RUSS JACKSON’S 5-STEP CHECKLIST- To save time …...RUSS JACKSON’S 5-STEP CHECKLIST- To save...
Transcript of RUSS JACKSON’S 5-STEP CHECKLIST- To save time …...RUSS JACKSON’S 5-STEP CHECKLIST- To save...
RUSSJACKSON’S5-STEPCHECKLIST-Tosavetimeinpostandperfectyournewbornphotographyincamera.
WhenIstartedinnewbornphotography,IfoundthatIpanickedmywaythroughsessions.IwouldalmostbeoverwhelmedwitheverythingthatIhadtoremember;gettingthelightright;posingthebabywellwithoutwakingthemup;rememberingalloftheposesandofcourse,makingsurethatthebabywassafe!
Thesessionswereacompleteblur,andwhenitcametoreviewingtheimagesonthecomputer,Iwassodisappointedwiththeresults.
TherewouldnotbeasingleimagethatIwasgenuinelyproudof,andIhadtakenhundreds!ItwouldthentakehoursinPhotoshoptocorrectthemistakes,butIknewthatifIhadjustpaidalittlemoreattentioninthesession,myimagescouldbesomuchbetter.
Soundfamiliar?
Istartedtoconcentrateonmyposingflow,andforeachdifferentangleofeachpose,IbegantovisualisewhatIwantedtoachieve.
That'swhenIformulatedmy5-stepchecklisttohelpmetogetthebestshotpossibleatthetimeitcountedmost;whenIhadthebabyrightthereinfrontofme.
Thissimplechecklistisperhapsthebiggestthingthathastakenmyphotographytothelevelthatmademeproudofmywork.Itworksandnotonlyhasmyphotographyimproved,bothmysessionsandmypost-productiontimehavebecomealotshorter!
So,whatisthe5-stepchecklist?
AftereachimageItake,Isystematicallyreviewthepicturebyusingmy5stepapproach.
It’sgreatbecauseitforcesmetoanalyseeachimageandfixwhatneedstobecorrectedbeforeImoveontothenextpose.
Italsoforcesmetoslowdownandconcentrateonthetaskathand.
1:FOCUSThefirstthingIcheckisfocus.Itisthemostcriticalaspectofanyphotographandthenemesisofthenewbornphotographer.
Iftheimageisoutoffocus,itcannotbeused,anditispointlesstomoveontothenextstep.
IhaveahandyshortcutonmyNikonwhereIcanreviewthefocuspointIusedat200%byjustclickingtheOKbuttonontheback.ThiscustomfunctionisAMAZINGasitallowsmetocheckmyfocusinaninstant.
Iftheeyesoreyelashesaresoft,IknowrightawaythatIneedtoretaketheimage.
Whydowegetsomanyoutoffocusimages?
Asnewbornphotographers,weliketohaveasoftdreamyimagewiththebackgroundandforegroundfallingoutoffocus.Forthis,weneedashallowdepth-of-field,sowegenerallyshootat‘wideopen'aperturesrangingfromf2.8tof1.4.Themoreopentheaperture,theshallowerthedepth-of-fieldandthemoreyoushouldexpecttogetahigherpercentageofout-of-focusimages.
Ishootatf2.8,anylowerthanthat,IfindthatIgettoomanyout-of-focusimagesandthatleadstomeovershooting.
Ilovethelookofshootingatthemorewide-openapertureoff1.4,butforme,thetrade-offisnotworthit.
Wemustrememberthatwhenweworkveryclosetooursubjects,thedepth-of-fieldisreduced.Forexample;ifweweretophotographachildintheparkandheis5metersaway,f1.4wouldbeaperfectaperture.Itwouldbeshallowenoughtokeephisfacesharp,andtheshallowdepth-of-fieldwouldbluroutthebackgroundtogiveusabeautifulbokeh.
But,withatinynewborn,wetendtobeworkingfarcloser(lessthanameteraway)andatthesameapertureoff1.4willnowgiveusapaper-thindepth-of-field.Weareaskingalotofourverysmartcamerastoconsistentlyfocusonsuchathinfocusplain,particularlyiflightingconditionsarenotidealandthereislittlecontrastontheareaonwhichyouwishtofocus.Ababywithveryblondeornoeyelashesismuchhardertofocusonthanababywithbeautifullong,blackeyelashesforinstance.
