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Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

14 Sep

There are the stories, I’m sure you’ve heard them. Annie Leibowitz hanging out with the Rolling Stones. Bob Gruen photographing John Lennon on New York rooftops.

Let’s face it, second to being an actual rock star (we’ve all used a hairbrush as a microphone at some point, right?) being a music photographer and capturing all of the action, has a certain allure to it that for many of us, is hard to shake. But how do you actually do it? How do you photograph a rock concert or show?

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show - wide shot from the stage

Let’s start by getting one thing straight, your first show is not going to be a recording artist at the height of their fame. Even if it was, you will not have the skills you need to be able to do it justice. These shows come with time, effort and a good portfolio. The best thing to do is start with lower expectations.

Step 1. Find a band to shoot

Although it may seem a little daunting, this is pretty simple. There are two ways to go about it.

Firstly there is Social media. Search for musicians in your local area. Many towns and cities will have Facebook groups for live music, which is a great place to start, and most bands will have some sort of Social Media presence. You can check out their music, see what photos they already have and find out where they are playing. From here, you can simply send them a message and see if they would be happy for you to take photos at their next gig.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

The other way is to go to venues in your local area that put on bands. Get out there, talk to the bar staff, talk to the locals. Ask if they have any restrictions on photography in the venue, etc. This way you can see what the venue has to offer in terms of lighting, as well as being able to approach bands directly and build relationships with people who can help get you in front of bands you want to photograph.

It is simply is a case of speaking to people. Being an introvert myself, I know this can be hard, but sometimes you need to suck it up and put yourself out there.

Step 2. Know your camera

This is the key technical thing you need to be aware of. Do you know how to change your ISO with your eyes closed? If not, you should so practice until you can. Shooting live music means you will generally be in very dark conditions and unless you are able to access things quickly, you may miss the perfect shot.

It might seem pretty boring learning this stuff and, to be honest, it is, but consider it the homework you need to do in order to begin your journey into music photography. Imagine the lead guitarist hitting their rock god pose only to find that you have been staring at your camera, trying to remember how many clicks you need to change your ISO by one stop and completely missed it.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

While we are on the subject of knowing your camera, you really need to shoot in RAW. Live music images generally need to be processed to get the best color from them and RAW gives you the largest amount of data to work with.

Although there is technically no pressure to deliver amazing images for a shoot like this, you should approach every shoot like a dream assignment and deliver the best images possible. Seeing the band members reactions to your amazing photos will make all the memories of the boring stuff fade away.

In the same way, learning the exposure triangle is never the most fun but it is the thing that really helps you cope with the demanding situations you will face when shooting live music. Which brings me nicely to my next point.

Step 3. Learn to shoot in Manual Mode

Lighting in live music is complicated at best. At worst it is downright terrible. Camera meters will generally struggle with the type of lighting you are going to be facing. While aperture or shutter priority is great, what happens when those fail you?

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

Shooting in Manual Mode means that if you find there is heavy backlight on the performer, you know how to move past it. It is the difference between looking at the back of your camera and wondering what is going wrong, to looking at the back of your camera and knowing how to fix it.

Manual Mode is something that will really help you up your photography game no matter what you shoot. It is the basic principle of photography that you really should take the time to learn. There are so many great resources available for this, it simply needs practice and isn’t as hard as it seems at first.

Having the knowledge to be able to fix exposure problems is something that takes your photography game to the next level. Why? Because you have the confidence to be able to handle the lighting, rather than hope that it is going to be okay.

Step 4. Gear

While I am no means a gear nerd, or an advocate of buying gear for the sake of it, if you are wanting to do this regularly you really need to consider a lens with a fixed f/2.8 aperture.

Most music photography means almost exclusively low light shooting situations and having a lens with a wide aperture means you can get more light into your camera. In terms of focal length, the 24-70mm (or 17-50mm if you are on a crop sensor camera) is the most used lens in almost every music photographer’s bag. The wide aperture also has the advantage of blurring the background, which is useful in venues that don’t have the most attractive backgrounds.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

You can purchase these lenses reasonably second hand, or you could always rent them. A cheaper alternative is the legendary Nifty Fifty lens, but it has big limitations for shooting music and even more if shooting in a small venue. While I love the 50mm lens I can’t really recommend it as a one to purchase for music photography when starting out.

I must stress though, these lenses are nice to have. You can shoot a show with any lens and any camera, but if you are considering this in the longer term, it will be a worthwhile investment.

