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Children Fashion Photography Tips

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Fashion photography for adults and teenagers are so common these days as the number of photographers and models are rising every time. How many amazing fashion photographs, how many images are used for advertisements surround us at every place. But what if we say that adult fashion photography will soon have a large and powerful rival? Sounds awkward right? but nowadays children fashion photography is becoming more and more in supply. What is the reason for such demand and what does the future hold for this recently appeared genre?


About Children Fashion Photography


Surprisingly, but children fashion photography is not a new genre in the fashion photography industry. These days, children are as serious chic as adults with the growing number of social media pages of children as you will notice. Also modern parents have zero issues with the taste of children’s clothing. Shops and online stores are full of fashionable clothes that make children look quite modern and fascinating. Almost all modern parents try to follow all trends with their children. And modern clothing market has already understood this drift and engages children into fashion advertisements. That is the how this genre is growing a great demand in industry.


The majority of children fashion photography has been made due to the work of fashion designers. Modern world creates fortunate and pleasing conditions for creating clothing collections not only for adults, but for kids too. They know that a lot of fashion models, who have kids now, are not eager to give up the current trend and they try to engage their children in it. The most fastest mode to buy clothing is on online stores, but the only difficulty with online stores is that we only have access to images and nothing else. Believe us that it is easier to choose clothes with images of children models rather than with adult models. And here again we come to a great demand of kids fashion photography.


Before learning about children fashion industry, let us learn out what does it mean to be involved in fashion industry. What is it and what mystery does it hold? So, fashion photography as a special genre of photography entered the market in the 90’s. At this time, this genre manages to win a great part of the market due to a unvarying interest of customers. From the start of 20’s fashion photos began to beat graphics in printing editions of that time. And at the same time, the idea of a fashion photojournalist made an appearance in industry, and since then they work together like a pair that cannot be divided. Hence now there are very less advertisement without photos done in fashion style.


Fashion Photography of present days majorly means images of clothes and accessories of different fashion houses, capturing images during fashion week shows and much more. Due to a huge mixture of required pictures, adult fashion photographs cannot fulfill the whole market needs. And that is how children fashion photography is highly competitive now.


For sure, the demand of fashion images has changed over years and is still changing. A lot of things has changed, and today the picture shot by the photographer is of bigger value than just capturing particular details such as clothes, hairstyle, accessories and make-up.



Tips to shoot Children Fashion Photography


  1. Have Patience

    When capturing children you need to be highly patient. This is because that sometimes you may get a amazing bunch of images and sometimes you will get nothing for a while. This is because of the different behavior of the child and this might cause an break in your photography session. So, this is the basic rule that you need to follow while capturing images of children. Don’t hurry up or force them to do a pose, just hang out with chill mind, play and talk with them and finally, they will make an effort to pose for your camera.



  2. Let the children run the show

    It’s true that you won’t be able to run each and every facet of the shoot according to yourself so why not let the child to run the whole show? This will be easy and work on it with positive impacts.

    For this, follow these tips:

  • Don’t try to command the child, it can spoil the whole shoot.

  • Don’t feel that the whole shoot is unsuccessful if the child is not doing what you want. Keep on trying different ideas and concepts.

  • Don’t be rude to the child. They will be smiling naturally for your session only if they are happy. You have to keep them homely and also, let them know that the camera is their friend.

  • Talk with them about their favourites and keep them energetic.

  • Let the session go with the flow. Shoot every moment that a jolly child is doing.

  • Be alert to capture every facial expression of the child.

  • Have fun with the child and you will be able to shoot the best moments.



  1. Take a lot of images

    The facial expression of children changes in seconds which can result in loosing a good moment to capture. Hence, try to be fast, speedy and capture bunch of images in the same pose. If you have two or more children to capture in a frame, pay close attention to each kid and make sure while capturing bunch of photographs, so that you get everyone’s expression proper. You can always choose your best photographs from the bunch afterwards.



  2. Shoot from their perspective

    When you capture little children images, you should not capture it normally from an adult perspective. This makes them look tiny in photographs. Getting low to their eye level so you can equalise the perspective and shoot. With that, enter their zone where they are playing instead of standing far from them. Crawl and play with the child to keep them happy. Note that you should also keep your camera safe in such scenarios to prevent it from any damages.




  1. Focus on Focus

    When you are composing subjects that are in motion, it requires the perfect settings, training, and tests. All the cameras have various Focus Modes, so to learn this properly, read your manual once and practice it on daily basis to learn it properly. Choose the setting in your camera for tracking the focus of moving subject. That means the camera will not lock the focus when you click the shutter halfway. What it does is that it only tracks the selected moving object in the frame. Now at next step, if you press the shutter more down and keep on focusing a moving object, then the camera tracks the speed and try to focus the object so that when you click the shutter full down, then the camera will capture a sharp picture. It is difficult to exactly explain that what is the perfect option to capture is, this is because there are various camera brands and different models and each one of them is different with its features.



