Asian Photography – July 2019

July 2019 - 67

and ISO) and consult your camera’s manual to see how to
change the white balance setting on your camera. Play around
with it when you have time, make mistakes, and learn as you
do so. Then if you don’t feel ready to fly on your own yet – put
it back on full auto until you are.
Pick another setting like aperture and learn that one. Go
through the same process and experiment at a time when
getting the shot isn’t an issue. Then go back to what you’re
comfortable with until you are ready for the next step. Slowly
keep doing this and as you progress you will gain confidence
in using your camera. One day you will find that you are ready
to explore other shooting modes like perhaps Aperture Priority

or even full Manual mode. But remember, have patience and

there is no shame in using auto if you need to, so you don’t

miss a shot.

Fear of photographing people

Many amateurs avoid photographing people – for different

reasons:

• Fear of messing it up and having to show them a lousy
  photo you aren’t proud of.


• Fear of requesting permission, specially with strangers, and
  getting rejected.


• Or worst yet they will say yes and then you have to do it
  right (see first point above).


• Fear of looking like you don’t know what you’re doing,
  fumbling with your gear.


• Taking too long and wasting the person’s time.


• Fear that if you start capturing people photos, others will
  start requesting you to capture their photos too.
  Once again, you can relate to a few of those. There are a few
  things you can do to work on this. Let’s just address the issue
  right now around the thought of, “But I don’t like to photograph
  people and I am never going to do it”. That may sound all well
  and good, but the reality is that if you have a “nice” camera, as
  deemed by our family and friends, you will eventually get asked
  to take someone’s photo, do a group shot at work of your
  co-workers, take some shots for a friend’s Facebook profile,
  or heaven forbid you even may have to photograph a family
  wedding. So being comfortable and prepared to photograph
  people is a good skill to have in your line-up. The biggest thing
  to learn about photographing people is to learn about light.
  The second obstacle is just getting over the fear and the
  only way to do it, unfortunately, is to actually photograph
  some people. You could connect to a photography club or
  photo walk and go out with a group to capture photos and
  learn. There are safety in numbers and you may feel more
  comfortable. Photograph a festival or fair or go to a circus
  and take photographs. Start small, and ask a friend if you can
  borrow 5-10 minutes of their time and take a few photos. Be
  prepared before time and think about where you will frame
  them, the background, camera settings and many more. Even
  do a test shot before they arrive (use a teddy bear or something
  as a stand in) so you can avoid the fumbling with your camera
  settings. Then do one shot of them first, to test again. Check
  it for exposure, white balance, composition, and lighting.