photojournalism for dummies
8 Easy Lessons
for Good Photojournalism
Following a few simple rules can dramatically improve the quality of your pictures. I hope it helps.
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1. Chose the right sport The most important decision you have to make to get an excellent picture hast nothing to do with your camera, your lenses or even your film material. To make a good picture you have to chose the right spot from where to make your picture. Would it be important for you where you are seated at a Football game, or in a movie theater? Of course. Photography is the same. You have to chose the right spot to get the best picture. If you would like to take pictures no one else has, then you have to stand where no one else stands. Therefore, before you make your shot, look around and chose your spot. Example
To take this pictures I chose to kneel down in front of the teachers desk. There was very little space forcing me to take a wide angle lens. The position allowed me to be at the height of the children's eyes and at the feet of Lenin's portraits at the end of the room. The position in front of the gangway separating two rows of desks also allowed me to get many children into the frame, which would normally would have been hidden by the front row.
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2. Use wide angle lenses Long lenses look impressive, but keep them for tasks they have been designed for, in essence classical portraits, sports and nature photography. As photojournalist your pictures will be more impressive if you get close. Long lenses capture beauty, wide lenses capture emotions. A wide lens on your camera (below 50mm) will actually force you to get into the action, and your picture will gain depths and emotions. Don't hesitate to approach your main subject by less than 1.5m (5 feet). Unfortunately it is this need of getting close to capture emotions, which did cost the life of many photographers. The best illustration is certainly this very famous picture of War Photographer James Nachtwey, lying on his side, taking pictures in the middle of a group of shooting rebels. Example To take this picture I walked through a slum in Chile. The closest element in this picture is the boy. I took several pictures of him, but I don't think he realized that he appears on this one. He stood on my left, but with the wide lens I could catch him. I focused on the barb wire, which is why the boy is not completely sharp.
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3. Let your picture tell a story A good picture tells a story on its own, therefore you have to add all the elements of the story to your picture's composition. Sometimes the expression of a person is enough to tell a story, but often you need an additional element. You can place these elements for instance in the hand of the person (e.g. a medal a athlete just won). Often the model will be more natural and authentic, if the hands are busy holding or showing something. The model will concentrate on the object and will be less disturbed by the camera. A good story will often also need some background information, therefore chose your spot (see Rule 1) in a way, that important elements appear either next to the person or clearly visible in the background. Sebastiao Salgado is the undisputed Master of story telling photography. Have a look at his work. Every single shot tells a story. You need no text, no caption to understand the essence of the picture. Example The background tells us, that this is a poorly equipped delivery room. The body language of the nurse tells us that she is desperate and helpless. Who would like to give birth to a baby in these conditions?
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4. Make lots of pictures Probably everyone of us has in its family an excellent picture. A shot where all the right elements, light, model, moment, came together. It may have been a lucky shot, but nevertheless its an excellent picture. With a little luck, we are all able to produce an excellent picture. What distinguishes a good photographer, is his ability to consistently produce goods picture in a variety of situations. For less talented photographers there is a trick to more often produce good pictures: Take lots of shots. Don't hesitate to use the whole roll or more for a single picture. Try out different shutter speeds, positions etc. This will also give you time to create a more profound, and therefore more authentic relationship with your model. To a certain point, this rule also implies that you have your own dark room. Burning rolls and rolls of film is quite expensive if you have to bring them to the Lab. More on this in the next rule. Annie Liebowitz, one of my favorite photographers, once said, that she needs three rolls to make a good portrait. The first roll for the model to get used to the situation and the shutter of the camera. A second roll to work with the model, and finally a third roll as backup. Example It's often more difficult to take pictures of men (women seem to have an easier relationship with pictures of themselves), complicated here by a father/son relationship. It took a couple of settings and lots of pictures until I was able to catch them in an expressive and natural way. I used a high speed film to catch a maximum of available light and and a low power flash positioned about 2.5m to my right (see also rule 7).
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5. Get to know your subject Great portrait distinguish themselves by the fact, that they distillate in one picture the essence of the person's personality. It is the sole responsibility of the photographer to bring the whole personality in the face and the body of the subject. One way to do it, is to talk. Talk with the person while preparing a shot. Ask questions about his life, his preferences, his job etc. Go on discussing while you arrange the light, while you put in your film, and finally while you take the shots. Don't make a speech. Ask questions, and show your genuine interest in the person your taking a picture trough carefully listening to the answers. Example This is the very last picture of 3 rolls I shoot of this very camera-shy man from the Swiss mountains. I tried to upheld a conversation during the whole session, but it was only when we walked back together to the house (away from the original setting of the picture) that our relationship became casual. He turned to me to answer a question, and that is the moment of this picture.
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6. Use little flash and lots of available light Flash has been with the photography since the very beginning. But it is a very dangerous tool. If not used carefully, artificial light will create artificial pictures. The authenticity of your pictures will suffer. Therefore start with available light. Use rather a higher speed film than flash. Once you have assessed the available light, you may use a flash to lighten specific areas of the picture. I seldom mount my flash on the camera. I always carry a flash cord of 5m (15feet) and either hold the flash in one hand and as far away from the camera as possible, so that the angle on the subjects face is not frontal, or I let the flash sit on a small tripod for instance to lighten the background behind a subject. You may also use the flash indirectly, against a wall, a piece of paper or a special reflector mounted on the flash. This is very easy in b/w photography. Be careful with color pics. Reflections from colored surfaces may change the color of your picture. Example High speed film to catch the background and very little flash on the fisherman from the left.
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7. Work in the dark room Work in the Dark Room is essential for the quality of your picture. It's in the Dark Room that you make perfect pictures out of good ones. Some standard tricks:
Example 1 The sky has been darkened in the lab. Example 2 Window, curtain, pillow, drugs and face have been lighted. Wall, covers and floor have been darkened.
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8. Be selective If you follow Rule 4 you will end up with a lot of material – but be very selective on which picture you will finally retain. Settle on one picture per subject. Always take only the best one, and forget about the others. This rule needs more self-restraints than many think. It's difficult to settle on one picture. One photo may have the better light, while the other has the better expression on the subject's face. But showing both photos will only attract the attention to the respective weaknesses and steal away attention from the better of the two. Example This is the same picture setting as the one in Rule 2, but one difference. The boy is sharp. Technically speaking it's probably the better picture. But I prefer the expression of the boys face in the first picture. Therefore I discarded this one, and except for training purposes no one will ever see it.
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A final remark I hope these simple rules help you. But you will also need inspiration and the best place to get them is from the real masters of photography. Here my two favorites:
And I am always happy to receive a feedback to: |