  2. Burst Mode

    It is important to capture in burst or high-speed continuous mode so as to take bunch of photographs and not miss any moment. After you set your focus then all you have to do is click the shutter to its end and then hold it for sometime. This lets the camera to capture bunch of pictures. Many DSLR or mirrorless cameras have the property of burst or high-speed continuous mode but it may be different in the frames per second rate they are capable of shooting.

Is Fashion Photography A Profitable Career Choice?

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The purpose of fashion photography is all about delivering a positive kind of content and lifestyle to your audience. It’s all about capturing photographs with a high fashion style that satisfies the viewers eye, featuring the model’s charm and elegance. Fashion photography has now collected its beauty of aesthetics, mood board, various techniques, accessories and locations. This is precisely why proper photography training is important, to understand each part and the talent to use it at the proper time and place.



What Is Fashion Photography And Where Did It All Begin?


It all begin in the late 1800s that the Parisian Fashion Houses started fashion photography as a proper professional career. However, it was known as a best industry, and the their decision went on for over a few period of time.


In the last one decade, due to the arrival of social media and various photo-sharing application, fashion photography made its way into the different part of the society. Fashion photography, as a job, is still a great choice.




Today, places like Mumbai, New York, Paris, Montreal, Milan, and Los Angeles are known as the best fashion center in the world.


How Can One Get Started In Fashion Photography?

Here are some points one should consider before entering your fashion photography career



  1. Learn photography skills –Photography is a art which needs practical knowledge of the equipment and lots of experience. So, it is highly suggested to get a professional diploma in fashion photography to boost your career.

  2. Build your portfolio –Select and hire some good stylists and models, prepare a theme & mood board for your concept, and start capturing pictures. Choose your best images and display it creatively with a good website and portfolio catalog.

  3. Network – Widenyour contact and hire professional stylists and models. Also, talk and assist with professional photographers who have a good base in the industry. Social media platforms are the easiest and best mode to link with makeup artists, designers, hairstylists, photographers, editors and magazines.



  4. Start sending your work– Be active and send your best images to editors of magazines and media houses. But, before you send your images, learn about their publishing way and send the best photographs that will suit their needs to minimise the chances of rejection.

  1. Create your style – Onceyou start capturing, you will be tend to get influenced by the professionals. While it’s not bad to re-create when you are starting your career but once you learn the art properly, start creating your own style, and after a while, you will be successful.

What Are The Various Types Of Fashion Photography Work?

Before we start unfold the various photography projects that you can go for, please remember as a general rule that payment vastly changes when it comes to media groups, magazines and top fashion houses.



Fashion/Beauty Editorials

These are the kind of work everyone usually refer to when they describe about fashion photography. It includes models with striking poses, aesthetics, and make-up. It sounds interesting, but for a amateur, it gives more value to their portfolio than the money in the wallet.


Spec Shoot

This needs to be planned to the end beforehand. The photographer must set up a team of stylist, models, and plan on a theme and mood board before capturing. If the results are proper, then the concept is pitched to various publications with a hope to get featured. If you are good at your work, you can get a great prize.


Commercial Photography

This type of photography is generally done to sell a product. Since this shoot brings gives a great income to the company, they keep a profitable budget for the commercial photography. To get selected, you should either have a beautiful test shoot or great portfolio.

A test shoot is a activity where the team, including the designer, stylist, model and photographer, work as a team to do a normal shoot. This is done to check whether they can work together as a team in future.



What Is The Scope Of Fashion Photography?

The fashion photography industry has observed a good increase in its rate from 15% to 20% in the last few years before the pandemic. Yes the pandemic has affected the industry a bit but with the improving conditions everything will be on track in coming time. And with the growth of digitalisation, everything around is moving to visual, which means there will be high chances and more opportunities for the right talent!


Payments

  • Catalog photographers normally get paid on month basis, and the income is relatively much less than the fashion and magazine photographers

  • In India, if you work as an assistant for a professional photographers, the starting salary usually ranges from Rs. 50,000 – Rs. 1,00,00 per year

  • Once you enter the professional level and start your own firm, the salary depends upon your skills and work and your income can range between Rs. 1,00,000– Rs. 5,00,000 per project.

Please note the above wage is a estimate figure. Fashion photographers can earn less or high depending upon their work.



Perks

  • A opportunity to travel to beautiful locations and have a luxurious lifestyle.

  • Opportunity to shoot supermodels, and work with best makeup artists, fashion designers, magazines and media houses, creative directors.

  • Different opportunities in terms of experience.

Career Path

As a fashion photographer, you can work however you like:


  • Freelancer

  • Start your own fashion photography firm

  • Full-time job with the media house, clothing and accessories brands, magazine.

