The imposter behind the lens

A non-photographers guide to taking better pictures on and off the water



  While a strong proficiency in technical photography can improve your chances of taking a good photograph, there are a lot of shortcuts that allow the hobby photographer to get great shots without making the commitment to learn the art properly.  For the expert photographer, hauling around a mountain of lenses, flashes, and tripods, combined with the time and knowledge to set up a shot, and the savvy to digitally enhance these files, can result in some truly stunning photographs.  For the rest of us, however, this stuff obscures, rather than improves our chances of making good pictures.  Shooting offhand, that is, shooting while your are involved in the activity you are trying to photograph, requires a different mindset and equipment choices than someone who is there only to take pictures.  Over the years I've managed to take some great photos with a minimal understanding of lighting, camera settings, and photoshop.  After reading this article you too should be able to trick your friends into thinking you are a great photographer.

Let's start with the camera.  Digital media has become incredibly powerful in the last ten years providing us with tools and capabilities that photographers of yore could only dream of.  Todays consumer grade SLR's are the better than the professional equipment five years ago.   If you are serious about getting good shots you probably want to get a SLR camera.  While the convenience of a point and shoot is undisputable, these little cameras have small lenses that don't capture a lot of light, and small sensors that can't resolve images well.  Offhand shooting is like hunting, with limited opportunity, a better camera gives you a better chance at a good shot.  SLR's shoot better offhand, and give you more adjustments.   Don't be discouraged, however, if you plan to keep that cheap point and shoot, skip past the camera section of this article, there is a lot of info here that will improve your photos even if you are shooting with your cell phone!  Personally I own a weather resistant Pentax K10D,  I chose this camera because of my wet and dusty life, and because it takes rich, saturated looking photos in normal auto settings.  I also chose it because the camera body was relatively cheap at $1000.   When shooting offhand in adverse and risky environments you need to reconcile yourself to the fact that you are going to kill cameras, so it doesn't make sense to buy top-of-the-line.  A pro could shoot gallery quality prints with a camera like this if they were forced to.



Lenses, more important than the camera is the lens.  The lens does all the work, it captures the light and focuses the image.   I own three lenses, a 4.0 16-45mm zoom pentax wide angle lens $450, a 5.6 70-200mm zoom tamron telephoto lens $100, and a 2.8 28-75mm tamron zoom $450.    Of the three lenses the tamron 2.8 is on my camera 99% of the time.  I chose this lens for it's low price, excellent sharpness, contrast and color.   Being a F 2.8 lens, it has a wide maximum aperature and lets in a lot more light than the cheaper 5.6 lenses, this is called a 'fast lens' because it allows faster shutter speeds.  This allows shooting in low light and higher camera sensitivities which is critical for the freehand shooter where the ability to stabilize the camera is limited.   28-75mm is a useful zoom range.   The 28mm end is a bit wider than natural perspective, and often I do find it a bit limiting on the wide end of things, but not so much that I am willing to switch lenses.   The 75mm end is a good telephoto range, it gives me enough power to chase a moving subject with the zoom.  75mm gives you some telephoto power for sharp handheld shots, more range than this in a zoom lens and quality usually suffers.   This combination of camera and lens gives me a lot of power in a compact package at a reasonable price.



Camera settings.  Photography is a science, and the more you understand the settings on your camera the better your photos can be.   I have known a few people who can pull out a camera and with hands gliding across the myriad of adjustments, they can prepare a camera manually (adjusting aperature, sensitivity, focus, white balance, ect) fast enough to shoot offhand in manual.  That's not me!  I don't understand this stuff well enough and I'm not fast enough on the dials to get the shot.  I shoot in P, which allows me to choose the ISO and the camera chooses the shutter speed and aperature to get a correct exposure.  Knowing a few things will help you get more out of P or auto.   Exposure compensation: also called EV,  and is usually quick to adjust with a button and a dial, this means that when you shoot a shot and it looks to dark or bright you can dial the EV up and down quickly to get the right exposure.  ISO: this is the cameras sensitivity, the higher the ISO the more sensitive the sensor but also the more fuzzy and grainy the image, generally you want to shoot on the lowest ISO that allows you to hold a shutter speed that will give you a sharp image.   In the morning, evening and on cloudy days I shoot at 400 ISO,  under clear bright skies I shoot at 200.   Auto focus mode: continuous focus and smart focus features work well in point and shoot cameras, where your photos mostly suck anyways, and in pro level equipment where the focus is fast enough, and the camera and lens are smart enough to really chase a moving subject well.  In consumer level SLR's especially in dynamic envionments, smart focus and continous focus can jump around wildly and you never know where the focus will land.  I set the autofocus to centerfocus, and hold.  Meaning that it will hold the focus on whatever I am holding the center of the lens on when I partially depress the button, then I can drag that focus anywhere I want.  One thing that is important is to always set your camera to the highest resolution you can, mine is six megapixes for example, there is no reason not to!  Also, you probably want to shoot in JPEG.   RAW is designed for pro's who have the time and skills to mix down their precious photographs, it gives them more power in the digital darkroom but also requires a hefty skill set, and the files are huge.  Yes JPEG is a bit limiting, but it really streamlines your workflow, and for me makes shooting and editing less of a chore and more fun. 

