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Non-Action Sports Photography

August 2, 2010 By Anne 22 Comments

Parents – get ready to do your happy-dance! Back-to-school season is upon us.

I don’t know about you – but the Arrested Development Chicken Dance IS my happy dance.

What’s especially exciting about back-to-school time is that it coincides with the fall sports season!

Shooting sports is a real passion of mine. I loved playing sports as a kid, and now I find the challenge of sports shooting to be especially rewarding.

For me, sports photography is about 2 things; capturing peak action and capturing emotion. For those of you who have played sports at some point in your life, you know that playing from the heart is everything. Great sports photographs aren’t compelling only because they’ve captured the bat on ball in baseball or the moment of impact in football, they display the emotion of the athlete.

In the coming weeks, we’re going to be launching a regular feature here at Live Laugh Shoot where we pass along tips for shooting specific sports like football, wrestling and soccer.

But before we do that, we’re going to tackle non-action sports photography or the emotion off the field.

Capture Connections This particular game was a real pleasure to shoot because the coaching staff was superb. All of the coaches were fathers and had kids on the team, but it was hard to tell who was who’s son because each coach was so supportive and positive towards each of these kids. I made this image right after the player lined-out after leaving a few on base. Before letting him head back out on the field to play defense, the coach sat him down for a quick pep-talk. It was a really sweet moment.

Boxing is all about heart. The cliche of the underdog in boxing is one that will always benefit you when shooting anyone wearing a pair of boxing gloves. This story is built into our collective experience and one that most people can connect with. A boxer hanging on the ropes with a soulful face is as impactful as a close-up of a face with spit flying out of his mouth as his opponent’s glove shatters every bone in his face. Plus, you have to wipe blood off of your lens.

When the game is over – don’t pack up your gear! Even thought this gaggle of boys was probably laughing at the mom-jeans I was wearing that day, I still love this image. I have such fond memories of sports and I miss my teammates almost every day. They are some of the best friends I’ve ever had.

Experienced sports photographers will usually do their best to follow the ball. The ball is where the action is.  I really like this image because it tells such a great story of high school rivalry.

The Jube Shot! Capturing the jubilation shot is addictive. If you sense that victory is near, keep your camera sights on your child and capture the cheers as the final whistle blows.

What are your favorite sports images?

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5 Tips for Better Black and White Images

July 19, 2010 By Anne 10 Comments

My son hasn’t been sleeping very well. In fact, it’s been about 4 days since I’ve had more than 3 hours of sleep in a row, so this feature is really appropriate since it’s been a while since I’ve been able to even see colors.

Black and White is George Clooney

While color is Christiano Ronaldo

Black and White is Scarlett Johansson

While color is Portia de Rossi

All are beautiful but for me, b/w images consistenty have more depth. They tell a very different story. Color, while visually dynamic, can be a distraction that takes you away from the emotion of the image.

I don’t know about you, but I always find myself looking at b/w images a little bit longer than their color counterparts. Good b/w images make me want to pour myself another cup of coffee and linger over the print for a few extra minutes. For me, it even goes beyond the romance of b/w. Really good b/w images possess a certain timelessness that I’m really drawn to and because of this I am trying to improve my b/w picture-making ability.

This post was not just an excuse for you to start your week off with a shirtless Ronaldo (you’re welcome!) this post is designed to pass along tips designed to take your black and white images to the next level. This is the first part of a 2-part series. In the follow up, we’ll talk about conversion techniques in Photoshop.

1. Shoot with a low ISO. The lower the ISO the less noisy or grainy your images will be. Great b/w images are tact-sharp and this is easier to acheive with as ISO setting of 100.

2. Shoot during overcast or gloomy days. We’ve talked about this before and you can check it out here. Early morning is one of my favorite times to shoot because the cloud cover provides a wonderful, even light that is perfect for portraits, especially b/w portraits.

3. Dress in simple solid colors. Patterns can distract from the subject of the photo. Typically, I want people looking at the face in my photo and not my KISS t-shirt.

4. Minimize the background. Again, backgrounds can distract. I am forever on a quest to capture timeless images. Backgrounds can very easily date an image.

5. Practice! Get out there and keep shooting! Becoming a better photographer for your family is a marathon, not a sprint. Since your’e not paying for film processing, you’ve got no excuse. Experiment with different settings and different perspectives.

