Vivid Sydney 2015 - We can help you take your best photos

Vivid! What an awesome time to be in Sydney. Walking through the streets at night, being dazzled by lights on buildings, in the harbour, on sculptures and seeing purpose-built light installations scattered throughout parks and along streetscapes.

Last year, we opened our inaugural Creative Space, where we hosted guest speakers, set off on free photo walks, ran workshops and created a meeting space where photography enthusiasts could come and learn, be inspired and be creative.

This year, we’re doing it again! Our venue at 360 Kent St, is the perfect starting point for all the photo walks we have organised. We’ve researched and mapped out our routes to highlight the best locations - Martin Place, Circular Quay, Customs House, Museum of Sydney, and Sydney Harbour and surrounds.

We’ve got our own DCW Guides as well as experts from Fujifilm, Sony and Olympus that will help participants capture their best shots during walking tours, giving one-on-one instruction on how to get the most out of manual and creative settings on their camera.

In addition to experts from major brands, we also have Andrew Hall, Fujifilm’s Ambassador, guiding a walk on Thursday 28 May. Andrew has over 25 years’ experience as a professional, award-winning photographer. He photographs a range of genres including motorsport, landscapes and portraiture. And we also have James Brickwood, one on Fairfax’s Photographers guiding a walk on Saturday 6 June. James has been a staff photographer with The Sydney Morning Herald since 2007.

Our photo walks are an amazing way to learn, through hands-on, guided experience. We also have in-store ‘show and tells’ at our Kent St store, with Fujifilm, Sony and Olympus, showcasing their latest camera technologies. We’ll have a mini exhibition in our Kent St store to showcase Andrew Hall’s work as well as images and bios from some of Fujifilm Australia’s other Ambassadors. We will have extended trading hours and a hub for recharging your camera batteries.

We love the Vivid Festival! It’s colourful, it builds community and it’s a great platform to share photographic knowledge. 

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Daily Life in Your Town or Suburb

By James Farley

When shooting in your home town or suburb, it doesn’t need to be about the main tourist attraction or a big event, notable landmark or iconic building – the most important thing is to focus on what you find most interesting, inspiring and beautiful in the area. A great sense of adventure and willingness to explore is essential in finding those wonderfully unassuming locations and photo opportunities.

Canon 40D, Vintage 1960's Asahi 50mm f2.0 lens. Location: Elderslie, NSW. Photographer: James Farley

Take some time to document what it is that gives your home town or suburb its unique character. Use the familiarity that comes with being a local to your advantage, and try to reveal locations that the average sightseer would often overlook. One of the best practices for achieving this kind of project is to just take a day, or even just a few hours, to wander around with your camera and actively seek out the interesting and intriguing elements of your home town or suburb that give the area life. Try making a list of any places around the area, big or small, that you find interesting in any way, and just shoot your way through it.

Fujifilm X-T1. Location: Newtown, NSW. Photographer: Trent Crawford

No matter how mundane or ordinary you may think your home town may be, there is always something or somebody there worth documenting. Taking photos of what is familiar to you can expose a whole new perspective of people and places you may often take for granted.

But the main point of advice is to open your eyes to the beautiful and interesting things that surround you in the everyday. Exploring and documenting the everyday life of your own home town is a fantastic creative outlet, and is really something to enjoy and to use to expand your own passion for photography.

Camera

The great thing about photojournalistic endeavours such as this is that the importance is often focused more on creating a snapshot of a time and place. So unlike other, more technically demanding fields of photography, you don’t always need the highest level of camera gear; anything that you are most comfortable taking photos with is just fine.

That being said, it is always incredibly useful to use equipment that allows for manual exposure control, as it opens up worlds of creative and technical opportunities in your photography, so a good DSLR or CSC camera will never go amiss.

Lenses

When it comes to this kind of photography, I believe that the best options are either a mid to wide angle fixed focal length lens, such as a 35mm or 50mm, or a more versatile zoom lens, such as an 18-55mm or 24-70mm.

Bags and straps

It’s always a good idea to invest in reliable transporting equipment for your camera, especially when it comes to photojournalism. Bags and backpacks that allow for quick and easy camera access are always fantastic, as having your camera on hand at all times means that you’re much less likely to miss that perfect shot.

Other Accessories

When shooting outdoors, it’s extremely beneficial to use a lens hood and UV filter, as not only do they help to reduce glare, but they also give some protection against minor bumps and scratches.

Depending on what kind of photos you’re taking or the situations you’re in, a light tripod or monopod will definitely come in handy from time to time.

If you’re like me and love shooting in overcast, rainy weather, then rain covers are absolutely necessary for keeping your equipment safe.

Fujifilm X-T1. Location: Newtown, NSW. Photographer: Trent Crawford

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Shooting to tell a Story

Photography is an amazing way to tell a story and to shine a light on what matters to you. Visual imagery is emotive, real and helps an audience to understand the passion of the photographer. Shooting in a documentary or journalistic style is a great way to produce a strong and coherent body of work on a subject you are passionate about.  It can be a hard-hitting topic like a demonstration at town hall, or a light-hearted topic like your child’s first swim lesson. There’s no limit to subject matter.

As a beginner it may be a challenge to move away from the standard point and shoot photography that takes up much of your time. But getting out there and giving it a go is the first step to improving, and to telling your story.  

Here are some tips that’ll help you to be ready when you start to shoot what matters to you:

Get ready 

Be prepared with batteries fully charged (both primary and spares) and test them in-camera - this will also give you the opportunity to ensure all necessary gear is in good working order. Pack your bag with two things in mind - what equipment do I want to take and what equipment do I absolutely need.

