Friday Photography Tips #5 - Making the Shot
Daniela Hantuchova extends to return the ball at the Aegon Classic in Edgbaston - Thomas David Kavanagh
In photography there is always a pressure (whether it's of your own making) to capture an image that perfectly represents a scene. An ideal composition that captures all of the action the viewer needs to understand or be affected by a photograph. One of the early pioneers of photography Henri Cartier-Bresson, famously coined the phrase 'the decisive moment' to describe it.
By default, cameras are set to capture a single image once the shutter is pressed. But there is a setting that allows consecutive frames to be captured by holding down the shutter button. On a smartphone this involves simply holding your finger down on the shutter 'button' that appears on the screen. On standalone cameras this involves a little research to find your camera's 'Burst Mode' (also known as Continuous Shooting Mode or Autodrive Setting).
Now this is not to say that in every instance it is worth taking multiple shots were only one is needed (often referred to as the 'spray and pray' technique), but for those with unsteady hands this might be a necessity. Your subject and shooting conditions are what make this decision for you. Though it is always better to anticipate your subject and try to predict the decisive moment, even though a burst gives you multiple images per second, it is still possible to miss the moment you want if the action is really fast.
1. Low Light
In low-light conditions the camera will need a lower shutter speed to correctly expose an image. This means the movement of your subject or even slight movement of your hands will lead to blurring. Shooting in bursts increases the likelihood that you will have an image you like. When I photograph live music or indoor events, the lighting is usually a challenge, so this is my go-to technique. I either set focus manually or to a single point and press the shutter when I feel the moment is right.
The image above is of Gino Lupari from the popular folk band Four Men and a Dog. While I was covering the event I noticed he looked straight down the lens a couple of times and it seemed like at any moment he was going to acknowledge me photographing in some way. This was a fleeting instance and despite taking a burst of shots, this is the only one I was happy with, because there was too much motion in the others. You can see from this image his hand is very blurred due to the speed he is playing the Bodhrán (an Irish drum) and while some movement in the frame is fine, I felt his face needed to be sharp here.
2. Action
Even with better light, moving subjects can still be difficult to capture. Whether it's a sporting event or a child that doesn't stay still, shooting in bursts can really help. To improve your chances even further, it's worth a deeper dive into your digital camera manual to learn how to activate the Continuous Autofocus. This causes the lens to constantly establish focus and increase the likelihood that the subject is in correct focus.
The image above is from the Great Birmingham Run 2018 and shows a runner named Gurmail in the centre of the frame. If the camera was not set to continuous focus, only the first image in the series would be in focus, as the runner would be closer to the camera for each subsequent shot. It is still necessary to anticipate the action when using this technique, like with Tennis, the shot is made all the more interesting with the ball in frame, so you need to learn to predict when is the right time to press the button.
3. With Great Power...
As with most things in life, there is a downside to shooting multiple shots in this way and that is of course that you end up with multiple shots where you generally only want one. This is certainly true for any type of event photography, the pressure to capture a moment means a lot of shots don't make the cut and need to be edited out. The screenshot above shows a number of similar shots taken in order to find the perfect 'guitar solo' image. For the sake of your sanity and space on your phone/computer, only shoot in bursts when you need to and don't forget to delete the files you don't need!
Happy Friday,
Tom
