_MG_1368
Jun, 2013Views
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Top 30 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a remote township out in the bush in Zambia while I lived there in 2011. I was teaching at a Bible College out in the bush and would often go and visit the compound where the students and there families lived. I often brought my camera along as I always wanted to be ready if a fun or interesting shot presented itself.Time
I remember it being late afternoon/ early evening as the sun was beginning to set. This was usually my favourite time to shoot any pictures during my time in Zambia as the sun isn't quite as bright and you get the better glow from the sunset. Generally the hours between 3:30-5:30 were the best times to go and visit with people as by then children were back from the local school and the parents/college students were finished with any required duties at the college. Everyone was usually around then and you would often find the parents and older children washing clothing or preparing for meals and the children of the families would often be seen running around and playing games with each other.Lighting
As mentioned above the sun was in the early stages of setting and since many of my pictures I took that day were with and of children I wanted to get down to their level as shooting from above wouldn't allow me to use the full benefits of having that glow that early stages of sunsets give. So I got down and squatted (which made it a challenge to keep things steady - although my dance background always comes in handy when it comes to tricky balancing), and did my best to shoot level with their face so as to not cast any shadow from my body. In this case the light came from the side which seemed to give enough balance so that if he was facing the sun head on, I would have blocked it and if he had his back to the sun, I risked loosing definition of his precious face due to silohuetting. This was all candid so I guess I got lucky but if one is planning for the shot with the sunset lighting, you may need to try a few different angles. Also because it was still bright enough, I only has to used a 200 ISOEquipment
My camera body was a Canon Rebel XS and all I had for a lens that night was my kit 18-55 shot at 20.0mm (33mm full frame equivalent). I had nothing else with me that night as I was just out for a walk with my roommate to go say hi to the families so I didn't feel the need to bring everything, which at the time wasn't much anyway.Inspiration
As we were simply just walking around and visiting with the families, the children were playing and were joyful. I always wanted to capture their joy but as you take one child's photo, they begin to crowd around and all ask for photos. (*side note: often these people that live more remote don't get to use much of a mirror and seeing their photo is often their main way of seeing what they look like in that moment.) So I had a number of photos of the kids but this one stood out for some reason.Editing
The awesome thing about this particular photo is that not a lot had to be done with it. Minor lighting adjustments but that's about it.In my camera bag
My gear has changed since then and I only have 1 of the lenses still. Currently I am running with a Canon EOS 60D digital body as well as a Film Canon EOS Rebel K2 For lenses I have the Sigma DC 18-200 f3.5-6.3, Canon EF 50 f1.8, EFS 24mm f2.8* (This is my go to lens), Canon EF 28-80 F3.5-5.6, EF 75-300 f4-5.6 for lighting: Canon Speedlite 320EX & a small Manfrotto LED Video light. Video Sound: Rode VideoMic Go with windfilter Dynex Monopod (I am between tripods right now as a previous one broke :(Feedback
Be flexible when is comes to doing candid shots of children especially when unique lighting presents itself. KNOW YOUR CAMERA and surroundings. This was not the first time I had been down there to take pictures of the kids and by this day I knew the prime time for the beginning of the sun set. I also had an understanding of my camera and more specifically how my camera and lens together handled that lighting, so I didn't have to waste time changing the settings, I knew how to adjust for the light and the movement of children aka faster shutter speed and change to burst mode as (SHOCKER) kids don't generally like to stay still for all that long.
