poses for Family Photographs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.
In this article, we’re going to share 15 quick and easy poses for family photographs to try at your next family photo session to keep it moving smoothly. You will also have great poses to choose from when it comes time to deliver the images to your clients.
These poses are useful for all family sizes and types so that you have a great variety to deliver once complete.
When it comes to photographing families, a standing pose is a great choice. This way, you’ll be able to see all family members in the portrait.
You can vary the standing pose with the family close together, connecting in one way or another with hands. Having the family get close can help to create more of a connection between the family members.
Another great standing pose is where you give each person a little bit of space and take a wide shot. This works for small and large families!
A group squeeze is another of the great poses for family photographs given that it can bring about some genuine smiles from the family, which is the real focus of the pose.
Ask your clients to get close and hug each other while still facing the camera, then ask them to squeeze tight and watch the laughter happen! Take as many photos as possible of the moment as the family will love to see these natural expressions caught on camera!
Sitting is another great pose to try. First, ask if there is anyone who has problems sitting or getting low. If there are family members with issues, try and use a chair or a posing stool.
Otherwise, have the family sit comfortably and get variations of the family looking at the camera, looking at each other, perhaps sitting a little further apart, or try to have the children behind the parents sitting a bit taller.
If you are going to use a chair or stool, it can bring about many different levels in a photograph that will make the poses more interesting. Try people behind the person sitting on the stool, move the stool/chair to the side, and have everyone fill in around.
If you’re photographing a big family, you can even pose family members beneath the stool/chair to add to the levels.
When looking for poses for family photographs, you can’t go past them walking together. It is a great pose for all families, especially if they feel a little nervous or stiff. Have them line up and walk towards you while they look at each other and laugh.
Encourage them to talk and joke amongst themselves to make the shot look a little more natural.
This pose is for big family sessions where you’re photographing smaller groups that make up the big family. Get each smaller family alone and photograph them in two to three different poses each. Use the same poses for each family to keep the session consistent. When all the family photos are put together in a wall gallery, for example, the photos fit well together.
You don’t have to use the same pose for all, you can change it up depending on the feeling each smaller group gives you. However, when we say keep it consistent, we’re talking about the lighting, background, and focal length.
A fun way to photograph the family is to have them mix it up and then get together for a portrait. This can get the family scrambling and laughing; allowing you to get more natural smiles from the entire family.
Jumping is another of the great poses for family photographs. Capturing a jumping shot is a great way to loosen up client nerves. More than actually getting the best shot, the jumping photo is to get everyone laughing and having fun.
You can photograph the jump with the family facing you or away from you. Make sure you get low so the jump looks more dynamic.
It’s good to also get a few photographs of the children without any adults in the photos. For siblings, get them playing or hugging.
For larger groups of children, like grandchildren, get them all in a group squeeze or on different levels like piggyback, sitting/standing, or all lined up so that everyone is seen in the portrait.
You can also break down the groups of children into girls, boys, older and younger, and maybe all playing together.
Nothing says meltdown like telling children to hold still and pose. To avoid a potential meltdown, allowing kids to explore their surroundings helps to keep them moving and engaged in the session.
Get the parents involved in exploring the location. It could be smelling flowers, picking up sticks, and taking in the surroundings.
This works perfectly for kids who are more sensory and for younger children. It can also help older kids feel less nervous and less focused on during the session.
Having fun is one of the best parts of the client experience. Making sure that your clients, especially the children, have a good time is really important.
Photograph the children building sandcastles, enjoying the playground, throwing a ball, or playing a game with their parents to help keep everything light and fun. It’s not a pose exactly that you direct, but you can choose where to have them play.
Having playful photos of the family completes the story of the session and also shows a more lighthearted side to the family. It also makes the session less stiff and serious.
Even if you’re in a studio, you can blow bubbles, play songs, have a dance party, and play with sounds to make the session more playful. Toys are a wonderful idea for smaller children.
While getting photos of the whole family is important, getting one or two poses of the adults by themselves also works to add variety to the whole session.
If the adults are a couple, pose them together in the same location. Take one with them looking at the camera and one looking at each other. Then have them walk a little while as they talk to each other.
If they are able to sit, get a couple of photos of the couple sitting, either on steps, benches or on the grass/ground.
Holding hands is a good way to show a connection among the family members. Choose different poses, either sitting or standing, where the family is holding hands. You can vary it with big groups where some are holding hands and others are not.
This works for children to get them to stand in the same place together. It can also help to hold hands with younger children so that they don’t stray too far and are engaged in the session.
Allowing your clients to simply be themselves as a family can be just the thing to calm nerves and help the session flow much more naturally. Help them by choosing where you want them to sit or stand and then have them talk amongst themselves.
Perhaps tell a joke, dance or play. Allow the family to get natural expressions, which adds more variety to the final gallery.
Families love each other and often show affection for each other. Kisses are natural and can show a real connection. You can choose to have the parents kiss while the kids make funny faces, have siblings kiss and hug, or have grandparents give kisses on the cheek.
This works best with young children like babies and toddlers to show affection and draw the baby’s attention to the parents. It also works with group squeezes with smaller family units.
Complete your session images with a final shot of the family from behind. This can be a silhouette or have the family overlooking the location where they are, like a beach, for example.