What about you? What are some of your b/w tips?

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Weekend Warrior – Wet & Tired

June 5, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Weekend Warrior… the shots you can take on the weekends or anyday you are enjoying some quality family time.  These are the moments you will look back on with fondness so click away!

I took this with my Iphone today after a short dip in the pool, pre-nap. Tired kiddo. (insert happy face here).  What I love about this and why this will be meaningful to me in the future is it will help me to fondly recall this cutie-patootie orange striped swimsuit with the ruffled leg bottoms and big yellow flower on the front.  These are things that can easily be overlooked when deciding when to take pictures of your kids.   Don’t forget the everyday small stuff!

We would love for you to send us your weekend warrior shots you have taken with your Iphones, send them to us at julie at livelaughshoot dot com  OR anne at livelaughshoot dot com. Include a short caption and we will feature them on our blog with a link to your site.

post pool & pre-nap

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Rebel Without a Clue (Volume 1)

June 3, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

We are not equipment snobs here at LLS, nor are we married to one brand. However, we will mostly discuss Canon because that is what we’ve got in our bag. You can shoot with anything, however unless you are hanging out with Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins, please check your .30-06 (“thirty-ought-six”) at the door! Come on what kind of site do you think this is? FOCUS! No pun intended… ahhh who am I kidding, of course it was intended!

Whether you are sportin’ a point and shoot, entry level DSLR, pro level DSLR, or even an IPhone you can capture great moments every day using any of them. As a matter of fact, we have some great prints from our Iphone cameras, that’s right I said IPHONES! IPhones take pictures too, quite conveniently actually and the quality ain’t too shabby either. (Spoiler alert: Watch for future Weekend Warrior posts as we are out and about with our IPhones).

So back to the topic at hand, (pun intended) Canon Rebel that is…. With the decreasing costs of getting better equipment, most of us have gone out and purchased a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera). The Rebel, otherwise known as a “pro-sumer” camera, can be categorized as one step above a point and shoot, yet not quite a “pro” like the 50D or 7D, or BIG dog like a 5D Mark II (insert drool here).

So, this week’s post is all about this button and all the little letters and pictures on it (photo courtesy of http://steves-digicams.com) :

There is an easy way to break this down, and is actually listed this way in the manual for the camera (One of the best tips I received when I was learning is read the manual cover to cover, I promise it’s full of tons of great information, keep it in your bag for referencing at all times!).

Canon refers to the above in two zones: 1) the creative zone (everything north of the green square: A-DEP down through P), and 2) the basic zone (the 7 small icons south of and including the green square). The creative zone is the place where you have either complete control, or as close to complete control as possible over the way your camera is taking pictures. It’s truly ideal, but a can be a very overwhelming area to shoot from but oohhhh so fun. Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself… stay with me!

The basic zone, is a group of pre-determined settings designed for optimal exposure in specific circumstances, taking into consideration your subject(s), distance to your subject, available light, and/or overall goal/end result you seek. (For example, freezing your son’s wild t-ball swing versus capturing your children naturally posed, clean as can be, all smiling and sitting ever so still on your front porch for a family photo) It’s ok to dream, right? This zone takes a lot of the thinking out of the equation but still allows you to optimize camera settings for a desired outcome. Hopefully this makes sense!

We will spend some time in the future getting to know each of these on a more intimate level, the purpose today is to get a basic understanding of what each one means, ideally in laymen’s terms…. photographically speaking.

Some definitions:
Aperture: a small opening in the lens that changes the diameter of the opening to control how much light reaches the sensor as the photo is taken. Controlled by setting fstops.

Shutter Speed: the amount of time the shutter stays open, the longer it is open, the greater the amount of light allowed into the camera.

The Creative Zone:
A-DEP: Automatic Depth of Field. Camera selects both shutter speed and aperture with the goal of having everything in the viewfinder in focus. (Instead of your subject being in focus with a blurred background for example).

M: Manual mode, you must set the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to get the right exposure.

Av – Aperture Priority – You choose the aperture, and the camera chooses a shutter speed to get a proper exposure

Tv – Shutter priority – You choose the shutter speed, and the camera chooses an aperture to get a proper exposure

P – Program – automatic mode, but unlocks some of the creative functions. Camera selects shutter speed and aperture.

The Basic Zone:
Head image –best to use when taking a portrait, the setting assists in blurring the background and softens the subject’s hair.