Deployment:  Raising the camera to your eye MUST be easy, smooth an efficient.  Having a good, clean case that is easy to handle is only part of the equation, deployment starts at home before you ever head out to shoot.   A common mistake is to bring along a host of lenses, batteries, memory cards, filters, and cleaning equipment.  Remember, IF YOU ARE NOT A PRO, LEAVE THAT STUFF BEHIND.   Don't ever leave the camera behind, and make sure you have a good camera and a good lens and a spare battery, otherwise you are certain to miss the shot of a lifetime, and that is my point here, the smaller and easier it is to use the more likely you'll bring it everywhere you go.  It doesn't matter how good your lens is if it isn't on the camera when you need it, it doesn't matter how cool the shot it if you can't get the camera out fast and adjust it without fumbling with straps and buckles, or if you are afraid to get the camera in a dicey situation.   I typically bring the camera, a battery, the lens, and a lens cloth.  I have stripped all the straps and the lens hood off my camera,  the straps get tangled while I shoot, and the lens hood can easily be substituted for with a hand blocking the oblique source of light.  This gives me tight, compact system that is ready when I need it.

my buddy Thaddeus shoots with a similar setup to mine.

Because I shoot on the water so much my camera case is a pelican case stripped of most of it's padding.  Typically when I see people try to shoot with an SLR on the water they open their sprayskirt, pull out a drybag, open it, then open a seperate drybag, then pull out a camera with a neck strap dangling, utterly paranoid the whole time.  Needless to say it's unsafe in anything but flat water,  and a quick action shot isn't possible.  You can't make good photos if you can't take any photos.   On the other hand, my pelican case sits on my lap, a carabiner connects the handle to my PFD, it is a bit bulky but it doesn't interfere with my stroke.   The pelican 1200 case just barely fits many of the smaller SLR's yet is small enough not to interfere with paddling.

Two quick snaps pops open the lid and I brush my wet fingertips on a dry hand towel in the case as I grab the camera adjusting the EV as I bring it to my eye snap a few shots then back in the case and click, safe and sound again.

This allows me to shoot in very sketchy aquatic situations, and makes shooting in ordinary kayaking fun and easy.




 By purchasing a consumer grade camera with a good off-brand lens and learning a few basic settings what we have created is a really nice point-and-shoot, a camera that can grab some really nice shots on a whim, without a competant photographer behind the lens.  So lets go do some shooting.

Wait for the good light.  People who lack considerable photographic experience rarely take good flash photographs so leave the flash off.  I only use flash for 'personality' shots at night when the flash can capture a moment that would otherwise be lost.  In this case I suggest using the rather harsh, blurry effect to your advantage, depict a harsh situation with that effect and you can feel the misery of the photographer as well.  



Otherwise lets stick with what the sun gives us.  Unlike our cameras, our eyes and brains are very sensitive to light, they compensate for brightness and color amazingly well.   During mid-day the sun beats down on us creating what our camera sees as harsh shadows, bright spots, and washed out color.  You can get a good photo mid-day in bright sun but generally you are using a filter to polarize the light or tone down the harshness, and it still looks like a mid-day photo.   Rather than work really hard and carry special stuff, why not wait.  Good natural soft rich light bathes the earth within a few hours of sunrise and sunset, and if you wait for the good light, it's easy to get a good shot.  A cloudy day is a real help too.  Don't miss that 'personality shot' if it really is needed to tell your story, but otherwise, leave the camera in the case at lunch time, enjoy your day.  An exception is winter time in northern lattitudes where the low sun provides good light all day long.




