Summer Vacation: Part 1

Well, summer's at an end and school's begun. If we were lucky, we got to take a vacation away from work and the grind of daily life. It might be tempting to leave the camera at home...to "get away." But think what you'd be missing. Documenting a family event or outing can offer a plethora of visual opportunities. There are stories to be told. There is scenery which differs greatly from your living room or front yard. It's a wonderful challenge and a chance to capture images that may never present themselves again. (this applies to zoo trips, park outings, etc., not just vacations)

This post is part 1 in a short series on summer vacation. The past two years, my family and I have traveled to East Tennessee and stayed in a cabin tucked in the Smoky Mountains. This post covers last year's vacation. The next one will cover this year's. The goal is to give you a sample of how I cover/document my family vacations with a few notes and encourage you to do the same.

On the way to the cabin, we stopped in a hotel. The boys weren't very good at being "quiet." The next four shots cover that experience.





This boy fought sleep for about an hour and a half. We were quite relieved when we were able to get him to to go down. Plus, I love sleeping pictures. It's a recurrent theme in my family PJ work.



What to do when your oldest wakes up at 5 AM? How about cartoons and powdered donuts? Notice the very slight tilt to the right. Subtle tilt can add a dynamic quality to an image, if not overused or too obvious or exaggerated.



The tunnel provided an interesting visual but if shot straight on, would appear at a bright circle with rapid falloff. Instead, I shot at a slightly oblique angle so that the tunnel would curve out of the frame and give the viewer a sense of where Henry had come from.





This kind of picture takes itself. Notice the sleeping bear on the other side of the glass.



It was later in the day. We had walked all over a rather large zoo and everyone was bushed. I was able to tell two stories simultaneously. And by shooting a somewhat oblique angle, I provided a little more depth to the image (with two distinct layers of content).



The context makes this shot. I could have grabbed a closeup or head shot but the rocks and brush behind him give the photo a rustic quality and sense of place that I like.



These are the kinds of moments I love to capture. Again, we have a sense of place. It was a beautiful, sweeping area. I would consider this a landscape with people in it.



This shot was easy to capture. I had to choose my angle to show just enough of his face (the eyes are the most important feature) and watch him play. This kind of image is more elemental than literal. By focusing on the context and playful eyes, it becomes an image more about childhood fun, even when it's nothing more than a bathtub.





Grandma calmed him down and rocked him to sleep...with Gus (teddy bear). Her hands were my focus, as the shot is more about her comfort than anything else. The hands and her gaze were the key features that I wanted to capture. The exaggerated wide angle (while being careful not to distort too greatly), makes the hands more prominent.




These are just a few highlights of last year's trip. It's not important to have 50 or even 100 superb shots. 15 good images is plenty IF they're really good (and that's a judgment call, there). Spend time capturing one good image per event. If you get more than that...great! That image will live on as a family classic. Quality, not quantity. Even if you don't take the camera out very much, your family will be able to look back fondly on their past, long after the details have faded from memory.

Thanks for sticking around the blog, guys. Your comments are always welcome and highly valued.

daniel

Dramatic Lighting

Hey guys,

Been a while since Chuck or I posted and with the summer coming to an end and vacation season ending, I'll be around a bit more.

A quote I really like from Joe McNally goes: "John Loengard, the picture editor at Life, always used to tell me, 'If you want something to look interesting, don’t light all of it.'" It's a pretty basic concept but a little more difficult than it sounds (to do well). He's referring to getting away from flat lighting (lighting EVERYTHING on your subject). Sometimes, flat lighting is inevitable and sometimes, it's right for the shot but for this post, we're going to focus on using small bits of light that help our subjects stand out. It's pretty easy to find (easier with natural light than in the studio) and will often require high iso and slow shutter speeds. Once you find the light and lock in exposure, it's a matter of finding an interesting composition and waiting for the right moment. Here's an example:

The room was dark and lit only by the laptop that my wife and son were sharing. I framed it symmetrically which matched the simple light source. ISO 3200 1/50 f/1.6



In this shot, most of the window light is blocked by the blinds. Henry has opened up a small portion to look out from which allows more light to hit him. The falloff is quick, as is most window light but the small pool (of light) allowed through helps his eyes to stand out. ISO 1600 1/400 f/2.8



This was shot at an alligator exhibit at our city zoo. The room they're standing in is dark and the only light allowed in comes through the windows. As mentioned above, window light has some wonderful falloff and I used it to backlight my boys. I find this to be much more interesting than if the room they were standing in was well lit. ISO 200 1/125 f/2.2



The room was dark and as Henry brushed his teeth, he was illuminated only by the tv. ISO 1600 1/40 f/1.4



Unlike Joe McNally, I didn't light these. I used available light but used it to my advantage. Rather than fake it in photoshop, I found light that had natural falloff and a little drama. It's simple to do once you spot it. Good composition and timing will get you the rest of the way there.