If you have a primary style, and you can work independently, have a great sense of creativity, and good management skills, you can do super well in this photography career.



Tips to Sustain your Wedding Photography Business this Pandemic

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It has been almost eight months since WHO announced Covid-19 as a pandemic. At the start of this, everyone was optimistic that it will recover very quickly but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case for many business sectors in India. Small and medium scale companies in the wedding industry have suffered immensely. With the functional scale of businesses descending drastically, business have been forced to take tough decisions.


The wedding industry, which is one of the leading services, has been the worst hit. Reports worldwide have classified this sector as ‘Highly Affected, High Financial Impact’. This leaves businesses and photographers with no option but to work on their business growth and findnew and innovative ways to fight the pandemic.


We, as a photography magazine, propose some points of business that wedding photographers need to adopt to sustain the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.


1. Know your Numbers

Experts need to realise their business in terms of pure numbers, especially during the pandemic where every rupee matters. You will need to be highly alert with your money, the cost of operating your company, the cost of earning a client and many other things. Your most important aim here should be to have a net positive in all terms. Photographers, especially working as freelancers, should keep a habit of keeping a note of their finances every month and planning their future steps accordingly.


A net positive is an indication of a firm business and ensures that the photographer is in control of their planning and expenses while still keeping the creative capability of the business alive.



2. Advertising should remain an EssentialPart of the Business

YES, you heard it right. Advertisement and a pandemic are not linked and one should not make the mistake of connecting the two. Henry Ford said, “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a watch to save time”.


As every photographer market their best images, promoting your best work that you have captured throughout the last season. Else, you will be out of business competition. Plan a budget for your advertising and marketing expenses based on your numbers, calculate a monthly expense and stick to it. Always keep in mind that the photography industry works on word of mouth advertising more than any other way. So now is a perfect time to reach out to your clients to present your offerings to them.



3. Good Management will take you Places

Avoid buying latest equipment if you don’t need it. Photographers are notorious for spending unnecessarily on latest gears and techs. It is all about the latest expensive mirrorless cameras, lenses and accessories; photographers always want to get their hands on new equipment as soon as it is launched. In scientific terms, this is known as Gear Acquiring Syndrome. Every professional has been there and done that and hence it is advisable to save yourself from such unnecessary acts especially during this critical time.


Always remember, you create the content, not your camera. Companies will keep coming with newer tech every sixmonths. But do you need to upgrade? The simple answer is NO, if it isn’t needed yet. This is the perfect time to create a standard operating procedure on buying new gears and make every purchase worth its cost.



4.Focus on your Service Offerings

With home weddings are safe at the moment, it is definitely not a tradition but more like a trend, at least until the Covid-19 is completely over. Matching your current service offerings with client needs is the key to continuing your business successfully. For example, in a small wedding, clients are not looking at a large team. So, will you work with someone who you can trust to deliver at least 50% of our results? Will you be able to deliver the work on the time? Are you ready to work on smaller budgets? Will you deliver the same value as you did for a bigger wedding?


These aspects need to be given an ambitious look. This means that you need to find some good ways to earn money during the pandemic to earn a good profit. Use your expertise to create new service offerings that are collective and can be used in other business sectors. Reach out to clients and other businesses and offer your new services. Cold calls and emails are something you should start now. Are these things out of your comfort zone? Now is the perfect time to get started!



5. Get ready for the New Normal

The pandemic will not stay forever. The situation will improve in coming months. However, that being said the economy is going to enter a ‘New Normal’ where everyone will be more observant about their expenses.


The last few months have given us a taste of what we actually require and what really matters. This mentality will have a pure impact on the wedding photography industry where the prize size for a wedding may drop, but the value that a client needs might remain the same. In such a situation, photographers need to plan how they can match client’s expectations and still earn profits. Planning in terms of team management, editing work, gears, etc, will help you to face the changed expectations with more ease.





Photos by Akash Chavan

Mastering the finesse of Product Photography

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As a generation of people, we have evolved so much and have been witnessing wonders from Industrial Revolution to the world, which has taken over by Artificial Intelligence. We have seen the transformation from Nokia to Apple, from DVDs to SSDs, from Coolpix to DSLRs, from Orkut to Facebook, from Action to Nike so on and so forth.

In today’s fast paced world with the advent of technology, we always need to keep up with it. A new value has been added to the field of creative industries making more room for the designers and creative heads to brainstorm over the design aspects of every single product and its branding. This value addition has led to the advertisement of all these products in a unique way which in turn leads to the importance of aesthetics involved in the designing and representing these products in the burgeoning market.

The demand of any given product on an online platform has given rise to entrepreneurs who market their products with the help of designers, artists, photographers and techies involved in the process of marketing.

Photography as a profession at the moment is very demanding and creative at the same time. One needs to upgrade to be in such a competitive world specifically if someone wants to showcase their work. Let’s look at how we can achieve the same?