Step 5. Shoot Day

It’s here. You’ve found a band to photograph, you know your camera and have learned how to shoot better in Manual Mode. It is time to go to the show.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

The first thing is to make sure you get to the venue in plenty of time. This means you will not be rushing around and it also means you can check the venue, say hello to the band, and get yourself prepared. You may be tempted to have a drink for some liquid confidence, but I would advise against that. You need to be at your best and a few drinks aren’t always helpful.

It is always a good time to check the basics. Format your memory card in the camera. Make sure you have a spare card at hand, check your camera is in the right mode and the lens is clean. It sounds really simple when you are reading this, but honestly, this is the sort of thing you will easily forget due to nerves.

On one of my first shoots, I forgot to put a memory card in the camera, so when the show started, I had to rush into my bag and sort it out. Luckily nobody noticed and the shoot went well, but this mistake is the reason I am so anally retentive in my pre-shoot ritual and you should be too.

Step 6. Etiquette

This is a big one!

You need to make sure you behave appropriately. The most obvious thing is to be mindful of those who are watching the show. You need to be aware of them and make sure you are courteous. A general rule of thumb is to not stay in one place too long. People generally want to see the band, not just the back of the photographer’s head.

Some fans will also be quick to let you know. I have been sworn at, had beer thrown at me and been threatened with violence. While you want to tell them off or snap back, you must remain professional and rise above it. To the band, their fans are number one, so make sure you treat them the same way.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

If there are other photographers shooting the show, always say hello and be polite. It is nice to see people you know when shooting shows and having friends to bounce ideas off, etc., is always a great thing.

When shooting the show, the general rule of thumb is if you want to go behind someone while they are taking photographs, gently tap them on the back and carefully walk behind them. It is a simple gesture, but one that people always appreciate. Again make sure that you don’t stick in one spot, make sure the other photographers can shoot from the same place as you. Get your shot, move on, and let others have their chance.

Now we come to one of my pet peeves. Please, pretty please with a cherry on top, don’t hold your camera over your head and blindly take photos. While it may get you a shot you like, it is the most annoying thing for the fans, for the other photographers, and for the band themselves. It also screams “I don’t know what I am doing”. Just don’t be that person, please.

Step 7. To flash or not to flash

The next thing to consider is using your flash. Now many smaller bands will not mind this, or at least they will say they don’t. But imagine being in a dimly lit space and having someone fire off a camera flash at you 10 times a minute. It soon becomes annoying!

The best solution is to try and avoid flash wherever possible. Modern cameras hold up really well at higher ISOs, so you should not have a problem. Photographing live music, generally means shooting at ISO 3200 or even 6400, but this is something most newer cameras can handle well enough.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

Shutter speeds should be 1/125th or higher and your aperture will generally be as wide as your lens will go.

Now having said all that, what if you do need to use flash because the lighting is just that bad? Firstly be frugal. As tempting as it is to fire off hundreds of shots, it will just annoy everyone. Pick your shots carefully and shoot sparingly.

The other thing when shooting flash is to make sure you pick up some ambient light or your shots will lack atmosphere. Start with an exposure that gets close to where ambient would be, then add flash as a small fill. This not only means you get more atmosphere in your shots, it also lessens the flash power, which is better for the artist you are photographing.

Don’t be afraid of slowing your shutter speed down when using this technique. 1/30th of a second or even slower can add some cool effects to your shot and will help keep the atmosphere.

Once you move into bigger bands, it is a simple rule, first three songs, no flash allowed. Break this rule and not only will you be removed from this show, but you will find it hard to get your next pass. The music business is a small world and lots of promoters know each other, lots of tour managers talk and if you annoy one, your name may spread. Practice not needing your flash now, then when you move onto bigger bands, you will be more confident and be able to do the show justice.

Step 8. Composition

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

Composition is incredibly important in music photography. Simply put, there are shots to get and shots not to bother with. The most common shot that I see from those starting out in music photography is one of the singer’s face covered by the mic. This shot is considered a no-no in professional music photography, simply because it hides the singer’s expression.

When shooting, you need to pick your moments and move around frequently to be able to capture the best images possible. Do your research before the shoot. Look at popular music websites, look at professional music photographers and see what the best in the business are doing, then apply this to the band you are photographing.

Every band wants to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. While you can’t provide them with this, you can give them photographs that look like they could be in the magazine.

Step 9. Post-Processing

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

This could be a whole tutorial in itself, so I will keep it brief. You will need to work with the color. By shooting in RAW this will give you the best data to work with later. You generally will need to tweak live music images, especially the color balance and JPEG simply does not give you enough scope to do this.

