Nine suggestions on improving documentary photography skills

Lead: Documentary photography covers a wide range of fields, including street shooting or news photography, and even not limited to this. Anything you care about in life is included in this category. How to improve the skills of documentary photography? As a photographer and writer, Ibarionex Perello summed up the following nine suggestions through interviews with many photographers, telling everyone how to tell stories with a series of photos.

Nine suggestions on improving documentary photography skills: 1. Watch the works of the master.

Taking more pictures and seeing more has always been the only way to learn photography. According to the subjects you are interested in, you can find this type of photographer to watch their works. In addition to absorbing experience and nutrients, sometimes you will get different inspiration. Taking documentary photography as an example, we can discuss how photographers tell stories with multiple photos and observe the logic of photo arrangement. Looking at photo albums is a very recommended way. In his article, Ibarionex Perello also recommended several photographers to learn from, such as W. Eugene Smith, mary ellen mark and Bruce Davidson. If we take Taiwan Province Province as an example, we should all be familiar with predecessors like Zhang Zhaotang and Shen.

Second, make a list of necessary shots.

Tell stories with images, and have an established framework before shooting. In order to present the whole series of works completely, some pictures are key and indispensable. However, it is often difficult to follow the plan in actual shooting. But like a butterfly attracted by nectar. Instinct and intuition are used to record the images that are constantly happening in front of us, and there will be many unexpected situations that need to be improvised. Therefore, Ibarionex Perello suggested that the necessary lens list should be made so that it can be checked at any time to ensure the completion of the final demonstration.

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Third, change your composition and perspective.

Everyone has their own shooting habits. In my personal experience, all the photos taken for the first time are similar in composition and perspective, so the overall look will be monotonous. The same is true of documentary photography. You need to use multiple photos to interpret a theme. In order to increase the richness of visual changes, Ibarionex Perello suggests that you should change the shooting angle more, don't rely too much on the zoom lens, walk around frequently and look at different pictures.

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4. Shoot with a 35mm or wider lens.

Everyone should be familiar with robert capa's famous saying: "Not good enough is because you are not close enough. Shooting with a wide-angle lens not only forces you to be as close as possible to the subject, but also forces you to integrate the whole environment into the composition, which can help you convey more image information about the subject.

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Don't keep looking at what you just shot.

The original text is Don? T Chimp, the word Chimp comes from chimpanzee, which means chimpanzee Used in photography terminology, it is extended to the action of "looking down at the camera screen". What Ibarionex Perello wants to tell us is that focusing on recording the picture in front of us instead of looking at what you just shot, things change quickly, and you may miss the next more exciting shot when you look at the photo.

Sixth, look for other pictures that can tell stories.

In addition to focusing on your subject, sometimes you need some other pictures to decorate it, which can provide more image information about the subject and make the whole work more story-telling. As far as wedding records are concerned, in addition to the interaction between the couple and relatives and friends, the works are also interspersed with some virtual scenes such as dresses, corsage, high heels and even wedding venues. These pictures are not the most important, but they will add a lot of color to the whole series.

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Seven, take a few more times to take a good photo.

Documentary photography often requires patience and long-term brewing, and it is possible to track and record a theme for several years. Therefore, Ibarionex Perello suggests that you should visit your objects frequently. After all, it is impossible to record a subject in detail only a few times, and it is common to return without success. Taking good photos is a necessary process. In addition, he also suggested that you can shoot at different time points, which will provide different changes for your image and give you the opportunity to shoot some special moments.

Eight, look at your photos.

I once read a passage that makes sense: "Photographers spend 1/3 time studying, 1/3 time shooting and 1/3 time sorting out photos. It's important to look at your own images. Don't just look at one photo. Ibarionex Perello pointed out that we should think about the overall structure of this series of works, from which we can find the missing parts of the images and make up for them the next time we have the opportunity to shoot.

Nine, rigorous arrangements and choices

Finally, when publishing and presenting, Ibarionex Perello suggested choosing 15 to 20 photos as a series of works, and shaving off the duplicate photos in arrangement and selection. Just like writing an article, the arrangement of photos will have its logic and thinking, depending on whether your video story is smooth from beginning to end.

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In addition to the nine suggestions mentioned by Ibarionex Perello, I think it is more important to interact with the subjects, gain their trust, let them drop their guard and be themselves easily in front of the camera. Some dogmatic norms are actually easy to absorb and improve, but I think personal characteristics account for a large proportion in interaction and getting along, which is also where some photographers are powerful and have advantages.