And triple-check your camera settings before you leave.

Think through your story

What matters to you? What story do you want to tell? What shots will you need to capture to tell that story? Having a pre-determined idea of the story and shots will help you to tell the story effectively. Be patient as you may not get the shot straight away. The photographic style you choose can say a lot about the subject and the aim should be to always show the reality of the subject’s situation. The challenge is to capture the humanity in the scene and this comes from practice, patience and experience.>

Research

You may need to do some homework before you start.  Check with the organisers of the event to see if there are any restricted subjects or areas and if you need a permit to shoot in a specific location. You may need to get permission from Council or a business owner. Your behaviour in meetings and in the lead up to the shoot may make a difference about what access you are granted – be professional and build credibility. If it's a public event held on public property then you should generally be fine to simply show up and shoot.  

Context

Take note of locations, dates, times and names as you shoot because the photos will need to be given context with a few words attached to each image.  People need to know what they are seeing and their significance within the context of your shoot. Remind yourself often that you are shooting to tell a story. Ask yourself, what shots, information and context does an audience need to understand what matters to me?  

Equipment

The equipment required is dependent on the story type. For some stories, being unobtrusive and ‘under-the-radar’ is essential, so therefore using a compact but high-quality camera is important.  Some suggestions are Fujifilm X100S, Olympus OM-D E-M1 and Sony A7R . These are all compact cameras with serious sensors and high quality optics yet they are hard to notice and whisper quiet when shooting with them.

If there is no need for a low-profile then feel free to equip yourself with what you think you will need.  

Suggested equipment

• Wide angle lenses
• Large aperture lenses
• Flash (like a 600EX or SB 910)
• Gorilla Pod
• Flash Triggers
• Monopod

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Documentary and Photojournalist Tips and Techniques

Shooting in a documentary or journalistic style is a really good way to produce a strong and coherent body of work on a subject you are passionate about.  Unfortunately it’s not always easy to get the results you want.  We have a few preparation tips for events or assignments which you wish to photograph as a story. This could range from your kids first soccer match to a harder hitting subject.  Whatever the story is, there are some key things that will enable you to be capture-ready when that perfect moment occurs.  To get a head start on telling your story, read on....

 

The most important thing is to be prepared with batteries fully charged (both primary and spares), testing them in-camera to ensure all necessary gear is in good working order. Triple-check your camera settings before you begin to confirm everything is a-ok. Don’t forget to also obtain permission to shoot the event if required.  

Have a pre-determined idea of the story you wish to tell and think about the type of shots needed to tell that story effectively. An example might be a wide-angle shot of a factory to set the stage, a few portraits of factory workers and some candid photos of their day-to-day experiences.  Remember to be patient as you may not always get the shot on day one. The photographic style you choose can say a lot about the subject and the aim should be to always show the reality of the subject’s situation. The challenge is to capture the humanity in the scene and this only comes from practice, patience and experience.

Keep in mind you may need to do some homework before you start.  Check with the organisers (if applicable) of the event to see if there are any restricted subjects or areas and if you need a permit to shoot in a specific location. If it's a public event held on public property then you should generally be fine to simply show up and shoot.  If you do have a meeting with anyone in the lead up to an event make sure you are punctual and act in a professional manner.  This will give you credibility and shows that you have respect for them as well.

Some factors to consider during your project is – ‘How will you present the finished folio?’ ‘Will it be in colour or black and white (or both)?’ ‘Are you going to print them or will it only be viewable online?’ Also take note of locations, dates, times and names as you shoot because the photos will need to be given context with a few words attached to each image.  People need to know what they are seeing and their significance as it pertains to the overall portfolio.  Documentary photos rarely speak for themselves.

The equipment required is very personal and also dependent on the story type.  For some stories, being unobtrusive and ‘under-the-radar’ is essential so therefore using a compact but high-quality camera is important.  Some suggestions would be the Fujifilm X100s , Sony RX1, Leica X2 or Olympus OM-D-E5 . These are all compact cameras with serious sensors and high quality optics yet they are hard to notice and whisper quiet when shooting with them.

If there is no need for a low-profile then feel free to equip yourself with what you think will be needed and that you can deal with carrying around all-day.  For me it would be the Canon 16-35, 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f 2.8 (or equivalent lengths in your chosen brand) or a combination of two of these depending on the situation.  Also, two strobes may come in handy with two Gorillapods to hold them in position should an opportunity arise to set up some posed portraits. A small tripod with an adapter can work as a light stand or a tripod when required.

Check out these links to get inspired by some talented photojournalists.

*Please note that the following links are to external sites and may contain photos of a mature nature so reader discretion is advised.

Verve Photo - photos and links to some of the best photographers in this field.

The New York Times Lens blog - excellent photography with each entry telling a story from The New York Times.

Tatiana Cardeal - a mixture of travel and photojournalist work.

Sanjit Das - some great reportage stories and great photography.

Once you're feeling inspired why not give it a go and enter the Sydney Morning Herald Photos1440 Challenge!  Great prizes are on offer for the best of the best including a Canon 5D Mk3 Pro kit (includes a 24-70 f2.8 II Lens), an internship with The Sydney Morning Herald and prizes from Digital Camera Warehouse!  The challenge is 'Capturing the minutes of the day' and the winning entrants will be displayed as part of The Sydney Morning Herald exhibition - Photos1440 capturing the minutes of the day.  The exhibition is proudly presented by Canon Australia.

Good luck and don't forget to share with us your results on our Facebook page or right here on this blog.

 

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