The most important thing is getting the images out quickly. When shooting professional bands, this means as soon as possible after the concert. When you are just starting out it is still a good idea to get the images to the band while the gig is still fresh in their minds.

Step 10. Practice

You’ve done it. You’ve now photographed your first show. I am sure you had a blast and the band loved the images. So what now?

Do it again and again, and again. Get out there and shoot! This will make sure you are constantly improving, but also allows you to start to build a reputation in your local area and building up a portfolio. This is key in moving to the next level and shooting bigger bands. They want to know you will take photos that make them look good.

Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show

So how do you shoot bigger bands? Well, that’s a story for another day. For now, you need to get out there and practice. What’s stopping you? I can’t wait to hear how it went. Please share your rock concert photos and questions in the comment area below.

The post Tips for How to Photograph a Rock Concert or Show appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Don’t Show Me Your Tricks, Show Me Your Photography Skills

07 Aug

Did you know that the automated features and tricks built into cameras and computer software can actually stunt your photographic growth and photography skills? It’s true. Unless you are seeking to learn how to achieve specific results from the canned effects used by others, you might be shortchanging yourself.

Think back to what made you take up photography in the first place. Remember seeing the amazing shots in magazines, online, or taken by a friend and then dreaming that you too might produce amazing pictures?

Well, you can and you should. Learn the camera’s basic controls and how to shape your pictures with software tools, and don’t just rely on packaged effects.

Tricks Bode Orig - Don’t Show Me Your Tricks, Show Me Your Photography Skills

Photography skills override tricks

If you enjoy fishing but purchase fresh fish from the market on your way home, are you really fishing? You might bring home a tasty meal but can you really take credit for the catch? You dove into photography to capture great shots and produce gorgeous pictures. don’t shortchange yourself with tricks and shortcuts.

An occasional foray into visual effects can be interesting, but a steady diet gets boring and appears cliché.

Are you relying on auto settings, presets, and effects to make your shots look special? Do you run your photos through software that pushes your shots through prefab cookie-cutter interpretations?

Perhaps it’s time to put your time into understanding the basics of the photographic process. There’s an artist inside you yearning to learn. Put that artist to work in reality. Let your pride be in your work, not someone else’s.

Stop being predictable.

Those pre-digested interpretations offered by many post-processing software packages are way too easy to spot. The effects should be used sparingly and only when the scene really lends itself to the effect. Presets look good once in a while (I use them myself occasionally). But I want people to see my photography skills, not someone else’s tricks.

Be the individual, not the trend.

Stop doing what everybody else does and start expressing yourself. I grew up in the hippie era and to some degree, I bought into the trend. I wanted to be taken seriously as an individual; a non-conformist who didn’t just follow the masses and do what everybody else did.

But eventually, I realized that all my non-conformists friends dressed alike, talked alike, acted alike, and (frankly) smelled alike. All while proclaiming their individuality.

They conformed to the accepted non-conformity trends. That herd-mentality behavior didn’t make sense back then and it doesn’t make sense now. If you want to express yourself, do just that – express yourself. Just take the time to learn the basics of shaping images. It’s a whole lot easier than you think and it’s amazingly rewarding.

Tricks Bridge Orig - Photography Skills

Nobody I know actually lives in a fantasyland with color as over-amped as this. Indiscriminately using a colorful effect on the wrong image can reduce the image to a clown show.

You are a logical person with a good head on your shoulders. You know you can do serious work if you take the time to learn the process. There is more to photography than learning the camera controls. You must understand the why issues of photography, not just the how of the camera buttons.

Your images deserve special attention… yours!

Use your imagination.

Determine today to see life through your own lens and interpret what you see with your eyes and your imagination. Shape your images with a clear understanding of how to command the medium of photography. Don’t see life through the lens of popular automation and trick treatments, learn to control the light and color that your camera captures.

This is a pricey waterfront condo in Nassau. When you take the time to match the scene with an appropriate treatment, the results make sense to the viewer.

Capture images and shape them into what your mind sees. Don’t try to force your shots into someone else’s prefab, over-used interpretations. If this really is an age of personal expression, take control of your creative life by learning how to control the light in your photographs, both during the capture process and in post-production.

Eventually, you will come to a point where you want to test the waters of photo-creativity, learn the basics of image shaping, and let your images show your talent and photography skills instead of displaying someone else’s. It all starts with taking the time to learn the basics and believing in yourself.

Just the right amount.

One of the most beneficial parts of understanding how to shape your own pictures is knowing how much adjustment is enough and how much is too much. Like a four-year-old little girl playing with her mother’s makeup, your first attempts won’t be works of art, but that’s the way EVERY great photographer starts; over-producing their pictures.

