There's a photography technique I use that I never see anyone else do so it's time I share it. I use it to capture action shots of people... typically dancing.
Most people would handle these situations by zooming in, spraying and praying, or being exceedingly patient for that ONE shot to materialize.
Those strategies were too unreliable for me so I learned to move with my subjects.
I pre-focus the lens for a set distance, wide-angle, full manual, and set the camera against my cheek. I move the camera only by moving my feet. If my subject twists, I twist. If they step toward me, I step back so they stay in focus.
Because I’m not using any viewfinder, my peripheral vision is good. You immerse yourself in the scene. When it feels right you shoot blind. With practice, your shots will line up.
You obviously will need good balance and confident footwork for this. I'm reaching back on years of Shaolin Kung Fu. If you've done dance or martial arts, you can get the hang of this.
@sysop408 This must be one of those "obvious once pointed out" techniques. I've been trying to get these kinds of shots done and now... I immediately want to try this out!
Thank you for sharing!
@blindcoder by your bio, I presume you have a severe visual impairment?
Let me know how you find this. This is very much a 5 senses way to do photography and I started doing it because I realized that there were situations in which I couldn’t rely only on my sight to get the shot I wanted.
In 3 of my example photos it’s also very dark. I’m using a speedlight at low power to bring out the people, but it’s actually too dark in all those shots for autofocus to work well. That’s another reason for choosing fixed focus and using footwork to keep the shot in focus.
Also sometimes when I do this, it’s so dark that I can barely see so trying for a perfect shot is a fool’s errand. I’m just setting up the conditions to allow me to take a higher volume of imperfect shots and maximize my chances of landing a perfect shot through luck.
Movement strategies have always been a key asset in my #photography techniques.
I was a physiotherapist and did #MartialArts. Understanding how humans moved was a chunk of my life. I developed camera techniques to leverage that background.
I use my legs to position the camera. This isn't "zooming with your feet." It's more like being a human tripod or camera rig. Putting your whole body into the camera makes it easier to keep the lens steady, get set, and then reset for unexpected action happening.
Here's a shot a friend took of me taking a photo with other photographers. I'm the guy in the classic Kung Fu/Tai Chi "horse stance" squat.
Which one of us three is best situated to quickly react if something exciting happened off camera? Much of the way I shoot comes from classic Kung Fu... questionable for fighting, but great for photography.
I'm not suggesting you need to learn Kung Fu to be a better photographer, but to be physically creative with movement strategies you already know.
@grizolda hey I'd be interested to hear how your Yoga practice influenced ways you do photography.
I think because I started my career as a physiotherapist, I can't not see how physical aspects affect the way we approach everything we do (including things that aren't at all physical in nature).
Our capacity to process motor skills and intellectual things are separate. When I was first learning photography, I had just switched careers. My brain was overloaded and my ability to process intellectual things was maxed out so I made a conscious decision to develop an athletic photography style because while my brain was maxed out, my motor learning ability still had plenty of capacity.
@sysop408 mostly when I want to be a human tripod. Managing the movement of my body becomes easy when i think of my feet and start from there. Its all about the proprioception. If I'm standing, I can a great solid foundation. If I'm squatting, same? What is my back doing, what is my stomach doing, my shoulders? My yoga practice has given me the tools to access those parts of my body individually.
@BeautifulSunPhotography thank you! I stumbled into this technique by accident and I love using it because it doesn't just improve my odds of nailing a low percentage shot, but it makes attempting those shots a lot more fun.
It becomes something a bit like sparring or any game that's a lot more fun when you're actually playing against another person instead of yourself or the computer.
If this technique of using fixed manual focus, fixed camera position, shooting blind, and moving like a human camera rig is hard to understand here's a shot that I didn't nail. Seeing where this went wrong may make it easier to grasp.
So I saw this young woman dancing with her mom and having a great time. I wanted to frame a shot of her in motion, but it was very crowded and impossible to get a clear shot.
I waited for them to drift off toward the side where I'd be able to stand about a few steps away, but still have some room to move. It was still crowded so I didn't have total freedom of movement. I could take at most about a step in any direction.
I held the camera next to my head with settings fixed and watched, waiting for the moment she turned around. She did, but my angle wasn't right. I shimmied my ankles to the right to quickly reposition, but she also stepped toward me and I either didn't have time or space to step back so I took the shot. The focus is a tad off. #photography
@sysop408 One of the reasons for the popularity of rangefinder cameras was this. The instruction manuals showed you using your right eye so that your left eye could see the scene and not the viewfinder. Using this technique plus a preset focus distance is a staple trick for dynamic situations.
I think I’d have a tough time processing visual input like that. I just tried to simulate that on a mirrorless and a DSLR. Couldn’t get comfortable, but where I hold the camera is pretty similar… just a bit lower so both eyes are clear.
I’ve always found rangefinders to be interesting, but couldn’t see what was so special about them. Have you tried this before? Is it easier to use both eyes on a rangefinder once you have the focus set?
@sysop408 It takes practice. It's harder for me because I'm left-eyed, but I've still found it to be a valuable tool in the bag, even when the right eye is more covered by the camera.
@timdesuyo yeah I’m left eyed too that’s the other issue.
Next time I see someone with a rangefinder I’ll need to swap and give this a try.
Not sure if I’d be able to get used to that though. I stopped using the viewfinder entirely for this kind of shooting because I felt like I was actually worse off with that info… but I’m shooting digital only so checking the result is how I’m recalibrating after the shot instead of before. I’d feel much differently if I were going sans viewfinder on film.
@sysop408 try with portrait oriented photos. That's fine with either type of camera or either eye. Practice it for a while shooting street with a normal lens to get the vibe of it, and you'll find that its a habit that will carry over to less ideal uses.
This is waaaaay harder to do the further away you get from 50mm. I just put on my nifty fifty and it was a totally different experience. At 24mm it felt like the worst of both worlds.
@sysop408 it just depends on how much you practice. I do this with my left eye on my SLR-style viewfinder with a long telephoto lens so I can track birds on the wing and make sure I am prepared when I get the shot.
For sure it's not for everyone, and there are biological and ergonomic reasons why its not always a good tool to use, but it definitely helps with situational awareness beyond the frame in the viewfinder.
@timdesuyo I think the techniques we’re describing have similarities, but are different.
I can see how both eyes would work great for something like birding and I’m going to give that a try. Maybe I won’t lose track of so many birds. What you get from the viewfinder and peripheral vision are both very important in situations like that.
What I’m describing is a situation in which your viewfinder isn’t telling you anything actionable and so you ignore it entirely in favor of being fully immersed in what’s happening 1-2 meters away.
It’s not a typical F8 and don’t be late street photography situation. The situation is entirely predictable even if the action isn’t. Being in the exact right position to capture it is what I’m controlling for. I’m letting go of any attempt to compose on the fly because there isn’t enough time. It’s purely a strategy for getting myself in the most advantageous position so I can take a flawed shot and still have a good chance of getting a good result.
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