No such thing as a boring photo but there are plenty of boring photographers.

I hear this once from an instructor and I have never forgotten it.  This past week I had a shoot at a Charles Schwab trade show called Impact 2012. I was there to create a few hours of time-lapse images but while I was there managment asked me to shoot the show signs and was told to “ Be Creative” I love (and sometimes hate) when I hear this. Shooting what most photographers consider a waste of their talent or time are to me a good way to try new concepts, lenses or just test my talent. Thought I should share my thoughts with some of the newbie photographers.

Remember selective focus and limited depth of field. All of the images were shot with the Sony a99 I just love this camera and used with the Zeiss lenses make for a powerful creative tool. This first image I wanted to highlight the client’s name. I shot this at f1.4 with the Zeiss 85mm. People ask me all the time why shoot with prime lenses when zooms have become so good but if I used the Sony 70-200mm G an excellent lens I would not be able to get such a soft looking background and keep the viewers eye focused on the Charles Schwab name.  Yes the 85mm f1.4 lets a lot of light in and is good for lowlight situations but just as important the shallow depth of field can be a very creative tool.

Reflections can add impact  the show had a 20ft long free standing word - Impact at the main entrance. Here I tried a few different ideas but the photo I like the most is of the reflections.  Again using the Sony-Zeiss 85mm I backed out and tried to get the reflections as part of the main element to the photo.

Composition or in this case I call it, Forcing The Eye to go where I want it. I walked to the rear of the Impact display and with the a99 and the Sony Zeiss 16-35mm zoom I shot threw the “C” opening to get this image. I could have spent more time on shooting this by zooming in a tad more but I am happy with what I picked.  Remember your eye is drawn to the light so using the dark area of the C to help frame the subject.

People and long exposure help. The first image is of the sign, its ok but just a static image so using my tripod I did two shots at 50iso. First one of the sign but my shutter speed was too high at 125thso the second image I stopped down to get 15thof a second to get blur as the people walked by. Then I blended the two images together in Photoshop to give s since of motion to the image.

The above images took about an hour to shoot all of them this last one was 30-40min to get the shot I wanted. I could have staged the image but thought at first I would only take 5 or 10min to capture but after 20min I was determent to get the image the way I wanted without setting it up. Here I wanted to give the people a feeling of people and not just a sign or a person at a counter. The a99 articulating screen came in handy I had the camera on a tripod down low and the screen flipped facing up. I could then watch the crowed walk by and see if I captured the shot framed with people at both sides.

Gear used during the day was the Sony a99, Sony 32GB SD cards, 3 camera batteries. For lenses Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f2.8, Sony 50mm f1.4, and the Sony Zeiss 85mm f1.4 plus a small Domke camera bag. It was a nice small kit to carry.

I hope this gave you some ideas the next time you feel you’re forced to shoot boring subjects. For myself as a working pro my goal is not always to make an image that will please you but an interesting one that will stir a thought. even if you don’t like the image but you stop to look and think about it I did my job.

Cheers Dennis