Thechoiceofwhatapertureyouuseisyoursbutalwaysconsiderthefollowing:
● Alwaysfocusontheeyethatisclosesttothecamera.● Makesureyourfocusmodeissettosinglefocusmode(AF-SorOne-
Shot)andnotcontinuousfocusmode(AF-CorAl-Servo).● Learntotoggleyourfocuspointafteryouhavecomposedtheimage.
Theslightmovementyoumakewhenadjustingthecompositionafterfocusing(whenusingthemiddlefocuspoint)cansometimesthrowtheeyelashesoutoffocus.
● Ifyouareusingnaturaloravailablelight,makesureyourshutterspeedishighenoughtoavoidanycamerashake.
2:CAMERAANGLELet'sfaceit,nostrilsarenotpretty,orattheveryleast,notthemostbeautifulpartofsomeone'sface.Inportraiture,thegeneralruleisthatwewanttokeeptheheightofourcameraatmuchthesameheightasthesubject’seyelinetoensurethatwedonotlookupthenose.Weseethisallofthetimewhenwephotographoldersubjects:
Shootingfromalowerangleishardlyeverflatteringaswetendtomakethejawlookmoreprominent,andwelookrightupthosebeautifulnostrils!
Myrulewhenphotographinganewbornistoholdmycameraattheeyelineorabove.Thiscanbequitetrickyaswenolongerhaveasubjectthatisstandingorsittingup,butababythatislyingdown.Justremember,ifyou
seetoomuchofthenostrilsyouaregenerallytoo‘low'andneedtoadjustyourcameraangletobemoreinlinewiththeeyeline.
3:COMPOSITIONThecompositionoftheimageissomethingthatcanmakeorbreakanimage.
Compositionishowandwherewechoosetoplacethebabyintheframe.
Severalcompositionrulesaretaughtwhenwestudyphotography.However,wemustrememberthatphotographyisanartformandthereisnorightwayandwrongway.Ratherthanrules,weshouldperhapsseethemasguidelines.
Itisalsoimportanttorememberthatyouwilloftenbreakoneruletofulfilanother.Forexample:toachievegreatsymmetryintheimageyouwilloftenbreaktheruleofthirdsandviceversa.Italldependsonthepose,anditalsodependsonyouasanartist.
Herearethreeofthemostcommoncompositionguidelinesthatwillmassivelyimproveyournewbornphotography:
● TheRuleofThirds.
Thisrulesegmentstheframeintothreeequalsectionsbothhorizontallyandvertically.
Placingthemainpointofinterest(inourcasethebabiesface)ononeoftheintersectinglineswillmaketheimagefeelmorebalancedandinteresting.
ExamplesofusingtheRuleofThirdswhencomposinganimage.
● NegativeSpace
Thisconceptusesspacetocreatebalanceinyourimage.Thisextraspaceisreferredtoasnegativespace.Negativespaceisthepartorpartsoftheimage(mostlyinthebackground)thatareemptyorlessinterestingthanyoursubject.
Despitethename,itisnotbad.Usingnegativespacecorrectlywilldrawmoreattentiontoyoursubjectwhichcanonlybeagoodthing.ThekeyistoBALANCEyoursubjectwithinthisnegativespace,andthisiswheretheruleofthirdsoftencomesintoplay.
Examplesofusingnegativespacewhencomposinganimage.
● Symmetry
Usually,symmetryisusedwhenyouhaveageometricalshapewithinyourimage;theseincludetriangles,circlesanddiamondshapes.Imostlycomposeusingthisrulewhenphotographingacloseupofthebaby'sface.IfIamphotographingababyinaroundbowlfromabove,Iwillalsolooktocentrethebowlintheframetoachieveabsolutesymmetry.
Examplesofusingsymmetrywhencomposinganimage.
4:POSE(anddetails)Iincludedthisinmyfive-stepchecklistbecauseinthepastIhavecreatedwhatIthoughtwasabeautifulnewbornimageonlytoreceivefeedbackthatthebabylookeduncomfortable.
Now,Iwassurethatthebabywasinadeepsleepandperfectlycomfortableinthepose,buttotheviewer,itmaynotalwayslookthatway.
Asnewbornphotographers,weallknowthatnewbornbabiesareveryflexibleinthefirstweeksafterbeingbornandwhenindeepsleep,theycaneasilycurlupintothebeautiful‘womb-like'poses.Itisveryeasytoover-extendortilttheheadalittletoomuch,notharmingthebabyinanywaybut
makingtheangleoftheheadlookalittlestrange.WhenIgettothissteponmychecklistIaskmyselfthequestion:
Doesthebabylookcomfortableinthepose?
