I have been shooting the same style of graphic photography for over 35 years. Most of my style was created in the dark room — developing and printing myself. I now shoot exclusively digitally, which has caused me to learn a few tips and tricks that have improved my work. Here are a few things I always keep in mind when shooting graphic photography.
Shoot Your Edit
Plan what you want your image to look like long before getting to the edit. One of the biggest questions I get asked is how much post-editing I do. People are surprised at how close my in-camera JPG images look to my final edit.
Pro Tip: Always shoot JPG and RAW. Use the camera JPG settings so your JPG images look close to the final. My JPEG settings are Monochrome, +2 contrast, +2 sharpening, -5 highlights.
Shoot Slow
Move slow when everyone is moving fast. Whether it’s a concert, sporting event, or a street photography moment, I always try and take everything as it comes. Try to think about the image you want to make as the situation unfolds.
For example, image “Death due us part” (seen below) was shot at the end of Kanye’s Donda event in Chicago. In total chaos — including hundreds of extras, musicians, other photographers, film makers and tons of handlers — I saw a single woman in a white dress slowly walking against the crowd. I knew this would make a special image. I slowed down, changed to a wide lens, and started looking at the lights on the lone figure. Every other photographer lined up on one side, but I knew the image would look best on the opposite side. I slowly moved myself between the figure and the bright backlit. I shot about six images and knew this frame was exactly what I wanted.
Be Your Harshest Critic
We are in the age of social media — likes, comments and public critique. Although, no number of positive affirmations can make you truly love an image. I try to always push myself and be completely honest. If I don’t love an image, no one else is going to. I really fight in my own head what I want from a “perfect image.” I know some people who say that they don’t all have to be perfect but, to me, they do. How can I make every image I create better than the last? How can I constantly improve?
Pro Tip: I have folders filled with thousands of images that just aren’t good enough to go public.
Memory is Cheap
There is no worst situation than having no more room to shoot. Always bring extra memory cards to shoot. Most situations don’t allow time to download and back up memory cards. Plan ahead
Pro Tip: Always get the fastest and biggest memory cards available. These are more expensive, but your work is worth it.
Make Natural Light Look Natural
I am always studying the light — looking at how it hits on a city street, how long and dark the shadows are. I practice total patience and have been known to wait hours for the light to hit just right, or for someone to walk into the right spot.
Pro Tip: Get a good local weather and sun tracking app. I use Sun Tracker AR. Know where the light is and where it’s going to help plan the perfect image.
Make Your Mistakes as Big as Your Images
Everyone makes mistakes. I have a mental checklist before I start to shoot. This is based on all my past mistakes. Lens clean? Batteries charged? Lens attached completely? Memory card in camera? I remember — right after I made the switch to shoot digitally — I had just got a new Leica camera. I had a private shoot with a major artist — just me and the artist hanging out for an afternoon. In relaxed, perfect natural light, I shot magic moment after magic moment. After I ran to the studio to edit my images, I opened my camera and noticed I forgot to insert a memory card. I poured one out for the lost images and made sure I never forgot a memory card again.
Photo by Jason Peterson
Emotion Over Composition
The single more important quality of a image is to make you feel something — happy, sad, alive, alone… I would sacrifice the most perfect technical image over an image that makes you cry. I would rather judge a great image by looking at the face of the viewer over looking at the image itself.
Check out more of my work in AdoramaTV’s new docuseries, THE MASTERS.
