Masterclass in Photography PART 5: On-Location Photo Ideas

MIU - Mixing It Up:

All photography essentially falls back on the same skills and techniques. What changes is how you combine them to capture images looking the way you want them to be.

If you've completed my Masterclass In Photography parts 1-4, you'll be proficient with these skills and techniques already - cameras and kit, exposure settings and their creative superpowers, focal length, composition and light. Now we're going to explore different ways of mixing them up for a variety of situations and genres.

Take inspiration from the videos in this course and make them your own. Adapt them and play with what I do to make them your own and use them to create similar images in your own way.

Because cameras don't take pictures - you make pictures...

You're taking a walk round town with a friend and want to shoot some great photos along the way. Be aware of your surroundings, direction and qualities of light, think about what will or won't work and choose camera settings, focal length etc accordingly.

When you see people doing something that captures your interest, don't be shy about talking to them. Tell them you love photography and are fascinated with what they're doing. Chances are they'll be delighted because you just paid them a massive compliment.

Take time to observe what they're doing. Look for repeated patterns, both compositionally - and behaviourally so you know where you can get a second chance to shoot.

Think through what you need to do to capture eye catching photos. What angle to shoot from, where the light's coming from, the focal length you'll need to work with the composition you have in mind and the settings you'll need to make it happen.

Dull flat light days are very good for soft, gentle subjects. But you won't have dramatic light to add impact so pay close attention to camera angle and focal length and lens. And give yourself the time to think up and explore as many possibilities as possible.

Give yourself time alone for photography. Non photographers don't understand that it takes time to think shots through, wait for light to change or a decisive moment. "Oh for goodness sake just hurry up and take the picture."

You'll feel under pressure, rush it and be disappointed. Give yourself the luxury of time alone...

You may remember from the Composition lectures in 'Masterclass PT 4' how easy it is to move elements of a composition around and hide messy intrusive backgrounds.

Photography is holistic. These compositional skills have to be combined with superpowers, in this case making a starburst using aperture settings and making tiny changes to exposure to bring an image to life.

If you love a bit of landscape scenery, take time to explore the place and find the best place to photograph from to get an engaging composition, and most importantly maximise the impact of light and colour. In this video lesson you'll really see the huge difference light make in transforming a photo from boring - to brilliant.

Think about which focal lengths to use and where to stand / sit/ lie down to be at the best distance to subject for them to work their magic on your composition. (Covered in 'Masterclass PT3)

It's all too easy to glance around and decide there's nothing to photograph and move on. Seeing is such an important skill and like all skills it have to be developed through practice.

What you see me do in this lesson is for real. I rented this apartment to film this course, I don't live here and spent considerable time on the balcony, just looking. I think you'll be surprised by what I found at the end of the lesson.

This exercise is designed to make you become more aware of your surroundings and not just notice it, but to really look at it and find creative possibilities.

Photographers tend to love a bridge and it's true that when used with care they can make interesting images. Don't be obvious and snap the bridge, think abut all the good stuff you learned in 'Masterclass' 1-4 and ways to bring it together and give your photo impact.

With hindsight I should have done a shot of this bridge without Emmalene on it. Having her there gives viewers something to look at and the bridge a purpose because let's face it, this isn't a great looking bridge and on it's own would be very boring.

If you've completed 'Masterclass' PT 3 you may remember what we said about Red being a very dominant colour...

It may look like we're really mixing it up by combining several techniques and superpowers. But we're only using one, the superpower of shutter speed.

What we're really using here is our minds. Creativity! By asking questions that begin with, 'How would it look if I...' you'll be amazed what can come up.

So in this case the question was. "How will it look if I get onto the back of a moving truck and photograph someone also on that truck, so we're both moving together at the exact same speed, using a slow shutter speed as we move though a tree covered lane?"

The first question always leads to the next, fo example...

• How can we do this?

• How to compose it?

• Which focal length?

• What shutter speed?

• Will I need an ND filter?

• How fast should the truck move?

Photograph is always a cascade of questions and answers.

Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) can yield truly beautiful images. It involves shutter speed's superpower of movement.

By intentionally moving the camera during a slow exposure you create blur...

Besides camera and creative skills, patience is a a skill worth cultivating, especially if you love shooting landscape which is so much more than just taking a photo of a pretty place.

1st you have to plan where to go and what time of day will give you the best light for the shot you want to take. Weather plays an important role. Some of the best landscapes are made when the weather is what we often consider to be 'bad'. Days with sunshine and storm clouds, mist and fog or even rain can all help a landscape come alive.

Once on location you usually have to wait for these things to align perfectly for the decisive moment to make the exposure. The sun breaking through clouds to highlight a house in the valley below or mountain peak or hill in the distance for example.

Including the sun in a composition is a great way to make a shot stand out. In this video I'm going to combine it with a traditional 'leading line' composition and focus the attention on a single human figure silhouetted against the sky and use the light on one side of the shot to add texture and interest.

Did you read the questions in the description with the 'Girl In A Truck' lesson? Well this is a similar scenario.

• What would twirling or throwing an LED hula hoop into the air at twilight look like?

• What if shutter speed's movement superpower was used to make a light trail?

• Where could this be done?

• What settings would be needed to capture it?

• etc...

When we ask ourselves powerful questions they often answer themselves, provided you have the skills and knowledge of course.

Then we can always allow for the unexpected such as the sunset which appeared as we were filming this lesson...

This is another exercises to help you 'see' photos. If you can do it on a day when the weather and light is changing so much the better. It'll give you more options to be creative...

I stole this idea from Tom Oswald, CEO of photo sharing site ClickASnap. And I want you to 'steal' any of my idea in the course and make them your own too. Adapt and modify them and see what you can come up with.

Of course one of the benefits of throwing chocolate eggs at a camera is you get to eat them after the shoot...

You know those times when you've mad time to take the camera out and despite checking weather forecasts and more, the world just doesn't quite align the way you'd hoped?

It happens to every photographer who's ever lived. Don't for a moment think the pros and big name photogrphers you follow always get the shot. They don't. We only see the tip of the top of what is usually a very large iceberg. We only see the best work, we don't see how many times a photographer re shot, re-visited a location, made mistakes, didn't get the right camera position or shooting angle. The time's the weather changed when they got there...

Don't give up. Even if things go wrong stay and see what you can make from it. It's all good practice and you may find a hidden gem. On returning home and taking a look on a big screen, I discovered I kinda likes a couple of these images...