The Ruins: Light, Lenses, and Composition
Lesson 6 from: The Summer Photography WorkshopAlex Strohl
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The Ruins: Light, Lenses, and Composition
Lesson 6 from: The Summer Photography WorkshopAlex Strohl
Lesson Info
6. The Ruins: Light, Lenses, and Composition
Lessons
Intro
01:21 2Gear: Alex's Travel Kit
17:27 3Camera Settings
11:45 4The Beach: Sunset & Sunrise
12:41 5The River: Kayak, Underwater, and Drone
04:58 6The Ruins: Light, Lenses, and Composition
07:02 7Cenotes: Concepts
08:18 8Editing 1: Sunset at the Beach
15:17Lesson Info
The Ruins: Light, Lenses, and Composition
(camera shutter clicking) (narrator) In this chapter, I show you how I shoot these 1,400 year old Mayan ruins in the jungle of Mexico. Coming back to the basics, here I'm going for sunset, because it will give me this nice, soft light. I'm sharing framing tips, like making the most of natural lens distortion, using foreground in your photos, giving scale using non-professional models like your travel buddies, and number four, creating a photo set that tells the story of your experience there. But before all that, let's talk about expectations. It's a huge thing in photography, and it begins with being aware of them. I looked up photos of these ruins and they looked huge, and they were, but not as big as I expected. Then I saw amazing ariel photos, and when I got there those signs of "no drone everywhere." So, I kept my cool and tried to make the most of the situation. (upbeat music begins) It is the end of the day in Mexico. We drove for an hour and a half out of Tulum. I am at the K...
abah ruins. This is actually a temple just behind me. So we picked these ruins for the variety they have. There's a bunch of temples in the jungle, and actually, they offer access for sunset. You pay a little more, and then you can get in and stay after sunset to shoot the soft light. So, make your research. Today I have my day bag. I left the big bag at home. This is my light pack. I have one camera, two lenses, and just water. The main entrance is just behind, and first I want to scout to see what makes this place unique. You know, besides the fact that it is 1,400 years old, Mayan temples, so, let's just do it. (whistling) (footsteps) (camera shutter clicking) (birds chirping) I've been walking around here and I'm just being open. I'm not in kind of a mind, be free, and don't have any preconceived notions. I mean this is new territory for me so, I want to be innocent, and just shoot whatever I think is interesting, because I think my photo set will build itself like that. One thing I like to do when I shoot buildings, is that, instead of framing them kind of centered, or higher, like some people do like this, I actually like to have them lower. So my lower third is down here, and I can use the lens distortion to my advantage so it makes the temple look a little bigger. Like this. (relaxing synth music begins) How is it up here? Jungle, jungle in the south towers. We've been walking around this place for an hour, looking for interesting angles, and waiting out the light, but I'm realizing that, this is a tricky place to shoot, so it's time to resort to plan B. No, this is not what we expected. This is a classic scenario of you see photos of something, not exactly like that, but we're trying to make do. I think we can get a couple shots. I'm gonna shoot some photos of two people going down, it's pretty cool the effect. So that's one, then I was gonna shoot some zoom lens, but I was hoping for the temples to stick out, but they don't. Might try it, might not. Let's do the first shot. (relaxing synth music continues) (camera shutter clicking) Making images that feel natural is a big deal for me. So I like to give a few instructions to my subject prior, and let them behave after with minimum feedback and interaction from me. Give them a task that requires their focus and their whole attention, and shoot while they do that. For this shot, where there's like a subject and a landscape behind, I think they give a lot of scale. Maybe even having Andrew having a camera in hand. Like an accessory or backpack. Just something to fill the frame just besides one person standing. This is actually better. She's doing some (inaudible), she's got a little backpack, she's got her camera. It looks more natural. (laughing) When the horizon line is not very interesting, it's just flat, I like to get in the trees. See up here? So I can kind of fill out this empty sky. This line of the tree here kinda leads to the subject down there, who is hitting the light, and there's one tree here, another tree closer. So it kinda leads you right into your subject. So Will and I just swapped lenses. Actually Will is the guy filming. Whenever I swap lenses, it made me think of something that I do. I just turned off my camera, because the sensor that has electricity in it attracts dust, so now it's off and I can be chill. It saves dust spots. (relaxed synth music continues) (camera shutter clicking) Now that the sun is setting, it's time to shoot the wider images. And here, I'm using the steep stairs as a leading line to my subjects and to the jungle below. So we came back to this one because it's my favorite. I think it's way better preserved than the other one. Try to get a couple shots before leaving. The settings are one one sixtieth of a second at four at ISO 125. (camera shutter clicking) There's a photo to be had here. It is the Mayan glow. This is the Mayan glow. It's like the (inaudible), but in Mexico. It's a Mayan glow, Mexican glow. Alright, this side isn't working. Change sides. Coming Willman? (relaxing synth music continues) Will, can I use you for a photo? Yeah, just put it on the log, or whatever, and grab your bag. Yeah, left to right, backing left to right, please. So I gotta change my settings here so that I can get Will sharp, because he's gonna be moving and there's not much light in here, so it's 1320F4, 400 ISO. There you go. Was it a successful trip to the ruins? I think so, just for the experience alone, but did the photos tell a story of that experience? I'll have to check, and I want to show you this, because a lot of the process of taking photos is not being sure you got the right photos, things not living up to the expectations. You're just not sure. There's a lot of uncertainty. This is how it works. This is the real deal, like, you don't always get the photos you want, or you're not always sure. You may walk back home with photos you're not entirely satisfied until you sit down and start editing and looking. And then you're happy, but there's a lot of uncertainty, so just come to expect it and don't feel disheartened. And that's it for shooting the ruins. I had to go with the flow to make photos happen this chapter. So hopefully you'll think of these points I'm going to give you the next time you go shooting. Do your research, find out opening and closing hours, look at photos online, offline, ask the locals, and make sure you know which side the sun is setting based on what you want to shoot. But still, keep in mind that the spot might not be as photogenic as you expected. That happens. Stay there and work with it. In the next chapter, I go shooting this insane, blue hole of fresh water in the ground called the cenotes.
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