The single most important ingredient in success is practice. Practice makes better, none of us ever get to perfect.

FoldedSail SBS - Photography Skills

Here’s the first rule of editing. When alterations start looking surrealistic, you’ve probably taken the processing too far. We enjoy special effects in the movies but we live in the real world. Small adjustments to colors and tones sometimes produce big differences. Make your initial moves and then back away from the picture for a few minutes and then take another look at the project again.

Imaging Basics

Nudging the mid-tones lighter and increasing the overall contrast can improve the appearance of almost every photo. It’s a good place to start.

Because of the linear manner in which digital cameras capture images, the simple process of capturing a scene with pixels produces images that are darker in the three-quarter tones than they need to be. These images usually benefit from shifting the mid-tones lighter simply by making some minor adjustments in the Basic panel in Camera Raw or Lightroom.

Learn to fine-tune your images to bring out the true colors and detail. The process is simple but the results can be profound. Target specific regions of light to reveal to the viewer what your mind saw when your camera captured the image. Our brains compensate for unbalanced lighting in a scene while the camera simply records existing light levels.

Small adjustments can make a major difference in the appearance of digital image captures.

Your camera doesn’t know where important detail is located in an image, although your brain located the detail and mentally enhanced the scene. You must learn how to deal with the scene’s lighting and reveal that detail manually. Most of those ho-hum images just need a little TLC to come to life.

Two panels in Camera Raw provided all the controls and tools I needed to target and enhance specific areas of this image.

The white surfaces of the house above needed a boost to brighten them up without losing the surface detail. The detail in the deep shadow tones of the trees and stair steps needed to be lightened without losing the defining deep shadows.

The Basic panel provided the tools and the Tone Curve panel provided the narrow target for both the highlight and shadow adjustment without affecting the mid-tones.

Conclusion

Be the artist who understands their medium and is in command of their art. Let others see your style and maybe they’ll try to emulate you. Stop playing follow the leader and become the leader. There are only a handful of basic skills you need to develop to break the mold and really control your pictures.

Enough of the grunge, the excessive saturation, the surrealism, and the pre-packaged garbage. Start showing the world your skills and leave the tricks to the those who need them.

The post Don’t Show Me Your Tricks, Show Me Your Photography Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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GoPro Q2 2018 results show improvement: new products promised for late 2018

04 Aug

GoPro has revealed its Q2 2018 financial results, boasting a massive 40% quarter-over-quarter revenue increase to $ 283 million and net loss of $ 32 million, which the company says is a 51% sequential improvement. This marks two consecutive positive quarters for GoPro, which has historically struggled and taken various actions, including multiple layoffs, in an effort to survive.

GoPro saw its inventory drop $ 47 million from its first to second 2018 quarters, reaching the company’s lowest inventory level since early 2014. Year-over-year, GoPro also reduced its operating expenses by $ 16 million and increased its paying Plus subscriber numbers by 9% quarter-over-quarter.

GoPro says it took 97% dollar share of the action camera market in the US, with its Fusion model taking 48% of the nation’s spherical camera category

GoPro claims its 18th straight quarter of having the #1 selling camera in North America, also citing a strong presence in the spherical camera, European, and Asian markets. Based on data from NPD Group, GoPro says it took 97% dollar share of the action camera market in the US, with its Fusion model taking 48% of the nation’s spherical camera category.

During the company’s earnings call with investors yesterday, GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman revealed that the company will release three new products later this year. Details on those three products were not provided, but it’s likely one will be the company’s upcoming flagship Hero 7, an update to the Hero 6 action camera released late last year.

Catch up on GoPro’s Q2 investors’ call

Via: GoPro

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Show More with Your Photographs by Thinking Outside the Frame

19 Feb

In its simplest form, a photograph is a representation of a very limited part of space at a very limited point in time. This article is about choosing which tiny bit of reality to represent and how that choice can make a photograph into much more than just a record of time.

01 photography tips thinking outside the frame

The most obvious elements of any photograph are the subject, the foreground, and the background. The light and the time it takes to create the photo are equally essential. In this article, I’ll be focusing on an ingredient which may be less obvious, sometimes even overlooked, but never absent: the frame.

What is the frame?

By frame, I don’t mean a picture frame, but the edges of the photo.

02 photography tips thinking outside the frame

Take a look at the photo above. What’s going on? There’s the subject (a cat) the foreground, a bench, the background (a pink wall) and a branch of some kind. So what does the frame have to do with all this?