Storytelling through product photography

Every product has its own sweet story; deciding a peculiar theme for that particular product, one must understand its unique story. Then we can proceed further by finalising the colours, what kind of lighting it requires as well as its appropriate styling through a photo-shoot. We must try to deliver something unprecedented in our fundamental approach to keep it unique in turn adding a certain value to it.


The amount of considerations which might have gone during its design and branding needs to be depicted while we represent it through the medium of photography. The innate story has to speak up through a strong sense of composition. The subject within the composition which is the product itself must be highlighted along with its key features.

Colour theory

It’s necessary to understand the art of colours as each colour tells a story. Our fundamental understanding of colours must be seen through the way we juxtapose them within our composition. If you observe the colour wheel, you will get which colours complement each other. Not just that, but colour have its own emotions attached to it, setting a different type of mood to where it has been used judiciously. For example, in one-way red represents love and romance and other way it also represents sense of fear. 

If you notice movies carefully you will notice that in every movie lighting is done according to the mood of the scene. Every single colour creates different type of mood and combination of good colours brings something exceptional in the image. Usually bright colours are used to depict happiness and to explain sadness or horror scene we go for dull colour scheme with low saturated colours.

In the same way, when we are doing product photography it’s necessary to understand features of the product and what type of mood we are trying to create. Accordingly decide colour scheme in the overall frame.



Lighting

As mentioned earlier, lighting also plays a vital role in photography and it also creates different type of mood depending on the style of lighting. Usually we prefer to do product photography in studio light set-up for better results. To have a good control over light, always use an external light source.

If you are trying to achieve pro-level product photography output, then you should definitely use soft boxes. Start with one light source then keep adding lights according to the requirement. Concentrate on intensity of lights and understand what each light source is doing. It will help you to discover how to get rid of annoying reflections, where to place highlights and accordingly let the shadows flow.



Steps you shouldn’t forget

If you are shooting professionally for brands then you must follow these steps
  • You must keep your focus on the logo of the brand. Make sure it’s clearly visible in the image.
  • Understand the details of the product. Accordingly build the light set-up.
  • Decide a theme before you shoot that product. Always plan your shoot beforehand and create mood in the image according to the theme.



Use of Natural light

Why to spend so much on lighting equipment? If you are looking for natural and organic look then just style and shoot. Natural light keeps on changing throughout the day. So, you have to be very quick with your set-up to get desired output.

As we don’t have control over natural light, we might have to change set-up continuously where we will not get consistency in the sequence of the images. It may lead us to longer exposure settings where we have to boost ISO, which will cause grain in the images. So, if you are trying to bring mood in the pictures then go for artificial lights.


Artificial Lights

This is the best solution for product photography. With basic light set-up we can achieve great results. As we have total control over light, we can create any kind of mood in the images. We can adjust highlights, exposure and reflections like the way we want. If you are shooting sequence of the images then you can maintain consistency of light in the series.

Just the studio light set-up will cost you way more than expected. The higher end gear can get very expensive too. Though there are ways to save costs and be innovative with natural light around you. Also lighting set-up occupies so much space, so always think before buying studio light set-up. If there is a need then only go for it otherwise you can always play with natural light.



Click like a Pro

The secret mantra to do an outstanding photoshoot for the product; one must understand the nuances of the product in detail and try to highlight key features of it with a theme which goes hand in hand with the product itself. Wherein the basic understanding of composition techniques and final touch of post-processing to it can make a product look like a pro!

Make a good use of depth of field with prime lenses. Enhance colour tones and remove unwanted elements from the frame in post-processing. Sometimes few things are not possible to achieve in the frame as per our expectation, then add those elements in post-processing. For example, if you are shooting soda bottle and you want to add water splash and with many experiments you are not getting proper splash, At this time what you can do is to shoot product separately and later compose splash separately in the image.

Keep experimenting with different type of products, lights and creative ideas to master the art of product photography.

Different Indoor Photo Projects you must try

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With everyone spending more time indoors, it is a difficult for photographers to find ways to keep their creativity energised staying at home. With some creative ideas, you can click some fun photographs without stepping outside! We have listed some photography projects that you can shoot indoors, in your own home, without leaving the four walls and many of them can be done on your dining table using props or family members that you have available already at your place.

Make a splash
To get a professional studio still-life look without visiting a studio, attach or stick a white pillow case to a wall and kitchen platform in a curved shape for your background. Now place your camera on a tripod, place a glass of water with a lemon slice or any props that pops out and goes with the glass. Place the camera on the same level with the glass, but don’t fill the glass to the tip, leave a little space for the splash. Use and place an off-camera flash to one side of glass but remember it should face the pillow surface not the glass. Now you can throw the lemon slice or whatever prop you are using and capture it on fast shutter speed with continuous shot, so that you can capture the perfect moment when the lemon slice fell in water and the water splashes.