Thanks for visiting, guys. Please keep sharing our site with others if you find it helpful.

daniel

Shoot some film!

I've recently rediscovered the beauty of film. It's exciting. I learned on film and shot it for 6 years before finally going digital (honestly, never wanted to go digital, but it has its advantages). There's a look, color, and tonal rendition that are tough to come by digitally. Shooting film also requires great care and discipline with each shutter click. Film and processing cost money so I try not to waste any shots. It makes me think even harder about a composition and makes me more patient, too. I had these shots processed recently and finally purchased a good scanner to go along with it. I wanted to share the product of a week and 36 shots around my house with my boys. I used Portra 160NC, a professional, natural color film. Iso 160 is pretty slow, so these had to be outdoors. Hope this inspires you to pick up your old film camera or buy a used one (you can get them for less than $100 and they'll work with your current lenses).

If you decide film isn't for you, try this: limit yourself to 36 shots for an entire week or even an entire outing to the zoo, park, etc. Don't delete any shots or even review them. Try to get it right in-camera. The discipline and skill it takes are invaluable to good technique and will help you further your technical skills. Hope you try it out. Here's a sample of those shots.

About shooting color film: there's no "auto white balance" so shooting in different types of light will not produce the same color renditions (i.e., shooting on a cloudy day will produce cooler images, etc, when shooting with a daylight balanced film). You'll notice this in the color casts throughout this set. Here is a sample of that roll:

ASSIGNMENT #1: From Above

As The Family Photojournalist grows, we will continue to add features to assist in your journeys in documenting family life!

Our latest addition will be The Family Photojournalist Assignment. The rules are very simple. We will provide you with an assignment and a deadline. You shoot, edit, and send us your favorite photo from the assignment. Photos must be resized to 800 pixels on the longest end (I crop my images to 8x5.33x100ppi in Photoshop). We will feature some of the exemplary examples in a blog post.

The Family Photojournalist Assignment #1 is called "From Above". This is an exercise in composition. All too often we take photos while standing up or on our children's level. This assignment requires you to look at things a little differently. You must take the photo from an above perspective. So get out your ladders, climb balconies, or peek out windows in order to get your shots! Your examples should be sent to thefamilyphotojournalist @ gmail.com by June 22, 2010.

Below are two examples (which happen to be two of my favorite all time images):

1. Ocean City, New Jersey. Neither my wife nor I vacationed as children. So we made a pledge that every year, we would do some sort of vacation with our children. This particular year we did a long weekend stay at a hotel in Ocean City NJ. My wife and oldest child were swimming in the pool as I was lounging on a chair taking photos. I only had a 35mm lens and I wanted a wider shot of them, so I started looking for options to back up. The only option I had was a balcony above me. So I climbed the stairs, observed the scene, and waited for the 'decisive moment'.

2. Ocean City, New Jersey II. We rented a very small 1BR apartment (about 400 square feet) that was ocean front. Our thinking was that we wouldnt spend much time in the house and loved the idea of being on the beach. Well, it rained almost all week! And we were stuck inside more than we hoped to be. This was one of the few moments where my boys were outside. I was sitting in the empty chair snapping shots as my children played in the sand. Again, I thought an above perspective would tell a better story. So I climbed up to the second floor and snapped the photo. I decided to leave the chair in the frame to illustrate where I was sitting.

Have fun with the assignment! We cannot wait to see what you all come up with!

Chuck

Critiquing Chuck

Thought it would be fun to pick two of Chuck's images that I really love and talk about WHY I like 'em. It helps to be able to analyze a shot (that you like or are inspired by) and know what you like about it. If you're able to break a shot down, it will help you to use the same techniques in your own work. I would encourage you all to think critically about the photography you love and use those images to grow your own photography.

Back to Chuck. Here are two of my favorites and my critique of them.

