Tag Archives: Vancouver

Photography on the Ice

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Last month I was the photographer for the Kitsilano Literacy Skate hosted by the Kits Neighbourhood House. It was a fun event, combining skating with literacy games.

Even though I figure skated until high school (and it’s like riding a bike when I get back on the ice), I was still a bit nervous carrying my camera onto the cement-like surface (it just takes one crazy kid to ram into you…), but I was careful enough and my camera survived. Photographing on the rink was a learning process, so I wanted to share some thoughts with you!

Take Fun/funny shots: Little kids always work well for this, or any beginner skater for that matter. Whether they’re falling, teetering, or just in awe of the feeling of gliding on ice, they make for some entertaining poses. I thought this little girl was cute, trying with all her might to stand up. As you can see, she wasn’t having very much success…

Make use of the lighting: The ice gives you a nice reflective surface to bounce light back onto your subjects, which is great. Look up at the ceiling though – adjusting so the lights are in your frame can add another dimension, and create more spark. I loved this ceiling at the Kits ice rink!

Use blur in your images: Creating blur around a stationary object adds more mystique and depth to your images. I liked the shot below because not being able to see the kid’s face in the foreground makes you wonder how much it hurt when he fell, and how hard his collision was…

Watch for grey ice in your shots: As you may have noticed, I haven’t nailed this down. Some of my shots have sort of grey ice, which is mainly to avoid washing out any texture. Sometimes you have to sacrifice detail in order to get the colour you want (the mini Luongo dude below is an example), but be aware of your white balance setting.

Look for memorable/emotional images: This little guy made my heart melt, wearing a mini Canucks jersey. Who knows, maybe he’ll be playing for his city in the not so distant future ;) .

I’m hoping no one has any any tragic camera-breaking-while-on-the-ice moments, but feel free to share your own stories :) .

 

 

 

Vancouver’s English Bay Statues Should Stay!

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Do you want these smiley statues to stay in Vancouver? If so, you might want to let your city know…

It has until August 2012 to buy the “A-maze-ing Laughter” statues from the artist (Yue Min-jun) for $1.5 million, otherwise they will be taken down.

I love these statues, and how much joy & interest they bring to the city. Common, you can’t help but smile when you see them :) . They’re iconic to Vancouver, so let’s make sure they stay here!

Check out this article for more details and how to help out.

Want to add your two cents on the statues? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks everyone!

Here’s more black & white imagery in Vancouver:

 

New Year’s Resolution: Get Over Your Fear

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Ever see something you’re dying to photograph, but hesitate, and then convince yourself not to take your camera out? I feel you, having struggled with this for ages. Why? One simple word: Fear.

I always worried about looking like a tourist, an amateur, and a plain idiot. People would stare at me while I crouched on the ground, and I knew they were wondering, “What on earth is she taking a picture of? What is so interesting about a (insert random object here)?”

There was a time when I wouldn’t venture downtown on my own to take photos, feeling too timid to whip out my camera. I’ll admit, I still struggle with this, but I’m getting better.

Having just watched Banksy’s awesome documentary on street art, Exit Through The Gift Shop, I was gravitating toward graffiti, so I made my way to Gastown. I had people giving me weird looks as I walked down dark dirty alleys with my camera in hand. But I didn’t mind. I just wanted to get some cool shots. I think the picture below is fitting considering later in January we start the year of the dragon :) . Want to know where this is? You’ll have to go searching!

If you’re feeling apprehensive about snapping away like a tourist, relax! Here are a few things that might help:

- Set goals for yourself that scare you a bit (ex. go to 5 busy places and start taking photos). Take your fear head on!

- If you’re photographing people, remember, everyone tends to love the attention of getting their picture taken.

- Who cares what people think! So they assume you’re a tourist, so what? (I’ve had several people ask me where I’m from…in my own city).

- So people stare, it’s human nature to be curious. Let them be. Don’t worry about them (unless one is a creepy man in a trench-coat).

- Think of the amazing photo you could get, and what you’d be missing out on if you don’t take the shot. You’ll improve your photography skills so much more by simply getting out there.

For this last shot I was nearly lying on the ground I was so low, in order to get the perspective & angle I wanted. Did people see me? Yip. Did they laugh at how silly I looked? Probably, but c’est la vie.

Now to face another personal challenge: mustering up the courage to photograph more strangers…

 

Photographing People: 5 Tips For Better Portraits

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Aww mother daughter love. Thinking back to my teenage years I can just imagine how much stress I caused my mom; so it was refreshing to shoot this loving mother-daughter duo. Unlike many mother/teenage daughter combos, these two got along so well that it was such a treat.

Here are some portrait tips based on what I did during this fun shoot.

1. Pick cool but unobtrusive backgrounds: Gastown in Vancouver is a great location for unique background imagery that isn’t too distracting. The old brick and cobblestone streets are my favourite, so we took advantage of the setting, trying a few different locations within the area.

Once you know where you want to shoot…

2. Have fun with your subjects, let them play around and be themselves: I wanted to get both fun, carefree shots, as well as more thought-provoking, non-standard images. But most of all, I wanted these two young ladies to be comfortable, so I let them try what felt right, while talking and joking with them to keep the vibe light and fun. Getting your subject to relax and be comfortable is your number one priority when doing portraits – if they’re not comfy in their own skin it will show through in all your images!

3. Shoot from an angle, or get your subject to angle her body: Either shoot from the side, or looking up/down, or else direct your subject so they’re facing the camera at an angle. Whatever you do, don’t shoot straight on! Side angles tend to be a lot more flattering and slimming (picture a photo of yourself taken straight on with your hands awkwardly hanging at your sides, versus one of you angled slightly – which one looks slimmer? More intriguing? Sexier? You get the drift). Also, shooting at an angle creates another effect – you can have one person in focus, while the other person in the background (or foreground if you prefer) is slightly out of focus, making the main subject stand out a bit more, and creating more depth within the image (see the photo above).

Side note: If you’re shooting in b&w, creating a subtle vignette in post-production can really help your subjects stand out. The above photo shows a vignette where the sides and corners are darker and less clear than the rest of the image, putting more emphasis on the young ladies.

4. Lighting – illuminate the face: You may even want to overexpose your subjects compared to rest of the image to make them stand out. But more importantly, watch out for shadows on face – some are good (for example, a shadow over one side of the face can create more mystique and be slimming), but you don’t want dark circles under eyes, making your subject look tired.

5. Smiles are by no means a must: Don’t always make your subjects smile or look at the camera. A nice smile is stunning, but posed smiles can sometimes look, well, posed…and inauthentic. A huge smile can also distort the face in a less flattering way (making the eyes smaller, for example). Even if the smiles are great (see above :) ), shots without smiles can be very powerful and more thought-provoking. So encourage your subjects to relax, and play with different expressions, even just looking off into the distance.

Have fun with your portraits! If you have any comments or questions leave them in the comments section below :) .

 

Want to read more about portrait photography? Check these out: