Lessons
Lesson Info
Portrait of Business Owner
As I start to walk through, and get detail shots and also look for candid opportunities, such as the toast boys in the back room, I want to stop and actually get a formal portrait. So, not only getting details and really painting the whole picture, but talking with Ken, whose place this is, the Salmon Bay Cafe. I wanna get a formal portrait of him as the proprietor of this location, and so again, it sort of rounds out all of the different things. You've got candid shots, you've got details, you got interiors, you've got food, and now of course, we'll have a formal portrait to help round out a full travel story. So, my settings on this, since I've got plenty of good window light right here, maybe ISO 800. I mean, I keep it pretty shallow, I'm gonna shoot at 5.0, at least to start. Take a look, see how that feels. Also, I'm gonna probably zoom in to 35 ml. I'm gonna be pretty close to Ken on this shot. I like where he's at, he's at that bar, he's got a cup of coffee right there. So, I'm ...
gonna simply work straight up with these settings. I might use the exposure compensation way a little bit, try and brighten the shot up if I need it. Let me get a horizontal and a vertical. I'm gonna work quick, handheld. And it looks like I'm getting about a hundred 60th of a second, so we'll take a look and see how it goes. Alright, so if you look right. And then, it's also good to direct a little, if you're doing doing a formal portrait, you don't need to be as candid. You're not looking necessarily for authenticity or in the location itself, which is the authenticity we're gonna get. I'll tell him where to look and then I'm paying attention to the background, gonna wait for the background to clear a second. When the background clears, I'll fire a few shots. Obviously you don't want to interrupt the flow of the restaurant, and so, we'll give it a second. But in the meantime, I can took at my settings and see how they look. (camera clicks) Looks really nice, great window light coming across. Very soft, and in general the light in here is ideal for photography. Let me take another look, I'm gonna look at my horizon. And notice I'm kinda moving around different heights as well, taking a different angle. I wanna make sure it doesn't look too crooked. And you got a sense of place. I'm gonna put him a little off-center as I shoot, as well. I could put him in the center, I'll try different things, again, it's about capturing all the shots and bringing them together. I don't want to overthink it now, I want to edit in camera, either mentally or physically. So I'm just gonna keep gathering different shots. Again, horizontal and vertical, and just keep working the scene. (camera clicks in succession) And I'm gonna back up a little bit, get a little more room. Okay, and the background cleared. Ken, is that your best face as there? (laughs) There, that's nice. (camera clicks in succession) And then I like to try and get right about even with eyeline, and now I'll get a little closer. (camera clicks rapidly) Again, we want to give a magazine plenty of options when they're doing the edit. And one more natural laugh. I don't know how to make him actually laugh. (chuckles) Good, and then I wanna get one more, more candid shot. Ken if you don't mind, just take a look out the window right there. (camera clicks rapidly) Now what I'm gonna do is, I've got people moving around background, which is kinda cool. But what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna drop my ISO down to about 100. I'm gonna boost my depth of field up. So I'm getting about a 6th or a 8th of a second. And then, when somebody walks behind him. So that seems like it might be a little too slow, so I'm gonna go a little shallower. (camera clicks) I wanna keep it right around a 5th or a 6th of a second. So what I'm doing is trying to handhold as perfectly still as I can, get a bunch of frames, and then that way if somebody walks through, we have the sense of a busy place, a busy restaurant. Giving a lit bit more of a feel of the atmosphere, and things that are going on here in the cafe. So, soon as I see somebody coming through. And here it comes. (camera clicks rapidly) Alright, take a look. And perfect, you got the energy, got the shot I'm looking for, and overall we got a great portrait of Ken here in the Salmon Bay Cafe.
Ratings and Reviews
Black Fender Productions
If you are interested in shooting a travel story for publication, this is a helpful class. Ian breaks down the elements of storytelling through photography. He shows you what to look for in building that story and how to shoot it. This is a journalistic documentary viewpoint, not a go on a family vacation and take great photos class. In addition to the story-telling education, I also found it helpful to learn about the technical details; how he uses ISO, shutter speed, Aperture priority (Av), how to shoot into windows, and the importance of shooting both in portrait and landscape. If I were to add to this class, I would include segments on how to pitch your travel photos to publications and perhaps an interview with an editor to find out what they like to see from photographers. I would love to see more locations as well. I've taken some of Ian's other classes, and I think he's a great instructor. This class was definitely helpful.
Chris Miedema
I guess travel photography means different things to different people. I understood exactly where Ian Shive was coming from in this presentation and I found the information was extremely useful. I guess if you are looking for a video on how to photograph the Eiffel Tower, when traveling with family, this is not for you. If you wish to take back a deeper memory of a place, or wish to submit an article for travel publications, this series of videos would be more to your liking. I enjoyed watching Mr. Shive go through the process of documenting the cafe, its owner and its patrons. His general advice and strategies were useful to hear and see in action. He did provide some technical information on settings, although I did note he was in a well lit establishment. It would have been interesting to see how he would handle a place with less than ideal light. Overall, that is a small criticism. I very much enjoyed the flow of the videos and recommend them to anyone who is interested in seriously documenting the interesting locations they come across in their travels.
Marwa Elchazly
as the title is "travel photography" what came to my mind is walking through the street of a city, but it wasn't ... Ian Shive took "Salmon Bay Cafe" as a case study for traveling photography, through which he gave good tips for traveling/ magazine essay / telling a story in general. I've learned a lot about the effect of ISO and "handholding" the camera, tips for how to get the authentic story of a place and tell it with photo... It's not all you need about traveling photography, but it gives a good start and lots of valuble tips