First up: "Five"-chuck has composed the image beautifully
1. the children are nicely spaced, good separation between layers (children, houses, etc)
2. i love how carefully he included aspects that tell us something about the neighborhood such as the stop sign and street signs, houses, cars, etc-he didn't try to hide some of these elements and it adds character and back story to the image
3. the timing is perfect-the bat is cocked back, ready to swing-his little brother is waiting behind him, eager to see candy fall out-chuck snapped at the height of anticipation and it's palpable here
4. the composition is simple and very effective-it places the pinata on the right third, the birthday boy close to center but just to the right and the other children on the right third-there's great spacing around everyone in the frame
5. the wide angle exaggerates the distance between the birthday boy and the other children, an isolating effect, though the shot contains a lot of warmth



next up: "peepee"-the composition uses the urinals to frame the scene very effectively and doesn't cut into any of them
1. the tiptoes are part of what makes this shot so perfect-it highlights the smallness of his son compared to this adult sized bathroom
2. shots from behind can take on a conceptual quality such as "slices of childhood" that a shot from the front can't do since it becomes a shot about a specific child rather than the idea of childhood things (if that makes sense)
3. he uses the 35L so well here (which is really the best PJ lens every manufactured-so versatile)
4. this shot is wonderfully humorous as well-you can't help but smile at the situation because it's very true to life-that's the beauty of capturing these kinds of unique family images, they're universal and personal at the same time




try this type of analysis/critique on another photographer's work some time-try to figure out what you like about it-is it the composition, the lighting, the timing/moment, or is it just the person who was photographed? or all of the above, of course? have a good one, guys-hope you enjoyed this

daniel

Composition: Layering

This is one my favorite subject to discuss about photography: layering. It incorporates a variety of subject matter into levels and results in more dynamic and complex photos. It incorporate the dynamic of foreground and background elements, rather than a shot of a single subject, alone. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this and we'll briefly discuss them.

The idea is to balance the image, using inanimate and animate (people, animals) things to frame your subject (as mentioned above, in the foreground and background). Here's an example:

In this shot, notice that I was careful to achieve separation between each layer. If I were to overlap my wife or father-in-law with my mother-in-law (who's in the background), I would lose the layering and end up with an unbalanced picture. Remember that as photographers, we can't imply layers or depth, we have to show it. If you're not getting enough separation, change your angle until it's achieved. Separation is very important to achieve true depth in a photograph.



This is very simple layering. Rather than a two-dimensional shot of my youngest crawling outside, I framed him in front of my oldest son. Layering, even when simple, creates a more 3-dimensional look and balances out a composition.





I love complex compositions like this. Each individual is doing something different, looking in a different direction. One of my favorite compositional tools is placing a face or body in the foreground (off to one side) and using that as a natural frame, leading the viewer into the shot and offering some context. (by the way, these are my cousins-we'll touch on expanding FPJ from immediate family in future posts)






In this shot, my oldest (Henry) was eating icicles. Nothing groundbreaking. However, my wife began to photograph him. I chose to take a lower angle, using them to frame one another and tell part of the story of that afternoon through simple layering.





It helps when there are multiple areas of action at once. Layering (or creating levels in an image) is not always enough to take a shot to a more interesting level. Sometimes, the action has to be there. In this shot, you'll see both my son and my wife playing. There's a type of parallel motion between them as well (you'll notice they're both reaching forward with their arms, both leaning to camera right).



I included this shot as an example of using this compositional technique with telephoto lenses. Rather than capture a headshot of my youngest, I chose to frame him with his grandfather behind him, incidentally providing context to where they are and who is present.



This is one of my favorite shots because of the way everyone is spaced. You just have to be ready to capture it when it happens IF you're waiting for it to happen naturally (which as a family PJ, we usually are). I used my youngest (as he looks on) to frame the action in front of him. I also used the doorway to frame them, making this photo more complex than if I had stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a tighter shot of what was happening.



Layering takes time and practice. It takes forethought but the results are well worth it. It's a skill I admire in the most gifted of photographers. By using it, it will take your compositions to a higher level, create a visual dynamic, take images from two to three dimensional, and add complexity to what might be otherwise flat images. Not to say that simple isn't good (I love that, too). As always, thanks for stopping by, guys and girls.

daniel

Using Doorways to Frame Your Subjects

A very simple way to help a composition along is to frame it with an object. As family photojournalists, we are often shooting in our homes; therefore, finding frames for our subjects can be a challenge.

The simplest way that I have found to add a frame to your subjects in the home is by using a doorway! This compositional element is one of my favorite ways to compose a shot. It is simple and very effective.

Try this: Set your child up with a favorite activity by a window in a room with a doorway. Let your child get good and engaged in what he is doing. Step outside the room and frame the subject with the doorway. The major advantage of this is you get a 'real' moment...your child being your child without adult influence.

Here are some examples:

Try it, I think you'll like it :)

Thanks for checking in! Contact us at thefamilyphotojournalist @ gmail.com with any questions or suggestions!

Chuck