Candlelight Portrait
It may be lack in lighting up power, but candle light are way above its luminosity and can help you create some fantastic shots. To capture a candlelit portrait, go for Manual (M) mode and always use raw format. It is necessary to add the candle in the frame as well because the light is so warm that the light source is needed to help the viewer understand the photograph. Use an ISO of 1,600 or less and a nifty fifty lens at an aperture of f/2. Go for a shutter speed of 1/100 sec, and focus on the eye of the subject.



Mix oil and water
With the use of macro lens and a few daily house items, you can capture incredible images of oil drops floating on water. Like most macro shots, patience is essential, but the process forces you to focus on minute details that move, which might lead you become restless. But this experience and discipline is sure to help you in your other projects in the future. To prepare, take a glass with water and add a drop of washing-up liquid to it. Stir it a little and leave it to settle for 5-10 minutes. Then add a few drops of cooking oil and you can create the magic now.



Water drops
You don’t require a high-end camera to capture water art. The set-up for this project is very easy, but will require focussing and perfect timing. Put your camera on a tripod and fill the frame with the surface of the water and the drip. A macro lens can be useful, but is not a necessity. Whatever you keep in the background will be reflected in the water, so try various paper sheets of different colours and designs. Accurate focussing is important. So switch to Manual Focus mode and place a pencil tip at the splash area and focus on the tip. Now you just have to focus on capturing at right time.



Light Painting 
Moving a small light within the frame during a long shutter will result in something very creative and beautiful. You can create an outline around an object using a light source to give it a shape or even use coloured string lights behind the object for a fantastic background. Attach your camera on a tripod, then compose and focus on the object. Now turn the camera to Manual Focus to lock the focussing distance, and set the mode to Manual (M). Dial in an ISO of 200 (low noise), a shutter speed of 8 sec (slow shutter), and an aperture of f/16 (deeper depth of field). Set the Self Timer to 5 sec. You can now switch off the lights and capture some beautiful light painting pictures.



Strike a match stick
When a match stick is struck, it fires up so fast that it is hard to observe what actually happened at the exact moment of firing. But by capturing a rapid burst of images at fast shutter speed, we can capture this fantastic moment. This will require a macro lens to capture it. But leave some extra space near the match stick head when you frame your image, as the flare while striking is bigger than you think.



Smoke Photography
Taking images of waves of smoke is really easy to achieve if you can get the lighting right. To capture an image of smoke, light up an incense stick and keep place it in front of a dark background. Use the off-camera flash in its Manual Mode to light it from one side, make sure that the flash is not faced towards the darker backdrop or on the lens. Focus on the tip of the incense stick, then switch to manual focus to lock the focus. Use Manual Mode, and set an aperture of f/8 and a shutter speed of 1/200 sec. Now capture some normal test shots, and adjust the flash intensity to make the smoke brighter or darker, until you have the perfect lighting.

Photographing Festivals in India

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Festivals, rituals, community celebrations and cultural events are among the most exciting events for shutterbugs to capture. They are a great way to learn about the local culture, customs and people and portray a foreign culture and country with lively photographs. Photographers are naturally drawn to colourful and vibrant subject matter, and most festivals are just like that, colourful in every sense of the word. There are colourful floats, costumes, crafts, food, and merchandise, and you will also find many colourful characters among the participants in the festival. But because festivals consist of moving performers or participants and large crowds of spectators, they are also among the most difficult subject matter to photograph seamlessly. In most cases you only have a fraction of a second to choose an interesting subject, focus your camera, choose your settings and press the shutter. To make the most of your festival experience as a photographer, you need to be ready to make quick decisions about when and what to photograph. A little preparation ahead of time will go a long way and help you make amazing pictures. 

Matt Zimmerman

In a country like India where people of vast religious and cultural differences exist documenting the ongoing festivals which come to knock doors almost one every month is a fun challenge most photographers would take up. We shall discuss some of the basic preparations that will help you to photograph a festival better than you would have without any sort of preparation. 

Choosing the Right Festival

Catherine Marciniak

If you are travelling there are chances that you will accidentally come across local festivals, but it is a good idea to plan ahead and do some research to find out which are the ones going on at the time of your trip. Ask yourself what type of festival or cultural event interests you the most. Do you like large events with thousands of participants and millions of spectators, or small local festivals which have a more relaxed atmosphere and offer a more intimate view of local life and culture? Do you enjoy religious festivals or celebrations of local cultural traditions? Some take place only on one day, while others last days or even weeks. For example Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai is celebrated for ten days at a stretch and the 11th day the idol immersion takes places where lakhs of people come to bid adieu to the lord. So it mainly depends on your taste in festivals and how you want to portray them. 

