Chapter 4, Features

1
Chapter 4, Features

• What are Features
• Readers receive so much depressing news in the
  papers they deserve a break when looking at
  pictures.

2
How Features and News Differ

• Timelessness
• Feature pictures may be timeless.
• Slice of Live
• Feature pictures do not have to follow the rules
  of Value but only be commonplace occurrence.
• Featurizing the News
• Finding a feature photo in the midst of a news
  story is called featurizing the news
• Look for the fun shot even when covering the
  news.
• Universal Emotions
• Great feature pictures show/evoke a reaction.
• When people from different cultures react to a
  photo in the same way we call it universal
  emotions.

3
Good Feature Subjects

• Kids, animals or nuns wearing habits.
• Kids Imitating Adults
• Finding kids to photograph is easy.
• Kids often act like a mirror, to adult behavior.
• Ask permission of parents before shooting kids.
• (If kids are doing something stupid stop them
  dont let them get hurt for a good photo.)
• Animals Acting Like People
• The Incongruous
• People Like People
• Most feature pictures center on people (90)

4
Discovering Features

• Where ever people gather outside is good spot to
  find features.

5
Keep a Fresh Eye

• Look for areas you dont normally go.
• Habituation is where you become use to your
  surroundings.

6
Take a Candid

• Make your subject comfortable with you.
• Fit into your surroundings.

7
Make a Picture

• Sometime features shots dont just happen, you
  have to make them happen.
• Go somewhere out of the ordinary.

8
Think of a Word

• Sometime a assignment come from trying to
  illustrate a word.

9
Firsts

• First time someone does something often leads to
  a good feature.

10
Sequences

• Sometimes it takes more than one photo to show
  the humor.

11
Pictorials and Weather

• Watch the weather and lighting.
• Ice and weather can lead to interesting feature
  shots.

12
Unusual Occupations

• Walter Mitty, George Plimtion (sp)

13
Special Days

• Father Day, Secretaries day, Martin Luther King
  Day, Valentines day, etc.

14
Avoid the Trite

• Dont shoot the same thing everyone else is
  shooting.
• Stay away from puns.

15
Developing a Feature Beat

• Feature photographers can cover a beat just like
  reporters.
• Getting the Idea
• The same things that can lead you to news photos
  can lead you to feature photos.
• Past Stories on the Topic
• Organization
• Research
• Initial Stories
• Start-up Problems
• One Story Leads to Another

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Informative Features Require Extensive Research
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Chapter 5, Portraits
18
Even a Mug Shot Reveals Character

• Journalists call a single picture of a persons
  face a mug shot or a head shot or a
  head-and-shoulders.
• Mug shots usually run only about two square
  inches.
• Readers want to see what people look like.
• When shooting the mug shot, the photographer runs
  into the danger of sloppy technique.
• Always do your best even when you dont think it
  will get much play.

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Tight and Simple

• The purpose of the mug shot is to provide a
  clear, well-lit record of a subjects face.
• Shoot portraits with around a 105 mm lens.

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Variety

• Shoot both right and left side views. You dont
  know which way the layout will need. (Dont want
  them looking off the page.)
• Shoot different facial expressions. (You might
  need it for a obituary or a birthday.

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Portrait Elements

• Even the humble mug shot should tell a story.
• Three elements add to the story-telling nature of
  a portrait.
• Face, Hands, Body Position
• Location of the picture and props
• Light and composition

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Clues to the Inner Person

• Face
• The face carries a disproportionate amount of
  psychological weight.
• The face is the mirror of the soul
• You cant show the whole person, just that moment
  in time.
• Eyes
• Where the subject looks has changed over time.
• In the 1980 the subjects looked directly into the
  camera.
• In the 90s we have started to have the subject
  look away.
• The eyes are the window to the soul.

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Clues to the Inner Person

• Hands
• Hands tell the story in nonverbal ways.
• Body Language

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Compositional Elements Add Impact

• Background Props
• The background can tell an important part of the
  story.
• Try to separate tonally from the background.
• Light as well as background tone helps define the
  subject.
• Symbolic props help tell the story.

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Compositional Elements Add Impact

• Lighting
• Light can set the mood of a picture.
• Side light emphasizes the textural details of the
  face and adds a roundness.
• Shadowless light can help to eliminate wrinkles,
  and is sometimes known as butterfly lighting.
• Composition
• The composition show stability or action.

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Environmental Details Tell A Story

• An environmental portrait positions the person
  amid the everyday objects of his or her life.