Becarefulnottotilttheheadtoomuch.
OnthisstepIalsotaketheopportunitytoquicklycheckthatallofthedetailsareniceandneat:
● Istheheadbandstraight?● Arethefingersopenandrelaxed?● Isthebonnetonstraightandsymmetrical?● Arethereanywrinklesinthebackgroundfabric?● Hasmumtakenthehairelasticoffherwrist!● Arethereanyotherlittledistractionsthatcatchmyeyeanddrawmy
attentionawayfromthebaby?
Byfixingthesedetailsduringthesession,youwillsaveyourselfhoursinphotoshopandpreventyoufromgivingyourselftheproverbialfacepalmwhencullingtheimagesinpost-production.
5:LIGHTINGLightingformeisjustasimportantasanyofthefirstfourpointsinthechecklist.Itreallymakesthedifferencebetweenamediocreimageandonethatistrulyspectacular.Followthese4stepstohelpyouonyourwaytogettingthelightright.
● Have the right gear
Youcan’tgetthelightrightifyoudon’thavetherightlight.
If,likeme,youchoosetousestudioflashmakesurethatyouhaveaflashunitthatisnottoopowerfulfornewbornphotography.Asnewbornphotographers,weliketophotographatwide-openaperturestogetaniceshallowdepthoffield.Anythingfromf1.4-f2.8isconsideredtobetheidealaperturesforourgenre.Thesewide-openaperturesmeanthatwedonotneedalotoflighttoobtainaperfectexposure.
Ifyourflashunitistoopowerful(atitslowestpowersetting),youwillfinditchallengingtophotographattheseapertureswithoutoverexposing,sobecarefulwhenchoosingyourequipment.
Nowyouneedtomodifythelightbyusingalargeumbrellaorasoftbox/octabox.
Followthissimplerule:
Thelargerthelightsource,thesofterthelight.
Asnewbornphotographers,wewantsoftlight,soyouneedtohaveanicebigmodifierplacedclosetothebabytocreatethatbeautifulsoftandnatural
lookinglight.Inmyopinionyouwillwantasoftboxorumbrellathatisatleast125cmacross.
● Keepitsimple
Keepitsimplebyusingjustonelight.Usingtwolightswillruntheriskoffillingintheshadows.Ifyoufillintheshadowstoomuch,youwillhaveflatlightingwhichmeansthatwehavelittleornoshapetotheface.Wewanttocaptureshapebycontrollingtherelationshipbetweenthehighlightsandtheshadows.Ifyoudonotliketoomuchcontrastintheimage,useawhitereflector(orplaceyourbeanbagnearawhitewall)tobouncelightbackintotheshadowedsideoftheface,butbecarefulnottoaddtoomuch‘bounce’,youwilllosethatlovelyshape.
● LightFallsfromabove
Thisconceptisquitesimplebutwhenababyislyingdownonabeanbag,wecangetalittleconfused.Iamalwayslookingtogetthelighttofallfromthetopofthebaby’sheaddiagonallydowntowardsthechin.Thiswillcreatealooplightingpatternandisverypleasing.
● Featherthelight:
Ineverplacemyoctaboxorumbrellapointingdirectlyatthebaby.Instead,I‘feather’thelight,sothebabyisIlluminatedbythelightthatisspillingfromtheedgeofthemodifier.Thislightissofterandmorepleasing.Aswithmovingyourcameraangle,theslightestmovementofyourmodifiercanalsomakeallofthedifference!
TolearnhowtolightthemostpopularnewbornposescheckoutmyStudioLightingforNewbornPhotographyCourseoverattheAcademy
Sothatisthefive-stepchecklistthatImentallytickoffaftereveryshotthatItake;
1. Focus2. CameraAngle3. Composition
4. Pose5. Lighting
Itmayseemlikea lottorememberbutafterasessionortwo,youwill findthatitonlytakesafewsecondstorevieweachimage.Onceyouaresatisfiedwithallfivesteps,youcanmoveontothenextshotknowingthatyouhaveanexcellentimagetoworkonlater.
Ican'ttellyouhowmuchthiswillimproveyourphotography,speedupyoursessionsanddrasticallyreducethetimeyouspendinPhotoshop.
Ihopeithelpsyouasmuchasithashelpedme!
Goodluck!
Totakeyournewbornphotographytothenextlevelcheckoutthevarietyofin-personandonlinetrainingcoursesavailableoverat
https://www.russjacksonacademy.com/store