The frame of a photograph is what separates the obvious from the inferred. It’s part of why a good photograph means different things to different people because that which is inferred is subjective.

Consider the photograph of the cat again. The cat is about to pounce, which means that there’s something going on outside the frame. Maybe another cat is walking by, or maybe there’s a delicious-looking bird on the ground.

What’s outside the frame is just as important

03 photography tips thinking outside the frame

What is left outside the frame can tell a story of its own or be an essential part of the subject of the photo? By creating tension between the obvious and the inferred you wield a powerful tool to make even better photographs. Every image has a relation to the rest of the world, even though the immediate surroundings aren’t obvious or don’t seem to add anything.

04 photography tips thinking outside the frame

So how do you start thinking outside the frame?

I will show you a few examples so you get the idea.

1 – Make it obvious

The obvious way is to make it clear that there is something outside the frame that isn’t being shown. The easiest way to do this is to capture an interesting gaze or photograph a detail.

05 photography tips thinking outside the frame

In the image above, the groom is not looking at the camera, but towards something more interesting outside the frame. For those who recognize the setting, it may be obvious that he is looking towards the church door, which will soon reveal the bride; for others, the interpretation could be different.

06 photography tips thinking outside the frame

These photos show a part of something larger. The hands suggest a person, and might even reveal something about that person. The spiraling tree creates a looping line that continues outside the frame.

2 – Tie the subject to the setting

The scene inside the frame can be tied to a larger setting without the subject directly or indirectly touching the frame. This can make the subject seem large or small, create an open or claustrophobic feeling, or give the surroundings a sense of continuity.

07 photography tips thinking outside the frame

Take a look at the photo above. By surrounding a tiny subject with a single, strong color, that color almost always feels like it continues on and on. In this picture, does it give you a sense of comfort or claustrophobia?

08 photography tips thinking outside the frame

The idea with the photo above is somewhat similar, but the feeling of it is quite different. Here is a playful animal in its seemingly limitless element, suggesting unlimited enjoyment. Or do you see something quite different?

3 – Use pattern or rhythm

By using a pattern or rhythm in the photo, you can create an effect that allows the viewer to imagine infinity. The idea is the same as in the example above, but the execution and effect are different. Here, the pattern or rhythm itself can be the subject, and it’s that subject that leads the viewer outside the frame.

09 photography tips thinking outside the frame

The pattern of cracked sea ice works like a block of color. But since it’s more interesting than just a single color, it can stand by itself and let the eye wander through the details in the photo and the mind continue beyond.

10 photography tips thinking outside the frame

A seascape like the one in the image above can suggest an infinitely large ocean just by showing an unbroken horizon. The ocean doesn’t only continue into the photo, though, it also continues sideways and beyond the edges of the photo. The rhythm of the clouds emphasizes this illusion.

4 – Reflections

Reflections are also an effective way of suggesting a wider world outside the constraints of the photograph. It’s a more direct way of pointing to the wider context.

11 photography tips thinking outside the frame

Concrete walls can suggest many things, but thanks to the reflection in the window it becomes quite clear that the photo is not taken in a concrete jungle, but in a verdant and sunny place. Reading the expression on the subject’s face becomes quite different thanks to the wider context.

Conclusion

Photography is always about choices, conscious or not. The more photography you do, the more deliberate your choices will become. Being aware of this gives you more control over your creative process. The creative decisions you can make based on those choices is what makes photography art.

How you frame your photographs is just one of the things to keep in mind when you photograph.

Do you pay attention to what you leave out when you take a photo? Do you have any examples or thoughts you’d like to share about how you’ve used the frame and what’s beyond as an element in your photography? I’d love to hear about it and see your photos in the comments below.

The post How to Show More with Your Photographs by Thinking Outside the Frame by Hannele Luhtasela-el Showk appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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CIPA’s November numbers show the digital camera market’s continuing decline

11 Jan

Graph: CIPA

The Japanese Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has released its numbers for November 2017, and they don’t make for pleasant reading. In short: the downward trend in the digital camera market continues, with only 2,166,788 DSC units shipped in November 2017, or approximately 17% percent lower than the previous year.

Looking back further is even more depressing: almost an entire million more units were shipped in the same month in 2015.

The situation looks very similar when looking at interchangeable lens cameras separately. With just over one million shipped, the total in November is approximately 20% lower than the same month of the two previous years.

Due to smartphones taking over as the go-to imaging device for casual users, the market for digital cameras with built-in lenses has been plummeting for a while. At 1,163,523 units shipped, this market segment has now, at least in terms of shipments, almost shrunk to the same level as the interchangeable lens bracket.