27
Arnold Newman Symbols Reinforce Theme

• The environment is as important or more important
  than the subject.

28
Annie Leibovitz Building A Portrait

• The psychological factor is what is important.
• She builds photos rather than takes them.

29
Five Photographers Who Make Subjects Uncomfortable

• The Sherman Tank
• My idea or nothing
• Lost at Sea
• Why am I here?
• All Thumbs
• Hold it a little longer.
• All Business
• Blazing cameras
• Motor Drive Maniac
• Click, Whoosh Click Whoosh, Click Whoosh, Click
  Whoosh.

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Putting Your Subject At Ease

• If a subject doesnt feel comfortable, the best
  techniques in the world wont produce a revealing
  portrait.
• Stimulating a Reaction
• Boo
• Creative Boredom
• Wait them out.
• Conversation
• Conversations with subject often loosen them up.
• Take Command
• Use A Tripod

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Group Portraits

• Show All The Faces
• Soft Light Is Best
• Add Zest To Small-Group Portraits
• Try Different Levels
• Dress Alike
• Hand them Props
• Watch the Background
• Pose Carries Information

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Chapter 6, Sports
33
Timely Photos Paramount

• Sports photographers strive to create a unique
  image.
• Timeliness in a sports picture is essential.
• A broken record is history in the making.
• Check with statisticians before games.

34
Summarizing the Game in One Photo

• Show the games highlights
• Try to photograph the key players.
• Dont stop shooting when the game is over.
• Sometimes a facial photo can tell the story
  better than a action shot.

35
Catching Reactions On and Off the Field

• Look for the unusual emotions.
• Coaches are often under tremendous pressure.

36
Captions Needed

• The photographer must have complete
  cutline/caption information.
• Cutlines should have the five whys. Who? What?
  When? Where? and Why?
• Who A lot of sports give their players numbers.
  You can then use a program or score sheet to give
  you the names.
• When Shoot the scoreboard after each major photo
  to time stamp it.
• Play-by-play statistics sheets, may be available
  from the officials after the game. (I have often
  asked for the announcers script at other events
  to cheat on notes.)
• Keep notes. If the action is short enough you can
  use short hand to keep notes.
• Cutline information usually gives the most
  trouble to new sports photographers.

37
Sports as Features.

• Sports are not hard newsthey are entertainment.
• Look to the stands for feature shots.
• Keep a eye on the dugout or the bench.
• Try to get into the locker room after the contest
  is over.
• Try to show motion in your photographs.
• Try panning with the movement.

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Techniques of the Sports Photographer

• Freezing Action
• Photographing sports requires specialized skills,
  because of the speed of the action.
• To stop action you need a shutter speed of at
  least 1/500 of a second. (I have shoot basketball
  at 1/125 and football with flash at 1/60)
• Four factors affect the apparent speed of a
  subject.
• the actual speed of the subject
• the apparent distance between subject and camera
  (the focal length of the lens) and
• the angle of movement

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Speed

• The faster the object the faster the shutter
  speed.

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Distance

• The closer the camera to the subject the faster
  the shutter speed.

41
Lens Length

• When you halve the apparent camera-to-subject
  distance, you need to double the shutter speed.

42
Angle

• The more perpendicular the subject is to the
  camera the faster the shutter speed.

43
Peak Acton

• With some movements, it is possible to stop the
  action at a relatively slow shutter speed by
  timing the shot to coincide with a momentary
  pause in the motion of the subject.

44
Panning

• Freezing the subject can sometime rob the photo
  of movement.
• Panning with a slow shutter speed will keep the
  subject sharp while blurring the background.
• Panning is always a gamble, get the money shot
  first.

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Focusing How to Get Sharp Images

• Manual Focus
• Follow-focusing requires eye-hand coordination.
• Use the ground glass, not the split ring.
• Practice, practice, practice.
• Long lenses add to the focus problem. Less
  depth-of-field.
• Critically focusing a long lens is actually
  easier than focusing a wide-angle lens.

46
Zone-focusing

• When you can accurately predict where the action
  will take place you can prefocus. (Finish line,
  etc.)
• With depth-of-field you have a zone that will be
  in focus.
• Mark the lens with prefocused locations.

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Autofocus

• Some autofocus systems can out perform the best
  photographer.
• Autofocus works better than manual when you are
  using a motor drive and shooting a sequence.
• Most autofocus systems use contrast to focus on.
• Some autofocus system focus on the nearest
  object, so if something inters the field it can
  shift focus.
• While not a necessity autofocus lenses and
  cameras seem like the best tool for sports.
• Autofocus may causes a delay between pressing the
  shutter button and the shutter firing.