Learn About the Festivals 

Abhishek Shirali

If you want to take pictures that effectively portray a festival, you should find out beforehand what the festival celebrates and concentrates on and what it means. Is it a festival dedicated to a specific patron or saint, or is it a festival celebrating local culture and traditions? Then you should make sure to take pictures of most important parts of the of the procession, so that they feature the patron or the saint. If you are attending a cultural festival that shows different aspects of local culture such as handicrafts, music, art, and dance, then make sure that your pictures reflect the diversity of cultural activities. If you are attending a parade or procession, it can be a great advantage to find out the route of a parade or the programme of an event in advance. This allows you to plan ahead and choose a good vantage point from which to take pictures.

Finding an Observation 

Avinash Singh

Point One of the major challenges of taking pictures of festivals is to position yourself in such a way that you have enough space around you to move and select your subject matter while being close to the action. To take good pictures of crowded events, it is important to step back to get a better view of the event. Try to find a doorway or stand against a wall to make sure that your back is covered, but also try to find a good vantage point (such as a low wall, bench, or an overbridge), where you can be slightly above the crowd and have a better view of the ongoing activities. This allows you to stay in one position and take pictures as the parade or processions moves past you. 

Sometimes the layout of the street or the place would not allow you for a vantage point from which to observe and photograph the activities. In this case you must go where the action is and immerse yourself in the crowd. Remember that you would not be alone and you will be competing with other photographers for the best position. Have your camera ready to shoot and be prepared to take pictures quickly, since people are moving and won’t hold their positions for long. Digital-SLR cameras have a continuous shooting mode, which allows you take several shots per second. This is a great feature to photograph moving objects. You can also take Full HD videos on your DSLR and later take screen grabs from the video. However, the quality of a single movie frame is never as good as a still shot.

Choose a Variety of Subject Matters 

Thejas Panarkandy

To document a festival and create a visual story out of the pictures, it is important to focus on detail and individual participants in the celebration. This is the main challenge of taking photos of festivals i.e. to tell the story of the people who participate in it and not just show pictures of crowds. Pictures of masses do not really tell a story and rarely make great photos. But if you decide to show a large crowd, make sure there is a central point of interest, such as a float or group of participants that stands out visually. Otherwise your pictures will just show a confusing mass of people without any focus or point of interest. Instead of general wideangle shots, try to take pictures that are characteristic of the festival and at the same time show interesting people. There may be floats that are carried or driven, dancers, musicians, and a variety of vendors in addition to the audience. Try taking a few pictures of all these different people to create a lively and authentic portrayal of the festival.

Lighting Conditions 

Lumix UK

Unfortunately you cannot choose the time of day a festival takes place. If you take pictures mid-day you may end up with washed out colours and overexposed highlights. In the late afternoon the light is warm and your pictures will have an orange tint. Is the sun low in the horizon? Then the surrounding buildings will soon cast a long shadow on the festival activities, which will affect your photographs. So before you indulge in the revelry during a parade or festival, do a quick check of the weather and lighting conditions to make sure your photographs turn out as desired. If you take a picture of festival activities against a bright background, consider using your flash to brighten up the foreground. A powerful external flash will also help you light up dark scenes. Keep in mind that the built-in flash on most cameras is only intended to brighten objects that are reasonably close. If you want to take pictures at a greater distance, you should get an external flash. Also keep in mind that when using a flash, the shutter speed on most cameras is automatically set to 1/60 of a second, which is too slow to capture moving objects or people. Don’t forget to keep in mind that your camera’s auto-focus may not work well after it is dark, since it depends on contrast to measure distance. So consider external lighting such as flash and faster lenses with apertures of f/2.8 or higher.
 
Camera Equipment 
Since most festivals and cultural events take place in public spaces right in front of your eyes, you do not really need a long range telephoto lens. In fact, since there is a lot of movement during a festival, it is better to use a wide-angle zoom lens, which is usually faster and allows you to shoot with a higher shutter speed. The built-in zoom lenses in pocket and compact cameras should be sufficient to take great shots during a festival. The automatic exposure function on most cameras will choose an average setting of aperture and shutter speed, but since you will be photographing moving people, you should choose a manual setting with a higher shutter speed. This assures that your pictures of moving people are not blurry. Some cameras have automatic exposure presets, such as “portrait, “landscape,” or “sports,” which makes it easy to choose a setting that is suitable for the event. 
All digital SLRs and many compact digital cameras give you the option of saving photos in RAW format. This is an unprocessed image format that gives you greater freedom to adjust the image on your computer later. For example, when shooting in RAW format you could significantly brighten a dark image by changing its exposure value later. Although this method is not a substitute for ideal lighting conditions, it gives you greater control over the image, and you might be able to turn dark or overexposed photos into attractive pictures. The only drawback is that the RAW files are much larger than JPEG files (the most common format used by digital cameras). To avoid running out of memory, you should bring several memory cards and use cards with the highest memory capacity your camera can read. 