It can be a great photo to finish your client’s gallery with a nice contemplative photo of the family simply looking and being themselves.
It’s great to have 15 poses for family photographs that work for all families and all situations. Use these 15 poses, and you’ve already got a great start to your client’s gallery! Do you have any go-to poses that work for all family sessions? Share in the comments!
The post 15 Quick and Easy Poses for Family Photographs appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.
The post How Using Instant Cameras Can Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
There is something magical about instant cameras. Depress the shutter button and a little image is ejected, slowly developing before your eyes. More than just a novelty, instant cameras have practical and artistic applications. Here’s how using instant cameras can help improve your photography overall.
First things first. What exactly is an instant camera? Generally, the term instant camera describes a camera that uses self-developing film to deliver a photographic image within minutes of pressing the shutter button.
The first commercially viable instant camera system was introduced in 1947 by the founder of Polaroid, Edwin Land.
A year later, Land’s Model 95 Land Camera and the corresponding film went on sale in a department store in Boston. The cameras, which dramatically altered the accessibility and creative possibilities of photography, sold out in mere minutes.
Land and Polaroid continued to develop instant camera systems. Originally delivering a sepia-toned image, instant film graduated to black and white and then to color in 1963.
However, up until 1972, using instant cameras was much less straight forward than the process we know today. Exposed Polaroid film required a photographer to peel back a negative sheet after 60 seconds to reveal the instant image. This often left chemical residue on the user’s hands.
Some earlier processes also required users to coat the developed film with a mixture of stabilizing chemicals.
The arrival of the Polaroid SX-70 in 1972 marked a turning point in instant camera technology. The SX-70 ejected film with no negative sheet or chemical residue, shaping the trajectory of instant camera models thereafter and realizing Land’s dream of a fully instant camera system.
Instant cameras may have been largely superseded by digital technology today. Still, the distinctive aesthetic and physicality of the instant camera process have seen a resurgence in recent years. Companies like Polaroid, Fujifilm, and Leica all offering up modern incarnations of the instant camera and corresponding film.
There are many ways using instant cameras can improve on a photographer’s process. Perhaps the most obvious impact of modern instant photography is the practical knowledge that a less-than-mainstream photographic medium affords.
Since their invention, instant cameras have presented an intriguing alternative to standard photographic practice.
Andy Warhol made famous use of the instant camera, as did Luigi Ghirri – a pioneer of color photography. By using both a familiar yet unique photographic technique, these photographers (and many more) pushed the boundaries of what was understood to be the accepted approach to photographic image-making.
Most modern photography is created and distributed digitally. But stepping away from the norm to negotiate the ins and outs of an instant camera presents new perspectives and challenges – broadening artistic experience and opening up creative opportunities.
The benefits of new photographic experiences are not exclusive to instant cameras. However, the process, inherent associations, and distinctive aesthetics of instant camera photography can contribute greatly to the many layers of visual language a photographer draws upon in the field.
They’re nifty, but keeping an instant camera stocked with film can be pricey. This means that getting the most out of each frame is a priority. Even though price can be a downside to using instant cameras, maximizing the success of each shot encourages a more effective photographic practice overall.
Getting an image right in-camera makes the most of the technology at hand, refining photographic skill sets and saving time. By measuring an exposure against a limited amount of instant film frames, instant cameras slow the photographic process, inviting the photographer to carefully and deliberately consider creative and technical aspects before depressing the shutter button.
While instant camera photography often departs from the technical standards of digital and film photography, this ‘slow’ approach to photography inevitably translates to other facets of a photographer’s practice, honing visual awareness and sharpening technical skill.
An early proponent of instant camera technology, Ansel Adams maintained that pre-visualization was a critical component of strong image-making. As we’ve touched on, instant camera film isn’t cheap, but pre-visualization is a valuable way to minimize dud shots.
Pre-visualization involves mentally untangling the many components that go into executing an effective photograph before the photograph is made. By pre-visualizing, a photographer can take executable steps towards achieving an appealing image in-camera, often with greater efficiency and success.
The risk of wasting expensive film makes the need for pre-visualization particularly pronounced in instant camera photography. The more consideration that is put into an image pre-exposure, the greater the chances of a successful instant photograph.
Also, the immediate effectiveness of combining pre-visualization techniques with instant camera photography generates positive momentum. This then feeds better habits across all forms of photographic practice.
Instant photography was designed with fun in mind, so it’s no surprise that the simple, idiosyncratic cameras provide a well-deserved distraction from the effects of creative fatigue.
Paired back in design, instant cameras tend to have less in-built settings than their digital counterparts. This simplicity can encourage creativity in composition and subject selection over technical perfection.
In addition, the unique aesthetic of instant photography is viewed as the marker of a distinct and quirky artistic process. This means that some mistakes that would ruin a digital image are embraced in an instant camera photograph.
This loosening of technical constraints means that instant cameras can serve as an effective refresher for photographers looking to recharge creative batteries.
Using instant cameras isn’t just fun, it can inform and improve your image-making overall. With a unique aesthetic, limited film and paired-down design, instant cameras are an engaging alternative to the photographic mainstream.
Do you shoot with instant cameras? Share your thoughts and images with us in the comments below.
The post How Using Instant Cameras Can Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.
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