Get creative with your camera

Get creative with your camera

As part of my ongoing series to help you get more creative with your digital camera, each month I publish some fun, seasonal, creative photo ideas to help inspire your imagination. Along with some amazing images, we’ve also provided some quick photography tips.

One sign of a creative photographer is that they try different shooting angles, rather than always shooting at eye-level – they shoot from above, below, sideways, whatever works best.

Wedding photographers frequently use chairs, ladders and steps to get themselves higher for group shots, but the good news is that you don’t need to keep a cumbersome set of step-ladders with you at all time. you need a wide-angle lens to create enough breathing space in this kind of image.
* Wide-angle lenses are great but can distort edges and verticals; consider using Lightroom’s excellent Lens Corrections tools to keep distortion to the minimum.
*  it’s important to ensure the background is uncluttered and appropriate to the subject, regardless of your shooting angle or vantage point.
* Use autofocus to keep the couple sharp, but you could also set the exposure and then manually prefocus before changing your viewpoint – just be careful that you don’t accidentally nudge the focus ring on your lens.

Festivals are jammed packed with live music, large crowds plus loads of fun! If any of these things grab your interest you we suggest head down to a local event or festival this summer with your camera! For smaller events and festivals it’s worth applying for as you’ll often find you can. It’s always worth having a couple of lenses to hand and of course the faster your lens the better! The great thing about shooting using a prime lens is in lowlight you can open it wide open giving you a couple of extra stops of light.
* Be prepared for the weather! Festivals are generally outdoor events so make sure you’re dressed for the conditions. If it’s going to be a scorcher of a day pack sunscreen and a sunhat, however if it’s looking like rain then your wellies and a raincoat are a must!
* If photographing bands in lowlight then you’ll need to push the ISO up and open your aperture. Better to have an image that is noisy then one where the shutter speed is too slow.
*Stay for the light show! As the evening takes hold you can get some incredible shots of the lights and musicians on stage. Again you’ll need to push your ISO up to compensate.