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The Sports Photographers Bag of Solutions

• Sports specialist usually must use long telephoto
  lenses.
• The short depth-of-field pops the subject out of
  the background.
• Short depth-of-field makes focusing critical.
• Camera shake is also magnified with long lenses.
• Use a monopod with long lenses.
• Slow long focal length lenses also cause the
  split ring to go dark.

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Zoom Lenses

• Zooms allow you to compose as the subject moves.
• It is difficult to zoom and focus at the same
  time.
• Zoom lenses have a smaller maximum aperture.
• A long fast autofocus lenses are the best for
  sports.

50
The Motorized Camera

• Every sports photographer uses motorized cameras.
• Sometime motor drives can cause you to miss
  photos.
• Motors can throw your timing off, and sometimes
  the best pictures come between the frames.
• Motor drives will take between 2 to 5 frames per
  second.
• The faster the drive the better.
• Rapid-fire increases your chances of capturing
  peak action.
• To use a motor drive set it to continuous and
  start shooting before the action starts and
  continue until after it is over.
• Motor drives also let you set up your camera
  remotely.

51
Developing the Film for Dimly Lit Sports.

• Indoor and night sports can be tricky to shoot
  because of low light.
• Use your largest aperture, but watch out for
  depth-of-field.
• The introduction of 1600 ISO and 3200 ISO film
  has saved the day for many sports photographers.
• Push processing is under exposing and over
  developing to compensate.

52
Dont Hock Your Strobe Yet!

• A few sports situations demand electronic flash.
• Strobe flashes will stop even the fastest action.
• Multilights can be used for spectacular events.
• Multiple strobes can be synchronized with wire or
  photoelectric slave cells.
• Watch out for photoelectric slaves if other
  people are shooting flash.

53
Anticipation

• Knowing Where The Ball Will Be Before It Gets
  There.
• The key to getting great sports photographs is
  anticipation.
• You should know if the team is going to throw a
  pass or rush!

54
Counteracting Reaction Time

• You must press the shutter before the action
  reaches its peak.
• If you wait to see the action happen in the
  viewfinder it is over when you press the shutter.
• Reaction time is the time it take your body to
  respond to a event.
• All camera have a delay while the camera itself
  responds to the shutter trigger.

55
Waiting Til All Hell Breaks Loose

• Action often erupts in spurts.
• You can wait for hours to capture a second of
  action.
• In what would call the perfect baseball game a
  no hitter nothing happens to photograph.

56
Sliding Second

• In baseball, the standard photo is the
  second-base slide.

57
Stealing Base

• Base stealing is a good opportunity for action
  photography.

58
Runner vs The Ball

• One general rule is to follow the runner, not the
  ball, with your lens.
• During a slow game watch the reaction of the
  batters.
• Use a 300mm or 400 mm lens to cover the bases and
  a 600-800mm to cover the outfield.

59
The Unusual

• The better you know the players and teams the
  better you can anticipate unusual action.

60
Finding the Football

• Just like the coaches and players you must try
  and figure out what the play will be, and be in
  the right spot to capture the action.

61
Watching For The Run

• Most teams run the ball on the first and third
  downs.
• Cautious quarterbacks like to keep the ball on
  the ground on the first down.
• Know the team and the sport.

62
Shooting the Bomb

• Do not try to track the ball as it flies.
• See where the quarterback is going to throw and
  pick up the receiver.

63
Adjusting Your Position

• At each down, station yourself a few yards ahead
  of the scrimmage line.
• At most stadiums, photographers are to roam
  freely from the end zone to about the 35-yard
  line.
• Dont get run over!!!
• Try to get the football in as many photos as
  possible.
• Avoiding the Standard Stuff

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Dont Be Faked Out In Basketball

• The quick twisting and jerking movements that
  players use to fake out their opponents also
  fake out the photographer.
• The players stomach muscles provides the best
  clue to the timing and direction of the players
  movements.
• A player cannot fake with his stomach.

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Sideline Positions

• Get on the floor behind and a little to either
  side of the basket.
• Zone focus.
• 50mm or 85 mm lens focused 10 to 15 feet into the
  court.
• Player will have a favorite position from which
  they like to shoot. Try to find that spot.

66
The Armpit Shot

• The standard bread-and-butter basketball photo,
  nicknamed the armpit shot, shows the player
  jumping off the floor with arms extended over his
  head.
• Work hard at avoiding this standard photo.

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Skipping the Cliché