Safety Concerns 

sandeepachetan

Large festivals with large crowds also attract pickpockets and thieves who would not let any opportunity miss out of their hands. Pay careful attention to your surroundings while taking pictures. Since there is constant action during a festival, there is no time to put the camera in your bag between taking pictures, and you will most likely carry it around your neck during the course of the event. Keep a satchel or a waist pouch for easy access of your stuff like filters, memory cards and mobile phones, a wiping cloth and other important accessories. Keep your valuables like wallet and cash inside your bag and zip the bag properly. A handy waist pouch is the best option. Keep a bottle of drinking water and edibles like chocolate bars and biscuits along with you as dehydration and an empty stomach will assumingly give you more trouble than the crowd you are probably thinking of going inside. Wear comfortable rugged clothes which can take a few stretches without ripping apart. Cover your head with a scarf or a cap in case of sunny and hot situations. Keep your phone charged so you can contact for help whenever you feel something is out of your hand. Keep a cool attitude and do not indulge in any major conversations with anyone which would kill your valuable time. Last but not the least enjoy and immerse yourself in the beauty of the festival and every picture you make will be beautiful.

Shooting dramatic sky

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Skies are one of the most photographed subjects and make for some really interesting photographs. Shooting skies can seem like an easy job but there are ways to get brilliant and dramatic photographs of skies as well. We will talk in-depth about the different aspects of using the sky as a centre of attraction in your photographs. Sky makes for amazing photographs and makes normal day-to-day pictures pop out. But there are challenges associated with shooting dramatic images including the sky in the frame. Challenges like controlling exposure, being in the right place at the right time etc. Let’s discuss each point in details to have a better understanding of the topic.

Golden hour 

Antony Griffiths

It is important to know what a golden hour is, if you wish to become a landscape photographer. Golden hour is the time of the day when the light is perfect for photography. It is usually considered to be the period shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset. The light at that time is soft and usually has a reddish tone to it which pops the features in a photograph. This light makes for the best cloudscapes. As a photographer, one has to set himself or herself up for the shot sometime before the actual golden hour. During this time the light changes drastically and unpredictably. It is always advisable to be ready to take a shot of the perfect moment. 

Include clouds 

Alan Chadwick

An empty sky, while beautiful, might not make for the greatest photographs. If the sky is perfectly blue it might compliment a photograph of a monument or cityscape but will not draw as much attention. Including clouds in your otherwise normal shot will make it look much more interesting. Beautiful cloudscapes have become the backbone of landscape photography these days. Clouds provide shapes and textures to photos. It also adds a sense of vastness to the photograph.

Use a wide angle lens 

Using a wide lens sounds to be pretty straight forward. But it is important to know when and where to use a wide lens. A wide lens adds a sense of depth to the photographs. Cloudscapes look amazing when shot with wide lenses. During the golden hours it also allows one to show more lights and colours as it captures a greater angle of view. Using a wide lens when shooting monuments etc with cloudscapes is not advisable as a monument might look distorted in extreme wide angles. If you are not sure of what lens would be appropriate try both and see which one feels right. More often than not, the wide lens will look more visually interesting. 

Be patient 

Patience is a key attribute to photographing cloudscapes. While some might think that photography is all about the camera and how the user uses it, for this particular genre patience is the key to having the most dramatic photos. Since clouds are unpredictable and nature changes every second it is highly likely that a photographer might have to wait a long time for the perfect shot. If you do not want to wait for too long then try visiting the places during the golden hour. It is almost always the best time to get cloudscapes. Choosing your shooting spot beforehand is a must since you can plan your shoot accordingly. It is important to remember that sometimes even the utmost patience will not yield expected results but that should not get a photographer disheartened. The hunger for good photographs should drive one’s passion. 

Include other elements 

Clouds make for amazing photographs but shooting just clouds is not enough. Silhouettes of people, monuments, bridges or even a mountain range or any other object looks good with cloudscapes. Clouds alone do not make good pictures since there is no single point of attraction. Shooting just clouds is like shooting patterns. You need to break a pattern to provide for the eye of a viewer to wander and fix itself on a single object in the frame. Including other elements makes photographs more interesting and breaks the monotony. 

Control exposure 

One of the most difficult things to do while shooting dramatic cloudscapes is controlling the exposure. There are a few workarounds to the challenges. Using ND filters, Polarizing filters are a good way to bring down the exposure of the sky if you do not want your foreground to be silhouetted. If the subject (foreground) is close to the camera using a flash can create beautiful photographs as well. But make sure that the flash is not too harsh as the foreground will be completely spoilt otherwise. Make sure that while shooting cloudscapes, you do not aim your camera directly at the sun. Sometimes underexposing a little might dramatise the sky.