The year-on-year decrease for November is not as dramatic for DSLRs and system cameras, but compared to two years ago, the number of cameras with built-in lenses that have been shipped has been cut almost in half.

Graph: CIPA

Barring earthquakes and other natural disasters in the camera manufacturing regions, November tends to be one of the stronger month in camera retail, making this report all the more disappointing. Let’s hope the December numbers provide some reason for optimism when they arrive next month.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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CIPA figures show disappointing October sales, but mirrorless continues to rise

05 Dec

Graph: CIPA

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has released its statistics for October 2017, and in contrast to previous years, we did not see the Black Friday/Thanksgiving induced spike we’re used to seeing, with month-to-month shipments remaining fairly flat (read: disappointing).

In fact, year-on-year total camera shipments in October are down a whopping 13 percent, although we did see an overall year-over-year increase of 11 percent in the digital camera market for the January-to-October timeframe, and 6 percent for ILCs. Part of this development could be due to production coming back online after the Kumamoto earthquake; however, this trend is likely to continue for another couple of CIPA reporting periods or so.

Compared to October 2016, only 78 percent of DSLRs were shipped globally, but 112 percent for mirrorless, indicating that mirrorless is continuing its rise while simultaneously cannibalizing market share from its DSLR cousins. Most of the mirrorless shipments are going to the Asia region, though, which still accounts for more than 50 percent of all mirrorless cameras shipped. Globally, mirrorless is now 36 percent of the total market for ILC.

With smartphones fulfilling most consumer imaging needs and a big manufacturer like Nikon thinking about re-entering the mirrorless segment, we’ll be watching closely to see how those numbers develop over the coming months into 2018.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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CBS sues photographer for sharing TV show screenshots on social media

02 Nov

CBS Broadcasting is suing photojournalist Jon Tannen for doing something you (and most people you know) have probably done: sharing screenshots from an old television show on social media. The lawsuit is being characterized a ‘retaliatory strike’ by some, since Tannen filed his own copyright infringement lawsuit against CBS Interactive back in February.

The whole story came to light on Torrent Freak, and serves as a cautionary tale for photographers who are thinking of pursuing infringement claims against the big studios—CBS, ABC, FOX, Warner Brothers, etc.—in court. Often the evidence in these cases is strong and a settlement is reached, but sometimes… the studios fight back.

That was the case with Tannen, who sued CBS Interactive in February of this year over the unauthorized use of two copyrighted photos on the website 247sports.com (the second time this had happened). But what might have turned into a quick settlement has instead been met with a countersuit by CBS Broadcasting, who found screenshots from the television show Gunsmoke (1955-1975) on Tannen’s social media.

The CBS lawsuit brands Tannen a ‘hypocrite’ and seeks $ 150,000 in damages for willful infringement—the same amount Tannen wants per infringement of his own work.

“This copyright infringement action arises out of Defendant’s unauthorized use of Plaintiff’s valuable intellectual property,” reads the CBS complaint. “Tannen hypocritically engaged in this act of infringement while simultaneously bringing suit against Plaintiff’s sister company, CBS Interactive Inc., claiming it had violated his own copyright.”

It will be a while before these lawsuits sort themselves out, but CBS’ retaliation against Tannen is raising eyebrows because this kind of image use is so prevalent online, and almost always assumed to constitute fair use. Of course, whether or not the countersuit has any legal ground to stand on may be irrelevant… CBS has just laid out a blueprint for other major studios looking for a way to retaliate against potential infringement claims.

You can read Tannen’s complaint against CBS here, and CBS’ countersuit here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

02 Nov

Picture this: You’re standing in front of an awe-inspiring natural wonder, a giant mountain or an extraordinary monument. Eagerly, you raise your camera to your eye and *click* you snap a shot.

There, on the LCD screen on the back of your camera, you see that all the majesty of the scene has disappeared.

How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

A photo of Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland, taken to show the scale and majesty of the scene.

In its transition from reality to the screen on your camera, your subject has lost its grandeur and sense of scale – there’s no true representation of how impressive the scene is. Has this happened to you?

Photography works with only two dimensions, for the most part. The world, on the other hand, is viewed in three dimensions. Missing that extra dimension can be a big deal.

Without giving a bit of thought to your composition, you can lose a lot of the sense of scale – making even the most remarkable subject matter look completely unremarkable on camera.

Understanding lens distortion

A camera doesn’t necessarily see the same thing our eyes do. Depending on your type of lens, and how much zoom you are using, there can be quite a difference between the image and reality.