The most important thing I ever learned about taking pictures is to get closer to the subject.  The natural urge is to try to keep the whole kayak, rock, or person in the frame.  This makes it look like a photo rather than a window into an experience.  You'll take much better shots time and again if you get really close and start shooting.  Part of a kayak, the tip of a paddle with a bit of blurry face behind it, these can be pleasing and interesting shots, they suck you into the experience.   You have to plan to get close in advance, moving people and kayaks goet small really fast when you stop to shoot and you can't even keep them close with the zoom for very long, this is where deployment comes in handy.  I often paddle past my subjects snap open the case and just shoot like crazy as they paddle past.   This looks real to the viewer because it is real!   Listen to me carefully here, DON'T TRY TO POSE YOUR SUBJECTS, unless you are a very good photographer, it won't look natural, it will slow down the group and it will drive your friends crazy.  Only pose people as a last resort to get an obviously amazing shot.  To engage your viewers you need to tell a story, this means that the photo needs to show or suggest action, people cooking, talking, gesturing, a kayak in motion, a paddle blade with water coming off of it.  A person sitting in front of an object looking at the camera is rarely a good photo.   Another way to draw in the viewer is to use an uncommon perpective, such as lying on the ground.   The unusual vantage point stands out, it interests the viewer automatically.



For capturing landscapes you need to create depth.   Strong diagonals in a photo please the eye and draw the viewer in, such as a shoreline at an angle, A river winding into the distance also gives this effect.  Anchoring the photo with something in the foreground can really show the scale and distance.  This only needs to be a blade of blurry grass, a branch, or part of a rock.   Photos of spectacular things can be totally boring if there is no sense of depth or scale. 



Don't waste your time on cliche shots like sunsets, if you must shoot El Capitan, or Mount Rushmore, or a sunset on the beach, put something interesting in the photo, otherwise all you've got is an inferior image.  Why not just get the postcard in the gift shop taken by a pro?

      


Once you've gotten some good material the most important part of the process begins, editing.   Digital photography has given us the ability to take many photos and review them easily.  This capability can be exploited or abused, and the difference between the two detemines how people regard you as a photographer.  We all know the guy who bores us to death with endless photos of his last vacation, somebody needs to tell that guy about an amazing tool called THE DELETE BUTTON.   More than any other tool or part of the process THE DELETE BUTTON is what makes allows medocre photographers to make amazing photographs.  If you shoot enough, you will eventually take a good photo no matter how bad you are at it.  Your job at this point is to save these photos and DELETE ALL OF THE REST.   This can be difficult for some people, but remember, the more ruthless you are in your selections, the easier your workflow will be, giving you the time to concentrate on the good shots.   When I finish a day of shooting I sit down with the camera and go through all the images one time, deleting anything thing that looks bad to my eye on the tiny camera screen, I don't pause, I don't consider, I just delete or not.  This eliminates about 2/3rds of the photos, bringing my 100-200 shots down to about 50.   If I can get to my computer, I upload the whole remaining batch, and do the same thing again, getting me down to about 25.  This must be fast, don't think, just delete or not.  Be tough, only keep shots that say WOW.  What remains are photos with good compositon, exposure, and color.   Next I sort through the remaining photos and analyze them for sharpness, and whether or not they tell the story I am trying to tell.  Of the two the story is the most important, a sharp photo is nice, but a good photo doesn't need to be sharp, composition, story, and exposure is more important.   Ask yourself, what am I going to DO with this photo, am I blogging, giving slideshows, showing my friends, for my own enjoyment?   Even if it is a good shot, if it doesn't have a job to do,  it's just stealing time from your precious life, and taking up space on your hard drive.





Once I have a small selection of photos I really like, I import them into photoshop for some easy adjustments to really make them pop out.  Photoshop is amazing and with proficiency a person can make bad photos into good ones, but that's not what we're talking about here.  I do only two things to my photos, I crop them to fine tune a composition or to bring a good shot closer, and I adjust the color levels.   Levels are easy, they will appear as a wave with a few slider controls.   Your goal here is to remove the non color areas of the wave.  By adjusting the sliders at the ends of the scale to where the 'wave' starts you eliminate a washed out or overly dark look in a way that works better than adjusting the brightness.  Just be careful when adjusting the levels, too far and your photo will have a severe, contrasty look that tells people you didn't know when to say when.  On the histogram below I would probably move the slider on the left hand side halfway to where the dark hump begins.



Now that you are done you have a small selection of great photos that will have people asking you what your secret is. 

Lets review what we've learned: