7 Tips for Better Environmental Portraits

By Mike Panic on 18 Jan 2011 in Guides[ 1 Comment ]

Shooting portraits can be one of the most fulfilling and frustrating jobs a photographer can take on.  Furthermore, portraits shot on location, that is to say, not in a studio with a background can be even more complicated based on what the client wants to portray.

Photo By Fadzly @ Shutterhack

Since shooting portraits on location can be challenging, here are seven tips to help you get better environmental shots.

Define the purpose of the portrait.

Photo By Severin Sadjina

Portraits on location are typically there for a reason, to both showcase the person and the location, and you rarely want one to overpower the other.  In this beautiful mountain top portrait, it showcases a climber who has made it to the top and relationship to exactly how high he is with the peaks shown in the background.  This shows accomplishment, power and determination, and the beautiful scenery doesn’t overpower from the success of the man who made the climb.  The purpose here shows the man and his accomplishments, with both subject and environment balanced wonderfully.

You can still get in tight.

Photo By José Antonio Carretero

Unlike the studio, shooting on location means your backgrounds aren’t sheets of studio backdrop paper, but they don’t always have to be the focus or even the main reason for doing them.  This tight portrait taken outside and shot wide open gives a nice depth of field with a creamy bokeh, something that just isn’t possible indoors.

Manipulating light is still very important.

Look closely in the eyes of the tight portrait above, you’ll see the catch-light, the small white circle to the right of the black pupil.  The photographer used a small softbox on location to help fill in the natural light.  While the sun is powerful, it doesn’t always work in a photographers favor and artificial light to help fill in shadows can often be needed.  Optionally, a reflector can be used to manipulate the light from the sun too.

Pick the perfect time of day.

Just with most other types of photography outside, the time of day can play a crucial role in the success of your portraits.  If possible, avoid shooting between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at the highest point of the day.  In addition to manipulating and using artificial light, as mentioned previously the color of the sun tends to be the most washed out.  Not only will you fight very harsh shadows, on cloud-free days the sun’s light will appear very white.  For most everyone, a warmer light from an hour after sunrise or a few hours before sunset will often yield far better portraits.

Environmental portraits aren’t always so tight.

Photo By targophoto.com

Getting in tight works for some portraits, but not always.  Along the lines of defining your purpose, you must evaluate why you’re outside, what it adds to the portrait and how to best capture it.  In this photo of someone working out, a full body portrait makes the most sense to convey the health & fitness message being sent.

Underexpose when using artificial light in less than ideal conditions.

Photo By sunsurfr

Sometimes, shooting outside leaves a less than desirable shot and you’ve got to make the best of what you have.  This gets into a bit of advanced shooting, but is one of the most effective ways to combat boring, gray cloud cover and compensate for overly bright days.  Underexpose the sky by 1-2 full stops, then use a fill flash off camera to light the subject.  The above photograph shows this effect beautifully.  Curious how this shot was taken? Click here.  This is a wonderful portrait for a farmer or even a beer brewer, standing in a field of wheat.

Embrace your environment.

Photo By d. jones photo

Sometimes, your environment will dictate what the shot should look like.  This corporate shot of a businessman looks to be taken in an office building, perhaps a stock trader with his co-workers behind him.  Don’t always assume you need a wall behind you.  In this portrait, the shallow depth of field separates the subject from background adding depth, but also still allows you to understand that he’s in a work environment.  This is important when trying to shoot business a client in a way that the portrait can be utilized in many different facets, but also shows the place of business that they work in.  It helps to add a more personal feel to the portrait, as opposed to a cold, more traditional studio shot with a gradient background.

Some bonus tips that can be applied to any location shoot too!  Always do a custom white balance, especially when mixing natural and artificial lighting.  Take an extra power cord, extension cords and spare batteries for flashes and wireless triggers.  Lastly, if you have a photography assistant (PA) working with you, let them know your game plan ahead of time so they can help you setup and breakdown equipment with efficiency.

Tags: environmental portraits, portraits

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The 5 Immutable Laws of Better iPhone Photography

The development of cameras in mobile phones, and more recently the iPhone, has been one of the biggest changes in photography for many decades. In this space of time, photography has gone from technically heavy and gear-reliant to a situation where almost everybody has a camera in their pockets at all times. And those cameras are only getting better. So in keeping with the idea that the best camera is the one you have with you, we have decided to put together a list of ideas to get better results from your iPhone or mobile phone camera.

Stabilise the Camera – In all but well-lit settings, mobile phone and iPhone cameras have trouble with capturing enough light to give you a crisp and well focused shot. In many cases (especially low light and shots of a moving subject) you are going to have to give it a helping hand.

photo © 2009 Matt Burrows | more info (via: Wylio)

The first rule of thumb is to hold the phone horizontally with two hands (not vertically with one). That will help stabilise it to a point.

Now a lot of companies are coming out with heaps of accessories for this like tripods for your iPhone and whatnot, but in many situations you are not going to have something like that in your pocket or easily available. The single best way to solve this problem is to simply brace your phone against a stable surface. This is made a lot easier than many traditional cameras due to the fact that the phone screen is your viewfinder and you don’t need to put the phone up to your eye to see what you are going to be taking a shot of. Often you can brace the phone camera at arms length and still see what it sees.

There are no hard and fast rules here, but try to look for something that allows you to get a level shot too. Leaning your phone camera against a wall or doorway will make sure it’s level. A table or chair will also do if it’s stable.

This is really no different to what traditional SLR or DSLR photographers when they are caught in a situation with less than ideal lighting. Brace yourself or your camera against an immovable object will give you the best chance of getting a good shot.

Improve the Lighting – A lot of low light situations aren’t well captured by mobile device cameras (though this is improving with newer models having flash etc). Sometimes if the subject is moving in low light, you will just end up with a series of motion blurs on the final shot that aren’t anything resembling what you hoped you could capture.

Now, if you have an iPhone 4 or an Android or mobile with a built in flash, that is a great first step. A lot of us aren’t lucky enough to have that though. And sometimes even the flash on them isn’t ideal.

In many situations you are going to have to think on your feet about the environment you are shooting in. Something as simple as turning on an extra light or opening a window curtain will give you a much better lighting setup to shoot with an iPhone camera. Look for natural reflectors like white walls or surfaces too.

There are no hard and fast rules to improving the lighting situation when shooting on an iPhone because every situation is different. Just be aware that your camera will probably have issues in lower lighting conditions and that you need to look around for ways to improve that with what you have on hand.

photo © 2009 Bobbi Bowers | more info (via: Wylio)

Get Closer – We know that we sound like a broken record by including this one as it’s one of our common pieces of advice to people who ask how to take better photos and we have included it many times on this site, but the fact is that it is one of the best pieces of advice for any photographic situation.

You want to fill the frame with your shot, even on an iPhone or mobile. Most of the time that means getting physically closer to your subject. Sometimes it means lying on the ground or climbing up on something – just accept the fact that as a photographer, you will often get into positions that will make others laugh and sometimes scare small children – this is our burden. But if you really want a great shot then you will usually have to get closer to your subject in any way that you can.

We’ve said it before and we will say it again. The first three rules of photography are, “Get closer. Get closer. Get closer.”

Favor Strong Lines and Colours – The cameras on mobile devices don’t process detail particularly well – especially at a distance or in low light. If you’re thinking of getting a shot of that tree swaying in the breeze across the field at sunset, then you are going to have some problems.

This simply comes down to choosing your subject wisely and within the constraints of the gear that you have. Just as a an expensive 50mm lens isn’t suitable for taking close ups of the moon, nor is a mobile phone camera suitable for shooting the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Look for big and bold subjects.

Well lit architecture is an examples of something that can work well with an iPhone. The bold colours of street art can work well if properly lit too. Know your constraints and shoot with them in mind.

photo © 2011 Shane K | more info (via: Wylio)
photo © 2008 Alan L | more info (via: Wylio)

Don’t Forget About Apps – A little bit of software for a few bucks can make your life with an iPhone or Android a hell of a lot more easy when it comes to photography. And the great thing about it is that there are a heap of really great apps that you can get.

But what should you look for in an app?

There are some apps that handle both pre and post production. While the iPhone doesn’t have a zoom lens, a little creative coding by app developers means that this can be rectified (for example). On the other end, dealing with colour situations in common shooting scenarios such as landscapes, portraits, night shots or actions shots can be handled to a point with in-phone post production.

The iPhone app we are playing with most at the moment is Camera +. It covers a lot of these problems and a lot more. Plano is another one you might want to look at for panorama shots.

Don’t forget though that a lot of talented people are working hard on developing new iPhone and Android apps every day, so don’t be too rigid in your loyalties. Something better might well come out next week.

Conclusion

The iPhone camera will continue to improve as will the camera on any other mobile device. That is the beauty of technology. But working with what we have and the constraints it throws up is also a great way to improve your photography. Take advantage of the fact that you can now carry a camera with you everywhere. There has been no easier time to improve your skills through practice!

Tags: iphone

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Better ways than 365 days?

I think that the statement I’m about to make could unleash something of a furore. (Give me a moment: I’m going to batten down the hatches and take a deep breath.)

I have a loathing for 365 self-portrait projects.

I can’t bear them. They irritate me. Sometimes they even bore me. They don’t quite make me want to scratch out my eyeballs, although occasionally some of the pictures might. There, I’ve said it. Admission made. Given that the 365 Days group on Flickr has 19,175 members, I suppose I ought to qualify this statement, because there are a whole host of people prepared to disagree with me.

There are two predominant reasons that 365 self-portrait projects give me a shudder of discomfort. First, I don’t think that they necessarily encourage good photography; second, I think that they do encourage some sort of egotism and narcissism. Want me to unpick this a bit more? I thought that you might. Here goes.

Yes, it does seem counter-intuitive to say that a project that demands you take a photo every day doesn’t encourage good photography. If you’re shooting every day, surely it can only help you to improve. (This does seem to be one of the major driving factors in embarking on a 365 Days project.) But I’m not convinced that deliberately setting out to take a photograph of yourself every single day of the week for an entire year does that. Instead, I think that the combination of obligation to take a photo and limited subject matter stifles creativity. Having to take a photo of myself, a photo that I’m willing to present to the world, a photo that conveys my story, every day for a year sounds more like an exercise in endurance. And that does not good photography make.

So not only am I concerned by the potential for uninspiring, leaden self-portraits, but I can just see how the necessity to take said daily self-portrait becomes all-consuming and and obliterates the opportunity or the desire to take other photos. Don’t forget about landscape and macro and street and architectural photography.

What’s more, there are some days when you really don’t want to be photographed. Or is that just me? How on earth is that sense of being camera-shy, of feeling miserable and unphotogenic, of being tired or drunk or ill, ever going to make for a well-composed, intriguing photo? I’m not sure how many images of my feet, or any other sufficiently abstract body-part, people would be able to take, even if I did succeed in posing them creatively, using a thought-provoking depth-of-field, and arranging moody lighting.

If you can keep your self portraits interesting, it's worth continuing to experiement.

Becoming a better photographer isn’t just about portraiture. Or self-portraiture. Or going off and getting yourself a Photography Masters Degree.

And this leads me into my second point of pique. If it is all about documenting my life (another key reason for starting the project), who the bloody hell is really that interested to know the minutiae of my day-to-day existence? I’m not that thrilling. Yes, there are things that I do from time-to-time that might ignite a frisson of excitement, but they’re relatively limited in the grand scheme of things. Keeping a pictorial diary could well be an unusual take on a journal, but my desire to lay myself that bare in public is supremely limited. You can tell me that we live in the age of social media and that I just need to get on and accept it all that you want, but the concept makes me itchy. My entire life isn’t for public consumption and I doubt that every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and Emma, Jo, and Kate need, or even want, to know what I ate for breakfast (Homemade spelt bread toast with blackcurrant jam, seeing as you asked. It was tasty).

If you know me well enough and you know that I’ve written about how photos are an incredibly valuable historical resource, especially those that tell the narrative of the mundane, you might find that statement a little perverse. But I’m talking about making sure that people in the future know about our unextraordinary lives so that they will enjoy a better understanding of how our society functioned. (And indeed the social media phenomenon will be something that future historians will pick apart and examine and debate and turn into theses.) Someone living in 3010 who uses my writings and my photographs in an attempt to build a picture of life in 2010 is a bit different to me contriving a shot for uploading to Flickr.

Documenting your life is about a great deal more than just taking self-portraits.

I’m not saying that there are no good 365 self-portrait photographers out there, I’m not saying that people won’t learn from the experience, and I’m not saying that they aren’t valuable in some sense. I’d have to be blindingly ignorant to think anything of the sort. And if you want to commit to taking a picture of yourself every day for a year, go ahead. But let me give you something to think about first.

If you’re serious about improving as a photographer, there are better ways of accomplishing it than taking a photo of yourself every day. In fact, I most definitely endorse taking a photo every day. But just make sure that you expand your subject matter and your technical repertoire beyond pictures of yourself. Borrow your friend’s macro lens and have a go at photographing teeny-tiny things. Drag your tripod out from beneath your bed (what’s it doing there, anyway?) and try your hand at some long exposures. Pick up some filters and mess around with their different effects on your images. Play around with reflectors and diffusers, artificial and natural light. Hell, try shooting on film or build yourself a pinhole camera.

These seem like real challenges to me, challenges that will help you to develop your craft as a photographer.

Now, if you want to document your life in pictures, remember that the picture doesn’t have to be about you. The things that you see, the places that you go, the people whom you meet; all of these contribute to your life and would be worthy of photographing. I bet that you’ve a camera-phone that would do that job pretty well, although I’d recommend shopping around for a compact camera to keep in a sock in your bag. This will tell a much richer story of your life, for you and for anyone else who stumbles on some cache of a fragment of this weird photo-sharing website that seemed be called Flickr in 1,000 years’ time.

For sure you’re going to end up with very different types of photographs if you adopt either of these two approaches, but the results – whether you’re aiming to improve your photography skills or record your life – will be something altogether better than 365 days of self-portraits.

This post was written by Daniela Bowker, who usually is the boss over at Small Aperture.

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Capturing Life Through Better Photography

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Professional photographer Tamara Lackey has just released a 100-page book and 90-minute DVD tutorial entitled Capturing Life Through Better Photography. Complete with before-and-after images that highlight Tamara’s tips, and simple sketches and lists to illustrate her points, the book aims to improve the skills of everyday photographers. Topics covered include lighting, composition, depth of field, and more; presented within a framework of typical shooting scenarios like Action, Group Settings, Babies & Children, Landscapes and Pets. The complete bundle sells for $59.99, but the DVD and the book can also be purchased as standalone products for $27.99 and $34.99, respectively.

Press Release

In time for the holiday season, professional photographer and best-selling author Tamara is releasing a spectacular new 100-page book and 90-minute DVD designed for consumers, offering quick tips and tricks for improving the skills of everyday photographers. Tamara Lackey’s Capturing Life Through (Better) Photography™  is a one-of-a-kind learning tool that combines Tamara’s years of experience behind the camera and guides readers through the most common photo-taking scenarios in everyday life. Complete with gorgeous photos, before-and-after images that highlight Tamara’s tips, and simple sketches and lists to illustrate her points, the book is part learning tool, part coffee table centerpiece while the DVD feels nothing like a “how to” instructional guide.

In the book and DVD, Tamara takes technical concepts like lighting, composition, styling and framing and puts them into simple-to-understand terms—breaking down each category into entertaining, real-life situations including:

·      Babies & Children: New moms with their newborns, birthday parties, at play or at rest, Tamara will guide everyday photographers on how to capture those one-time memories, naturally

·      Action: Whether it’s a pro baseball game or pee-wee football, Tamara helps everyone snap those split-second action shots that capture huge energy and achievements

·      Group Settings: Tired of those bad restaurant table photos? Tamara will show consumers how to utilize their surrounding and lighting options to get the picture they want

·      Landscapes: They seem straight forward, but Tamara guides camera users to better images through lighting, positioning and focus

·      Pets: Man’s Best Friend has never looked so good. Tamara leads people and their pets to better photos without the help of treats

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7 Tips for Better Architectural Photography

When you live in a city, as most Light Stalking readers do, then at some point you’re probably going to find yourself taking a photograph of a building. Unfortunately, it is very easy to take very poor photos of architecture. Hopefully, these tips will help you capture something a little better than just a snap.

The static nature of architecture is great for photographers in that it means that we can really plan a shot and minimize potential problems. The level of control the photographer has is unmatched in most other subjects in photography.

photo © 2008 Wolfgang Staudt | more info (via: Wylio)

1) Focal Length – You will probably want the widest angle of view that you can get in many cases. That means shooting with wide angle lenses. Anything under 35mm (on a full frame sensor) will probably do fine depending on how close or far you are from your subject. If you’re lucky enough to be in a situation where you can get a great shot of a building from a long distance away, then longer focal length will be fine, but in most city situations you will need to shoot from quite a close distance due to other buildings, cars, people and clutter being in the way. In such cases, you’re probably going to want wide angle lenses anywhere from 12mm to 35mm.

2) Stabilize Your Camera – Shooting an inanimate object means that you are not going to face many of the problems that other types of photography has with motion and light. It is quite possible to take your time and get as much light onto your sensor as is required to produce a great shot – it just might take a little longer and require a very stable camera. Get a decent tripod and don’t be afraid to use it.

3) Shoot Low ISO – As you’re going to have a stable camera, you’re not going to have any trouble getting enough light into your camera (ie. you’re free to go with longer shutter speeds as a building won’t move – hopefully). Minimize noise by shooting at a low ISO.

4) Close the Aperture – Again, you’re free to close the aperture when your camera is mounted on a tripod and you have time to leave the shutter open. Shooting at smaller aperture allows you to minimize any lens errors too. Shooting at wider aperture can be good for artistic effects, but usually an architectural photographer will want a greater depth of field which means f8 or above in most architectural situations.

5) Converging Lines – For the maximum amount of realism in architectural photography, it’s best to keep vertical lines vertical (usually by increasing the distance between you and the building you’re shooting). Sometimes this simply isn’t possible (such as when a fish eye lens is required to capture a whole building) and sometimes it’s simply not desirable (such as when you want to exert some artistic license). Do what you need to to achieve the desired look, but simply remember the general convention against converging lines. photo © 2009 Steve | more info (via: Wylio)

6) Camera Position – If you position a camera with a wide angle lens close to a building, then the effect can be quite dramatic in emphasizing the size of objects in the foreground compared to objects in the background. The wide angle stretches the perspective. If that is the arrangement you want, then fine. If not, then get further away and use longer focal lengths to bring the objects closer together – an effect that appears less dramatic, but adds a more solid look to a piece of architecture. See the two photographs below to see the difference that only a few meters in camera position can make.

photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info (via: Wylio)

photo © 2008 Paul Hart | more info (via: Wylio)

7) Stand Up For Your Rights – In this age of terrorism, every goon and his Doberman thinks he can tell you to stop photographing something or other – especially, it seems, buildings. As with so many of his other life choices, he is often wrong. Check the local laws, but in most cases, if you are in a western country and shooting from a public place then you probably have every right to do so. Check this great post from Photojojo about legal rights and photography for more information on that.

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7 Guidelines for Better Flower Photography

One of the most consistently popular subject choices among photographers are flowers. In fact flower photography is also the subject of the most popular thread in our own forum. So we thought it was time to share some best practices for getting great photographs of this wonderful subject.

1) Get Closer – This is a tip that applies to flower photography as much as it does to most photographic subjects. Filling the frame with your subject will produce consistently better images than standing back to get “overall” shots.

photo © 2008 Mike Keeling | more info (via: Wylio)

2) Even Lighting – In most situations you are going to want to make sure the lighting is even across your shot. This means that cloudy days are great for shooting flowers. So are afternoons and mornings. Shooting in midday sun will often blow out the colors in your images and give you unwanted harsh shadows. There are one or two exceptions to this guideline such as getting back-lighting on a flower, but generally even lighting is the way to go.

photo © 2006 chany crystal | more info (via: Wylio)

3) Depth of Field - In general you will want to shoot with a wide open aperture so that your background is out of focus and your flower in crisp focus. You can even use the macro setting on most cameras which, as luck would have it, is usually indicated with an image of a flower! Just remember that in some situations, such as when you are close but want every part of the flower in focus or when you have several flowers that you want in focus, you may need to close your aperture.

photo © 2010 Steven Zolneczko | more info (via: Wylio)

4) Steady Your Camera – Shooting close up can present problems with camera shake. You can also have problems if you are shooting with a closed aperture. The easy way to avoid any potential problems is to take a tripod or make sure your camera is stable. Check out our guide to camera stabilization for more information on that.

5) Get Down Low – Don’t just stand up and take a shot of the face of the flower. While that can work, you are still more likely to get a better image by getting on the same level as the flower and getting some interesting background into your shot. You can also look for other colors that contrast with the color of your flower. Basic knowledge of the color wheel can help here so you can pick out opposite and complementary color backgrounds for your flower such as the yellow on blue that works nicely in the flower below.

photo © 2008 Craig ONeal | more info (via: Wylio)

6) Composition – There are many composition guidelines that work wonderfully for flowers such as the Golden Section and the rule of thirds. Even if you want to break these rules, it’s best that you know them well first. Also don’t ignore the potential for using flowers in a negative space composition such as the example below.

photo © 2009 jeevan jose | more info (via: Wylio)

7) Get Out of the Wind - This is probably one of the biggest challenge for flower photographers. If a flower is dancing all over the place due to windy conditions, it forces you to change your camera settings when you may not want to. Many people get up eraly when the wind is least likely to be blowing so that they can shoot in more suitable conditions to control their shot.

Flowers really present the photographer with a unique opportunity for control in a natural environment. If you take a bit of care with your shooting choices and think about things before you press the shutter release, you can really get the exact shot that you want in a way that is difficult to emulate in most outdoor shooting situations. Best of all, photographing flowers is just a heap of fun.

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7 Tips for Shooting better Timelapse

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A guest post by Neelima Vallangi from the Wandering Soul’s Wander Tales.

Timelapse photography is one of the very interesting ways to capture motion. The results are almost always stunning. Moving clouds, changing light and shadows, celestial motion, growing things, flowing water, buzzing city life make for great subjects among many.

Timelapse photography is essentially shooting images of a chosen subject continuously at a specified interval and then making a movie out of it. Let?s say it is progression of time in fast forward mode. Making a timelapse might look very complicated, but with few things in mind, you could create your own masterpiece.

Below you can see the timelapse video that I had shot during my recent visit to the Himalayan Desert Valley of Spiti, India. These are few tips that I learnt from my first attempt at Timelapse photography and the mistakes that I made.

1. Get Rid of Auto ? Everything in your camera has to remain constant as the subject changes. Set the camera to manual mode before you start shooting. This includes ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture and Whitebalance. If you have never shot in Manual mode, you could always take a shot in the aperture priority or shutter priority mode and then use the same settings in manual mode.


2. Focus Manually ? Auto Focus before you start shooting and then change the focus to Manual. Else before every shot, the camera will try to autofocus eating away precious battery time and also will cause glitches in the movie. (You can find signs of this in my video below.)


3. Save up memory by shooting in low res – If you are going on a long vacation to places with little or no accessibility to electricity, memory is going to be a problem. More often than not, your video wouldn?t be required at a full resolution of 15.1 MP or such. Reduce the resolution as much as possible to save up space and shoot.


4. Anticipate the motion and compose – Anticipate the movement of your subject in the coming minutes/hours and compose your shot so that the change in movement as time passes would fall within your frame.


5. Improvise if you lack equipment ? While an intervalometer is indispensable, if you don?t have one, don?t fret and instead use a remote shutter release to fire shots manually at the specified time interval. It is going to be tiring for sure, but hey something is almost always better than nothing. Although, pressing the button with hands is a strict no-no. Even a slight shake will cause glitches in the video again.


6. Music is just as important ? Now that you?ve shot all the shots and the video is ready, you might feel something is missing. Just as the photos are a treat to the eye, music is a treat to the ears and both of them together can create great impact. So spend sometime choosing suitable background score.


7. Last but not the least, practice ? Only once you shoot a timelapse or two, you will get a clearer picture of how many shots are required and at what interval.

This video above was shot at a 3MP resolution in Manual Mode with a remote shutter release.

What do you think of the timelapse that I have shot and what are your learnings so far? Tell me about your experience shooting timelapse in the comments below.

See more from Neelima Vallangi on her Travel and Photography blog and Flickr Page.

Post from: Digital Photography School

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7 Tips for Shooting better Timelapse

A guest post by Neelima Vallangi from the Wandering Soul’s Wander Tales.

Timelapse photography is one of the very interesting ways to capture motion. The results are almost always stunning. Moving clouds, changing light and shadows, celestial motion, growing things, flowing water, buzzing city life make for great subjects among many.

Timelapse photography is essentially shooting images of a chosen subject continuously at a specified interval and then making a movie out of it. Let’s say it is progression of time in fast forward mode. Making a timelapse might look very complicated, but with few things in mind, you could create your own masterpiece.

Below you can see the timelapse video that I had shot during my recent visit to the Himalayan Desert Valley of Spiti, India. These are few tips that I learnt from my first attempt at Timelapse photography and the mistakes that I made.

Get Rid of Auto – Everything in your camera has to remain constant as the subject changes. Set the camera to manual mode before you start shooting. This includes ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture and Whitebalance. If you have never shot in Manual mode, you could always take a shot in the aperture priority or shutter priority mode and then use the same settings in manual mode. Focus Manually – Auto Focus before you start shooting and then change the focus to Manual. Else before every shot, the camera will try to autofocus eating away precious battery time and also will cause glitches in the movie. (You can find signs of this in my video below.)Save up memory by shooting in low res – If you are going on a long vacation to places with little or no accessibility to electricity, memory is going to be a problem. More often than not, your video wouldn’t be required at a full resolution of 15.1 MP or such. Reduce the resolution as much as possible to save up space and shoot. Anticipate the motion and compose – Anticipate the movement of your subject in the coming minutes/hours and compose your shot so that the change in movement as time passes would fall within your frame. Improvise if you lack equipment – While an intervalometer is indispensable, if you don’t have one, don’t fret and instead use a remote shutter release to fire shots manually at the specified time interval. It is going to be tiring for sure, but hey something is almost always better than nothing. Although, pressing the button with hands is a strict no-no. Even a slight shake will cause glitches in the video again.Music is just as important – Now that you’ve shot all the shots and the video is ready, you might feel something is missing. Just as the photos are a treat to the eye, music is a treat to the ears and both of them together can create great impact. So spend sometime choosing suitable background score.Last but not the least, practice – Only once you shoot a timelapse or two, you will get a clearer picture of how many shots are required and at what interval.

This video above was shot at a 3MP resolution in Manual Mode with a remote shutter release.

What do you think of the timelapse that I have shot and what are your learnings so far? Tell me about your experience shooting timelapse in the comments below.

See more from Neelima Vallangi on her Travel and Photography blog and Flickr Page.

Guest Contributor This post was written by a guest contributor to DPS. Please see their details in the post above. Become a Contributor: Check out Write for DPS page for details about how YOU can share your photography tips with the DPS community.

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