Wide-angle lenses can make a real mess of perspective, making objects close to the camera seem significantly bigger than ones farther off. This can be used to your advantage for creative shots, but it will completely ruin the sense of scale.

How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography - gnome

From up close and seen with a wide-angle lens of 17mm, this gigantic-looking gnome looms over the fence it is sitting on.

A gnome photographed from a distance to show how lens distortion influences scale.

A gnome telephoto - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

At a focal length of 55mm, the sense of scale is restored and we can see that the gnome is actually quite small compared to the fence.

The more you zoom in (use a longer focal length), the less distorted your object will appear. Unfortunately, if you are taking pictures of large buildings or natural wonders, this has fairly limited application. It isn’t always possible to jog several hundred meters down the road in order to have room to zoom into 200mm when photography a tall building.

If we want to get the entire object in the frame, we’ll need to make some compromises with lens distortion, which leads us to our next trick for properly showing scale.

Provide a reference

So how can we tell if something is big?

Well, it’s not usually a problem in real life to know if an object is big or not. But in photography, we don’t always have the same opportunity to glance around and get a sense of proportion. This bothersome little detail can mean that even a huge, incredible wonder in real life can look insignificant.

A photo of a mountain, with a reference point of a village below to show scale.

So how can we make sure that immense size is properly appreciated? Provide a familiar reference point to define scale. By including people or common objects in a scene, the viewer can quickly understand the scale.

Skip giving that reference point and your mighty mountains could just as well be macro shots of pebbles, for all your viewer knows.

An image showing the scale of the Gullfoss waterfall - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

This is the incredible Gullfoss in Iceland, but without a clear point of reference, we don’t have a strong idea of its scale.

Image showing hikers on the Gullfoss waterfall - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

Use of a longer lens helps us to see that those tiny specks on the rock are actually hikers – and helps us to understand that this waterfall is massive!

Showing Distance

How can we tell if something is far away?

Again, it isn’t difficult to recognize distance in real life. Once again, two-dimensional pictures have a habit of looking extremely flat without paying a bit of attention to what is included in the frame.

Well, for starters, you can use depth-of-field to provide a sense of depth. When the background drops off into a blur, it helps the viewer to more easily recognize distance.

Depth-of-field refers to the amount of area that is in focus in a picture. You can make sure that the background falls out of focus by using one or combining multiple of the following methods:

Selecting a wide lens aperture
Zooming in on your subject
By having a significant distance to the background behind your subject

A man exploring the mountain photographed to show a narrow depth of field.

But you’ll need to do more than just shoot with a wide aperture if you want a mountain range to look imposing.

Another good technique you can use is to layer your background elements. This is easiest to recognize with mountains.

A man taking a photograph in a mountain range - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

Including the whole scene

Sometimes showing the true scale of a scene requires a bit of give and take – you need to make a few compromises.

Zooming in and capturing expressions or the human element can cause you to lose the sense of scale. On the other hand, zooming out can cause your image to lose any interaction or interest.

A man sitting in the rocks on the edge of a mountain - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

The hiker is sitting on the edge of a cliff – but without zooming back the viewer has no idea how big the drop is.

The best way to account for this is to simply be aware of it as you set up your shot. Balance the objects in the frame and decide what is the priority and purpose of the shot. If you want to show the scale of a scene, you probably won’t be able to take a tight shot that shows reactions or emotions.

A hiker in the mountains, photographed to show the scale of the cliffs - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

By pulling back a bit, we can see the entire cliff – but now we can’t see the hiker’s expression!

Changing up your perspective

Sometimes capturing the majesty of a scene requires a creative perspective. Many photographers forget to explore the potential that comes from mixing up the camera’s point of view.

Taking a low shot can help add emphasis or might to a scene.

A low angle shot of a waterfall, showing its grandeur

Using a drone to cruise overhead and look down over an area can also be a fun way to show scale. The bird’s eye view perspective can be used to discover new angles of looking at otherwise familiar landscapes.

Drone – image by dPS author Suzi Pratt.

Using Lines

Lines have always been an important element of any composition. They give an image a sense of movement and can direct the viewer’s eye around a shot, especially when they all tend towards a single vanishing point on the horizon.

A group of hikers photographed using leading lines to show distance - How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography

The strong lines in this image help us to understand the size of this mountain trip.

Using leading lines is also a way to provide a sense of depth and show distance. You get a quick comparison of the distance between objects in the frame, giving you a quick point of reference to work with for the rest of the picture.

Recognizing and using natural lines in a scene is a surefire way to create a dynamic and interesting composition.