Developing Your Creative Style

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When we look at photographs on the internet or in magazines and newspapers sometimes some photos instantly grab our attention. ‘Something different’ we say. In a world where millions of photographs, maybe more, are taken every year and it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in terms of subject matter, editing styles, finding inspiration and so on. So, how do we stand out? The answer is in finding your own creative style.



Master the basics

One needs to learn how to walk before they can run. The basics are the foundation to photography. Before getting all philosophical and artsy about creative styles and everything else, a photographer needs to learn the basics like framing, composition, using a DSLR, depth of field, ISO, shutter speed, aperture etc. How does that help, one might ask. The simplest explanation is comparing a human being from the early 1980s and a human being from 2017 trying to do the same task on a smartphone. The person from the present will be able to do it much faster and efficiently- in fact the person can have more time to do the job at hand and also some other things in the stipulated time given. This means that if a photographer knows the basics of photography he or she can concentrate on the creativity, take more number of shots from different angles etc without having to guess the shutter speed, aperture and all. The basics should be on the edge of your fingertips, so that for all kinds of lights – be it natural, ambient or artificial set-ups, you can instantly guess the correct camera settings and start shooting right away. Photography being a mix of science and arts needs special attention and care, and mastering your basics will help you do just that!



Get involved

Now that you have learned the basics well and can shoot without having to keep on calculating and guessing the exposure in the back of your mind try to go on the field and start shooting. Try out every genre and see which one attracts you. If you feel the need for different equipments for different genres then ask your friends for a lens that suits your needs. Don’t invest a lot of money to shoot one genre before trying out everything as you might lose interest in the genre after a little while. Once you have extensively shot for all genres, and known the genres in and out you, can make a decision then. When you start feeling good about a genre, start getting involved in it. Learn about it, work on it. For example, if you feel you feel good shooting wedding photos then start shooting for weddings professionally. Intern from a well-known and experienced photographer in the field. It is the best and also the fastest way to learn from the best.



Analyse your image

Just as shooting an image is important, analysing the shots later on is important too. Make sure you do not chimp while you shoot as there is a high possibility that you will miss out on a few frames. Analyse your images and look for mistakes. Look at the composition, the framing, the exposure, the moment and try to ask yourself how you could’ve made it better and made the photograph stronger. Do not just analyse if the image is good or bad. Go into the details and try to understand how it would have been better. From imagining adding foregrounds or a different background, to considering a shallower depth of field or changing the angle. Learning from your own mistake is the best way to learn. Remember that it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from it. You can only analyse your images if you know the basics well. You can always break the basic rules of composition as long as you can justify it with a valid reason. Try to work on a series of photographs and test yourself. Shooting single images is good but shooting a photo essay will improve your storytelling. See if your content is strong or not, try to find extremes. For example if you are doing a story on the visually impaired, find an interesting angle like the village in Maharashtra where a large percentage of the population is visually impaired. Since photographs are a visual medium it is always best to find extremes.



Find your inspiration

Many great people have worked hard in every field and have set examples for people to follow. Photography has also seen some forefathers who have paved the way for people to follow. Finding an inspiration is a good way to not lose hope when, at one point in your life, you will face a creative block. Look at photos in your genre of interest which are shot by masters. Try to look at their composition, their framing and their ‘treatment’ of the image so to speak. In the age of the internet it is extremely important that you surf the web and see what other photographers in the genre are doing – both so that you can get inspired by them as well as you know what other styles contemporary photographers have adopted. Do not try and imitate them as you will just become a clone of the photographer. Try to draw inspiration and make your own style. We will talk about what a ‘style’ is in the next pointer.



Style of shooting

What fonts are to words is what style of shooting is to photographs. It does not necessarily affect the content of the photograph but makes it more appealing and adds a little bit of personal touch to them. Your style of shooting is what will separate you from the rest of the photographers. Emulating other people’s style is not going to work as your body of work will start resembling other photographs. Try to find your style of shooting – whether playing with colours is your thing, or playing with shapes, patterns, repeating a certain object or idea in every frame. Make it relatable so that the common people understand. Storytelling should be straightforward. If you want to be contemporary then try to be different in that as well. It’s fine if others are shooting staged portraits and you feel one of your stories require that. Keeping the base idea similar, it is okay as long as your approach and your final output is not eerily similar.


Style of editing

Another important aspect of finding your own style is the post processing. Professional photographers often employ other post processing professionals to edit their photographs. But for a beginner or a new professional who is just starting to find their own style of photography and discover the different aspects of it, post processing your own photographs become extremely important. Keeping the style and tone similar for all photographs can be beneficial in a sense that people who look at a photograph can associate you with it. It becomes like a signature, which is unique for everyone. Try playing with your photographs in Photoshop or any other editing software and see which editing style best suits you. The correct amount of shadow, highlight, mid-tones, contrast, offset etc in all your photographs will definitely create that signature that you were looking for!