Photography

OLPC Tips Here & There

Document Owner:
William Stelzer

Document Name
Bill's OLPC Deployment Photo Tips

Revision Date:
11 - 18 - 2011

Category 1:
Category:Photography

Revision User: Mafe

Bill's OLPC Deployment Photo Tips

Using professional techniques to bring back professional looking stills and video from your deployments by William Stelzer

Bill's Message

Here's those notes I promised - sorry it's a bit late! Posting it in the Dropbox as well. Keep in mind it's an ongoing document so if anybody else has ideas and techniques they'd like to add and share, feel free!

The Language of Cinema

It’s important to get a wide array of shots to fully capture what’s going on. Although at first this seems to apply just to it also key to shooting stills as well. There is a language of cinema, of wides, mediums and closeups, that each tell a story in their own different way. Just as important as getting a wide variety of each is knowing the strengths and what to watch out for with each.

Wide Angle

Gets an overall sense of the scene. Also widens the space within the photo. what’s close will appear larger, what’s further away will appear smaller.

Walking with the camera - Low light situations - getting close to sound (for video)

Watch out for - Distortion - Cluttered frame - Boringness

Medium Shot

Features what’s most important:

Great For - Most natural rendition of people - 50mm to 85mm

Watch out for - Forgetting about wides and closeups!

Telephoto

Draws attention to details. Also compresses the space within the photo, making everything appear closer together.

Great For - Isolating telling characteristics of the scene - shallow depth of field - artistic shots

Watch out for - Harder to hold steady - Needs more light - Being further from the sound (for video)

Also pay close attention to the angle at which you are shooting. When shooting kids you should almost always have the camera near level to them. Shooting them from above tends to minimizes their story.

Also if you get the camera below someone and shoot up it will make them look epic.

Camera Settings Set-up

ALWAYS use the highest pixel count and quality setting. Gives you more flexibility to crop and do adjustments on the computer later. Use the lowest ISO you can get away with. Less noise equals sharper detail.

NEVER use the in camera special effects modes, BW, sepia,Can get much better results in post when you start with a color image.

White Balance

This is your color! If the Auto setting works, great. If it’s not working then you’ll need to switch over to one of the presets or manual white balance. The Cloudy or setting will give warmer light for outdoor shooting - or interiors lit only by sun. Often it’s favorite to shoot with in the field. Manual white balance usually best for classrooms with mixed lighting. Also try cycling through the preset options to see that looks interesting.

Exposure

Auto Exposure works best in perfect conditions. Of course some of the best photographs come out of difficult lighting conditions. When shooting in darker environments you may need to switch to manual. The camera always wants faces to be a certain level of luminance. But if it doesn’t know that what you are shooting is supposed to be dark, it may raise the exposure and ISO automatically, resulting in excessive noise and blown out highlights. This never looks good.

Keep in mind cameras love light. The more light you have, the better your colors and sharper your images. Course that’s exactly what you don’t have when shooting deployments in electricity free environments. A flash might seem like the answer, but an on camera flash can look unnatural and be distracting as well. Get to know how well your camera handles high ISO’s. Often it’s better to have an “authentic” grainy image over a less naturalistic, brightly lit one.

If your camera doesn’t allow manual setting investigate it’s different modes. Sports, Portraits, Night, etc. These try and duplicate the settings a professional photographer might use.

Shooting Cinematically

Don’t forget the basics:

- Rule of thirds - Strong diagonals

- Repeating patterns - A clear path for the eye to follow. Paint with the colors of the wind. Also remember the background is just as important as the foreground.

- Avoid distracting elements - everything in the frame tells a story. Most important though is that each frame be so feel free to throw out the rules as needed.

Moving with the camera

(for video) Only move for a reason. When you do, make it as smooth as possible, by moving your whole body, not the camera. If you walk while shooting, go wide. Also remember what seems slow on the tiny monitor will be faster when seen on the big screen.

Avoid zooms, though they can be nice hidden in a pan. Up down, side to side movement is fine, excessive wobble, or rotational movement around the z axis is difficult to watch.

Recording Sound

Using an external mic is best for small camcorders. If there’s a headphone jack, ALWAYS monitor audio while shooting. If that’s not possible, play back what you’ve shot to check frequently. Get the microphone as close to the subject as you can. Those furry mic sleeves are absolutely key for fighting wind noise. If you don’t have an external mic, get as close to the subject as you can and avoid hand noise on the camcorder.

Even if you are only shooting stills consider using a small flash sound recorder as well. Check out the Zoom H1. It’s for capturing PBS like interviews and adding audio depth to a slide show.

Secrets they don’t teach you in film school.

A bunch of secrets they don’t teach you in film school. (And some they do.)

Flip out screens are GREAT for shooting kids at their level in a non intimidating way. Often shooting down through the eyepiece of a big DSLR puts a layer of glass and metal between you and whoever you are shooting, resulting in a more posed or less naturalistic image.

Practice situational awareness, both for your safety and so you don’t miss something important while you are shooting something else. Learn to hold a shot without looking so you can already be searching for the next shot. Also listen. Someone else around you might have a great shot suggestion.

An inexpensive L-Bracket will let you attach a mic or light to your camcorder. It also makes it easier to hold your camera steady.

Move around to find the best lighting, composition. Don’t forget to look behind you! Often the most difficult shooting environments can reward you with the best shots. But you have to do the hard work.

Learn everything about your specific camera, and practice, practice, practice so you have it down cold. Be already setting it up as you are pulling it from the bag. In a high distraction, quick moving environment, you want to be able to operate it instinctively so you don’t miss a shot. Also develop what in film school we called the kino eye - the ability to see the world as your camera sees it.

Make sure your camera lens is ALWAYS perfectly clean. Carry lens tissue with you just in case, along with extra charged and camera cards.

Shoot a LOT of frames, way more than you need. It’s the law of averages. Plus they are easy to erase afterwards. With video, perhaps be a bit more disciplined.

Keep in mind that the people you are shooting are your collaborators. Let them see the shots you are getting if you can especially if they are kids.

Posed shots can be great, but the real magic in photography comes in capturing those fleeting moments that tell a story.

Remember you are the eyes for all those who will never get to experience what you are experiencing. Never stop asking yourself, how do I best capture this, what telling expressions and details do I need to bring this scene to life?

Always remember too that your most important piece of camera gear is your brain!

And finally, have fun shooting!!