A deliberate approach to photography

By having the different techniques that can be used to show a sense of scale top of mind when you are out exploring with your camera, you can increase your chance of coming back with some real keepers.

It’s a common complaint of beginner or casual photographers that they can’t quite seem to make their pictures look as impressive as real life. But with a bit of practice, you can shoot pictures that leave your audience in awe!

The post How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography by Frank Myrland appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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New photos appear to show Nikon D850: Illuminated controls, tilting LCD, no built-in flash

27 Jul

This image, obtained by nikonrumors.com purports to show Nikon’s forthcoming DSLR, the Nikon D850.

If genuine, the pictures indicate that the D850 will offer illuminated controls and a tilting LCD screen, but will lack a built-in flash.

Images have been obtained by nikonrumors.com that seem to show Nikon’s forthcoming D850 DSLR, the development of which was announced this week. If genuine, the pictures indicate that the D850 will offer illuminated controls and a tilting LCD screen, but no built-in flash. While some photographers won’t be sorry to see the flash deleted, we hope that if it does indeed lack this feature, the D850 includes some kind of option for built-in wireless flash triggering.

We’re still waiting for detailed specifications on the new camera, but in the meantime, we put together a wish-list of features we’d like to see. Perhaps we can check a couple off the list…

Click here for what we hope to see in the forthcoming Nikon D850

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Photokina’s new manager talks about the future of the trade show

18 Jul

Back in May, Photokina, the biennial photo industry trade show in Cologne, Germany, announced that it would become an annual event and include products and technologies beyond its historical focus of cameras and photography.

Now recently appointed show manager Christoph Menke is providing some background on the decision to change the dates of the future shows and other changes in a short Q&A session with the internal PR team of Koelnmesse, the company that is organizing Photokina.

You can read the full Q&A below, in case you’re curious:

What made Koelnmesse decide to change the show cycle from every other year show to a yearly show?

Today, professionals and consumers view the subject of imaging completely different compared to 10 years ago. Now virtual reality, wearables, tablets, mobile and smart home security are an integral part of the imaging world. The same applies to imaging software for editing, sorting, storing images, or even for CGI & sharing solutions.

As an imaging platform, we need to embrace those new technologies. As a part of this embrace, we acknowledge the significantly shorter innovation cycles of those new technologies compared to established capture technologies. For instance, the software industry has always been characterized by short development cycles. To offer these industries a suitable exhibition platform, the answer can only be a shorter cycle.

Based on surveys we know that our visitors prefer an annual photokina. The annual show cycle will also put a more regular spot light on other segments of our show such as photo equipment, photo accessories and photo studio segments and the brands represented there. They will benefit from more frequent exposure to buyers, consumers and the international media attending our show

Why is photokina going to move to May in 2019 and the following years?

The photokina dates for the next 2 years are Sept 26-29, 2018 and May 8-11, 2019 (Wednesday to Saturday). The switch to the May dates starting in 2019 is the result of conversations with key accounts from all segments. The feedback we received indicated that the May dates will provide an ideal time frame to fully take advantage of international demand before the start of the summer season.

The Show will be shortened from six to four days – what will be the upside of this change?

Based on attendees surveys we conducted we know that four show days are sufficient to see all the imaging technologies and content. Within those four days we create a more compact and thereby more intense show experience that is appreciated by both exhibitors and visitors. The fact that our customers will no longer have to wait two years for the next photokina had a significant impact on the decision to shorten the sequence.

Will the annual show cycle also mean changes to the content and focus of this event?

The changes in content and focus are what led to the structural changes. New technologies are accelerating in the innovation cycles in the imaging world. The annual show cycle is photokina’s response to a rapidly changing market place. Our mission is to provide a platform that shows the imaging technologies of the future and promotes the exchange between developers, engineers, start-ups and manufacturers.

Take video for example: In times of the YouTube-revamped trend towards amateur videos and an increasing convergence of the technologies for photo & video (4K-Grabbing), the moving picture is as important as it was in the first hour of photokina – hence the name. One of the highlights for the next event will be an Imaging Lab at photokina.

What has been the reaction of your photokina customers to the date change?

So far the responses are mostly positive. Budgets and logistics are certainly issues which have to be dealt with and we expect a transition process to adjust to the yearly dates. We are confident that the date change will provide an improved photokina for exhibitors and attendees alike.

The latest editions of Photokina were noticeably smaller and less busy than previous shows which is not much of a surprise given the decline of the camera market. Let’s hope the changes mentioned by Christoph Menke will help Photokina remain as relevant and vibrant as it has been throughout most of its existence.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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