Planning A Photography Trip

John Nixon, Master PhotographerFort Worth Camera Club

Oct. 9, 2018

Topics

• Determine location

• Research location

• Type of transportation

• Equipment

• Work the scene

• Back up images

• Processing and Output

Determine Location

• This is the fun part. Where are you going and what are you going to shoot.

• Local, National, or International.

• Dream Location for Photography or a Family Trip.

• Is it on your Bucket List.

• I will be going to Chaco Culture National Historical Park for night photography in September. Research time.

• How will you get there?

• Where will you be staying?

• What is available at the site?

• What will you need to bring?

• What information is available about the Site?

• What Weather conditions and environment will you be working in.

• These are all question you need to answer to Develop your plan.

Websites to Research

• Flickr, Google Photos, 500px, Smug Mug, web searches, and talk to those that have been there.

• Professional Photographers’ websites.

• Goggle Earth.

• Maps and Books.

• Your Photography Club or a Photography Club in the area.

• Area web sites.

• Photo Apps like Photopills.

Equipment• Mode of Transportation

• Car or Plane/Rail/Bus

• What type of Photography are you gong to do?

• Sports

• Wildlife

• Landscape

• Night

• Street

• Macro

• Abstract

• Architecture

Equipment• Equipment I bring to every shoot.

• Tripod and sometimes a monopod.

• Lens and Sensor cleaning equipment.

• Back or Belt Pack.

• Flashlight and gels.

• A rain cover for camera and back pack

• Extra batteries and Battery Chargers

• Back up Camera

Equipment• Proper Clothing and boots.

• Intervalometer or remote trigger for camera.

• Lens filters (ND, Polarizer).

• Lenses needed for the type of Photography you are going to do. Wide angle, Telephoto, etc.

• Phone.

• Computer with External hard drives to back up images.

My equipment list for Chaco

• Two cameras (D850 and D500).

• D750 infrared camera for middle of the day.

• Three flashlights with gels.

• On camera flash.

• Lenses (17-35 2.8, 10-20 3.4 for D500, 70-300 f4, and 24-70 2.8).

• Two tripods.

• Back pack and belt pack.

• Filters for daylight shooting.

• Camping equipment including food and water.

On-Site• I shoot in RAW with the camera in manual. ( JPEG-256 tone variations per channel while 14

bit RAW equates to 16,000 tone variations per channel).

• I expose to the right without clipping the highlights.

• You have done your research so you have an idea of what you want but stay flexible.

• Scout the area to determine the composition you want before you set up your tripod.

• Do not be afraid to move around and change your view of the scene. Raising or lowering your cameral position can have a dramatic impact on your image.

• Police your Borders and study scene to eliminate distractions. Photography is as much about what we eliminate from the scene as what we include.

• Check your image for sharpness and proper exposure.

• Vary your settings to capture different versions of the scene.

• Vary Depth of Field and amount of motion.

• Change focal length. Get in close for detail shots.

On-Site• Be deliberant in what you shoot. Do not spray and pray.

• Look for the decisive moment and then shoot.

• Work the scene.

• Pay attention to the light and adjust accordingly.

• Think about how you are going to process the image when you get home. Do you need to take multiple exposures for HRD, Pano, high key or low key, etc.

• Take time to enjoy yourself. It is the journey which is most important.

Processing Images

• Software Programs I use.

• Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik (Silver Effects Pro), Helicon, Photomatix, Zerene Stacker and Topaz.

• Import and Back up images using Lightroom and Chronosync.

• Make at least two copies. I make three with one in a gun safe in my Garage.

• Add Global key words to images during import.

• Apply basic processing as a preset during import.

Processing Images• I use lightroom for managing all of my images, editing about 75% of the image,

exporting and printing my images. Most of my tone and color adjustments are done in Lightroom.

• I use Photoshop for cloning, healing, final tone and color adjustments and using plugins like Nik or Topaz as layers.

• I use Helicon for all my focus stacking projects.

• I use Photomatix or Lightroom for HDR conversions.

• I use Lightroom or Photoshop for stitching panos.

• I use Nik Silver Effects Pro or Topaz B&W for black and white conversions.

• I have started to experiment with Topaz Detail for sharpening but I am not comfortable with it so I use the Nik sharpening tool when I print an image.

• I use an Epson 3000 with Red River Paper to print my images.

Editing• First task after import is to evaluate the images.

• Reject images that are not sharp, poor exposure, or test photos.

• Assign a star ranking to those that I consider good or exceptional.

• Go through the ranked photos and assign two or more stars to those that are exceptional. I repeat this process until I am satisfied with my final picks.

• I Develop only those images that I consider exceptional.

• I Wait a month or more then repeat the process I just described to ensure you have not missed something.

Review• Poor planning produces Poor Results.

• Determine location and Type of Photography.

• Pack accordingly.

• Think about processing while shooting.

• Processing cannot correct poor technique.

• Taking the picture is only half of the process. Digital Processing is the other half. Software makes the image pop.

• Get out there and shoot. It is a lot of fun.