Mountain – this is landscape mode, useful for wide scenery shots, where you want to have everything in focus that is in the picture, whether close up or far away. (Instead of a blurred background like with a portrait)

Flower/tulip – close up mode, for shooting items close up, such as flowers or simple objects. Have you ever seen those pictures of a bee so close up you can see its wings in great detail? It’s called macro photography, typically most effective with a macro lens. In any case, this preset option optimizes times you want to be up close and personal with your subject.

Person in motion – for shooting action shots, like sporting events when you want to freeze the action.

Person with star – nighttime shooting mode, tripod and wide angle lens strongly recommended to avoid the image being blurry or missing some of the detail that a great night shot can highlight.

Final choice – block with line and arrow going through it. This is how you are able to take an image and know with confidence that the flash will not fire. I am generally a flash avoider, but you have to be careful. Flash is needed in many cases to properly capture the moment. An example of a time you may want to turn the flash off would be shooting those lovely little seahorses through the aquarium glass. Seahorses hate bright lights anyway, so it’s a win-win! (I only speak the truth you must believe everything I write oh I am sorry was that out loud?)

Watch for future volumes when we dive a bit deeper. If you have any immediate questions, please feel free to leave a comment, or email us Julie at livelaughshoot(dot)com or Anne at livelaughshoot (dot) com.

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7 Lucky Tips for A Beautifully Composed Photo

May 21, 2010 By livelaughshoot 2 Comments

Here at Live Laugh Shoot, we love taking great pictures of our kids. I mean, we LOVE it. When I’m shooting and I KNOW I’ve captured a really killer moment, my mouth starts to water and my fingers tingle.

Now, we all know a great photo when we see one, but it can be tricky to know what makes them great. You’d be surprised to find out that some of the best photos are made with regular old cameras and not big expensive professional ones. One of the things that makes a great photo is composition. Here are some quick tips that can help you frame better pictures.

Don’t think of them as hard-and-fast rules, some can be used all on their own and some can be used in a combination, but all of them can take a regular old photo from good to great!

1.       Fill the Frame – try to take up as much of the frame as possible with your child, so get close. Come on, I said CLOSE! A lot of pro photographers make some really famous shots by actually cutting off part of the head. If you watch TV shows, you’ll see that many times, when the camera does a close up on a particular character, they are only displaying part of the face and not the whole head.

2.       Clear your Background – make sure your background is free from clutter that will draw the eye away from your son, the subject of your picture. If you’re in a park, try to make sure the background is comprised of only grass. If you’re at the beach, only sand.  One of my favorite things to do is if my son is doing something especially adorable (most moments of most days) I’ll throw a solid white sheet over whatever is in the background, most often the ottoman or the couch, and then start firing away. It can make a regular old snapshot look like a proshoot – see what I mean?

3.       Try a new angle – mix up your viewpoint! One subject shot from a variety of angles and perspectives has a huge impact on the emotion that the picture elicits in its viewer.

4.       Keep it Simple – No Distractions! – this kind of goes hand in hand with a few other tips but is just as important on its own. There’s no need to include everything you see in one photo. What’s true for Barney is true with photos – most often, less is more.

(Disclaimer, no purple dinosaurs were harmed in the writing of this tip.)

5.       Rule of Thirds – I know, I know – we said no math, right? Well, this one won’t bend your brain too much. All of the photography books will tell you to imagine that your photo is divided into nine equal parts by 4 lines (2 across and 2 up and down).  When composing a photo, try to position your son along these lines or at the point where they intersect. The eye is naturally drawn here and doing this can add balance to your photo.

6.       What Emotion are you trying to convey – conveying emotion, any kind of emotion, is what makes a photo interesting. Remember the famous saying, a picture is worth 1000 words, well, it’s famous because it’s true. The 1000 words come from what we feel when we’re looking at the picture. Many times, all I can think of when I look at a picture of my son is, “Oh my gosh, I want to put him in a hoagie roll and eat him for dinner!” In other pictures, I wonder what he’s thinking or being thrilled that I’ve captured an image that shines a new light into his emerging personality.

7.       Off center is good! Nobody’s going to arrest you if your daughter is a little off center. In fact, many times this makes for a more interesting photo. It can convey the sense of drama (reference #6) or whimsy.  Take a look here:

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