Review Digital Camera World 08-31-2014

Digital Camera World

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'Point of view' photography: how to shoot first-person lifestyle shots Aug 30th 2014, 23:01, by jmeyer In this tutorial we show you how to share your point of view in your self-portraiture. Discover how a simple, inexpensive accessory can allow you to take dynamic, first-person action and lifestyle photography without any hassle. 'Point of view' photography, or first-person shots, are fun to photograph and make great additions to your travel albums. They're also great for sharing what you're up to without taking a selfie. There's no need to invest in a GoPro sports camera – with an ingenious accessory you can get brilliant images of your adventures. It's easy to get started. Shoot your hands and feet in different situations, such as patting a dog, dangling over a wall or buying an ice cream. At such close range, a super wide-angle lens is a big help for getting everything in shot, but you could use your kit lens at its widest zoom setting too. Hands-free shots require a bit more preparation. We'll show you how to take a shot of yourself cycling, blurring the background for a sense of speed. SEE MORE: 6 self-portrait ideas for any occasion (and how to set them up) How to shoot point-of-view self-portraits 01 Feet and hands Photographing your feet or just one hand is easy – you can simply point and shoot. If you want to include both your hands, hang your camera around your neck, switch to Live View and compose the shot, then use the self-timer to get your hands into the position you want. SEE MORE: Headshots – how to shoot passport photos, social media avatars and other informal portraits 02 Strap in place If you want to shoot sports then you'll need to keep your Nikon stable. Get hold of an SLR chest strap, which wraps around your waist and holds the camera snug against you. They cost around £20/$35 on eBay, or you could make your own from stretchy material.   03 Speed it up The aim of a shot like this is to keep your hands and handlebars in focus while the rest of the scene blurs, creating a sense of speed. Switch to shutter-priority (S) Mode and pick 1/300 sec, then select the interval timer, and shoot until you're happy with the result. READ MORE READ MORE 10 portrait photography mistakes every photographer makes Free family portrait photography cheat sheet Classic Portrait Ideas: how to take pictures of people from all walks of life Portrait composition: how to compose a portrait that is classic and timeless Family photo ideas: make a striking family portrait from individual faces in profile Behind the Image: Tigz Rice on recreating an iconic movie scene Aug 30th 2014, 10:00, by jmeyer To celebrate the lead up to PhotoLive 2014, we'll be featuring a different image from each photographer speaking at the event. This week we go behind the image with Tigz Rice who explains how she set up and recreated an iconic scene from the movie Flashdance. Image by Tigz Rice For as long as I can remember, I've had a love for the stage and grab every opportunity to photograph live performance. Last summer I was commissioned by Beck Theatre to photograph the technical rehearsal of their summer youth project, Flashdance. As it happens, Flashdance is one of those films that had managed to pass by me over the years (I have since found time to sit down and watch it!), although the iconic water pour scene had done several rounds of virality on social media. It was the part of the show I was most excited about photographing, as pouring that much water over someone on stage is not an opportunity one gets to photograph very often! There were a number of limitations that meant this was an all or nothing shot. Firstly, it was part of a much bigger live production that was running on a tight time schedule, so the shot had to be taken as and when the cast reached that part of the musical. SEE MORE: How to plan and carry out your own fashion photography shoot The scene actually fell at the end of act one, which meant I didn't have to worry about photographing anything directly after that scene, but my focus would be elsewhere for about 90 minutes prior to the water pour. Secondly, the drop time of the water was also very short, maybe two or three seconds. And finally, once the actress was wet, we didn't have time to get her dried off and back into costume to have another go! The pressure was somewhat lessened by the knowledge that I had been booked for both the technical run and the dress rehearsal, so I had two attempts at getting the shot. The production team had also been incredibly helpful and sat down with me to go through the production notes, including all pyrotechnics, cues and when the water pour would occur in the music. However, just as the cue was being given for the water pour, the director yelled 'NO WATER!' It turned out the actress playing Alex had forgotten to take her stage microphone off after her last song, which the water would have completely ruined. With very little time to spare, the production team made the decision to not do the water scene and move straight into the second act. Attempt one was officially cancelled.  SEE MORE: Off-camera flash – how to stop fearing your flashgun and take control of lighting Needless to say, I was pretty restless for the next 24 hours until the dress rehearsal for attempt two! Although I hadn't been able to get the water pour shot the night before, I had at least seen the cast in position and work rout where I wanted to take my shot from. Also, having seen the show the night before, I knew the running order a lot better and had much more time to get into the position I needed to get the shot. In the brief second before the water fell, I focused my Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 70-200mm f/2.8L lens on the actress – whilst resting on the theatre chair in front of me for stability – and shot in burst mode to give myself plenty of options to choose from. Although the original shot was in colour, some of the light from the stage falling onto the actress was bright purple, and distracted from the rest of the image. Taking the image into Photoshop, I converted the image into black and white, whilst using the Shake Reduction feature in Photoshop to sharpen the water droplets falling from above. Tigz is running a Boudoir Retouch Masterclass at PhotoLive 2014 in Edinburgh and London. You can follow her on Twitter and check out her website to see more of his amazing pictures. PhotoLive takes place in Edinburgh (30 Aug) and London (06 Sep). You can view the full schedule and book tickets at photo-live.com. Use code DCAM20 and get 20% off your ticket. READ MORE 10 classic posing mistakes every portrait photographer makes (and how to avoid them) 6 simple simple lighting setups for shooting portraits at home (plus free cheat sheet) Miss Aniela: my top tips for creative portrait photography People Photography: composition tips for more diverse portrait styles 32 things photographers say… and what they really mean

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