In the first half of a 2 part series, David Lintern looks at photographing people in the outdoors.
So, shooting people – instantly more complicated than what we’ve looked at up until now, with all their confounded moving around and cluttering up the scenery! Yes, I know it’s annoying, but I’m not talking about that kind of annoying, or that kind of shooting – a camera, ladies and gentleman, use a camera!
I’m going to concentrate on settings, position and lighting in what follows – there’ll be more to come later on some other aspects. The second caveat is that while I spend a lot of time photographing landscapes on my own, what I really love to do is photograph people in the landscape, to try and illustrate a relationship with the places they love. So I’m coming from that sort of approach.
Let’s start with something simple, that many of us take – the momento summit shot.
iso 200, 28mm, f9, 1/500th sec. Pleased as punch on the way to Gharbh-Bheinn
Here’s Tony, a regular Walkhighlands forum user, on a Skye Corbett I joined him for. Tony is a keen (and good) photographer, and I had the notion that he might not have many of himself on the hills because he’s always behind the lens, so it would be a fun thing to turn the tables a little. It’s a very conventional shot stylistically, but here’s what works technically: The shutter is fast because people move. Yes, even Tony, who’s happy to be the subject for a change! The desired effect here is to freeze action and a faster shutter guarantees that. The big depth of field (f9) and wide angle (28mm) focal length works in this case as it means there’s plenty of context to the shot – I took care not to crop the cairn and we are in an amazing place – but it wouldn’t have been so effective had Tony not been isolated from the background by siting him against the sky. This way he stands out… which he should, as the photo is really about him being there. Lastly, the photo is lit from the left, which means his face is not in shadow, (especially important because he’s wearing a brimmed hat). Lighting is key for all photography, but a lack of thought about it when shooting people is especially obvious. Even with today’s frankly amazing digital cameras, don’t expect to shoot into the sun and not get a silhouette. On the other hand, go ahead and shoot into the sun all you like if that’s what you want – it can be very effective.
iso50, 24mm, f20, 1/80th sec. Tired on the summit of Sgùrr nan Gillean
This is the end of the Rum Cuillin Traverse. Here, the figure is nicely highlighted against the translucent sea, and the grass and foreground rocks are picked out to add interest. Due to the fact we were both shattered and moving very slowly, I got lucky here and the relatively slow shutter was enough to freeze movement. I moved into position beforehand and had time to adjust, so there’s no excuse for my sluggish shutter speed settings. There is, however, a reason – beyond being tired and dehydrated. I’ve chosen a silly high f-number (and therefore a compensating low shutter) because I’m trying to control the points of the ‘star’ – that big one in the sky called the Sun. At lower F numbers the sun can get a bit squishy and ill defined, and I wanted the Sunstars as defined as possible. In this case I don’t mind a bit of lens flare (those bubbles around the Sun) – it kind of adds to the atmosphere. If you’ve got the hang of these photo articles, you’ll be asking – why didn’t he just up the ISO and shutter a bit and not risk motion blur? Good question, for which I have no good answer, other than – ISO was a fiddle to access from the menu on this camera, and I was a broken man by this point!
I’ve said it before, and here’s a good place to repeat the message. Don’t rely on your zoom – move around your subject, find the best position for them composed in or against the landscape. You’ll need to get yourself into position physically before they do, which may mean walking, running or whatever ahead (or behind) and laying what my regular victims have come to dread as a ‘camera trap’. After a while, this becomes so intuitive you’ll forget how you ever did things differently. I personally love the challenges it brings (I can’t, however, speak for my subjects!). Specifically, don’t expect your companions to find their optimum position in this wonderful landscape for you. The world looks different where they are. And they are probably thinking about their lunch.
iso 160, 17mm, f10, 1/400th sec. Fogbog on a winter ascent of Cruach Adrain
Here’s an example of where the landscape is a limiting factor in my efforts to light and position. I have moved ahead, and the subject is sited perfectly at the edge of a fog bow (‘stay there, please, don’t move!’) and he’s wonderfully lit… but so am I. Sometimes, standing on the top of a hill, there isn’t anywhere else to put myself in order to avoid shadows. It’s why I often try side lighting, and one of the instances in which commercial photographers (which I’m not) may choose to use flash. Generally I’d avoid showing you a photo with my own shadow like the plague, but in this case I don’t mind – it shows what a spontaneous shot it was. Informality is definitely a good thing in hill shots – just don’t make a habit of casting your own shadow in every shot, and avoid casting a shadow on your subject!
ISO100, 24mm, f7.1, 15th sec. Andy shows us the ropes
It might be useful to look at a couple of examples taken to illustrate specific stories, in both cases for magazine editorial. Here we have Andy, an outdoor leader based in the Cairngorms, demonstrating efficient throw-bag technique for river rescue. As you can see, it’s daytime, overcast, and a dynamic scene. I’ve used a low ISO, a medium depth of field, and quite a slow shutter speed. I’d have preferred a slightly lower f-number, but the subject was moving around quickly and my relative distance to him was dynamic also. Despite its imperfections, I quite like this photo because it conveys the speed required for river rescue. In this instance, the blurring caused by using a relatively slow shutter speed on a fast moving subject served the story well: If one needs to deploy and then repack a throw bag, it’s good to be able to do it very quickly – somebody’s life may depend on it. Often images of people outdoors are posed and therefore static, but blurring from movement isn’t always a bad thing, especially in faster outdoor activities like running and biking. Moving outdoors is what we do. I’ve still to perfect the classic moving-camera-blurred-background bike shot, sadly.
ISO160, 67mm, f4, 250th sec. Chatting at the foot of Meall Ceann na Creige
As is now something of a tradition in these photo articles, I’ll finish on a photo that didn’t work at all, but maybe rounds up a few of the things I’ve touched on here. I still get annoyed with myself for this shot! Why? Well… what is the eye drawn to in this photo? And what is in focus? If you’re not sure, click on the image and take a closer look.
This is mountaineering instructor Sam Owens briefing Walk Highland’s very own natural history columnist Ben at the base of a beautiful scramble in Torridon last summer. Sam is on the left, and slightly out of focus, whereas Ben is sharp. If I had to choose, I would argue that it’s much more important that Sam is in focus, not Ben, as he is the more ‘active’ or dynamic part of this image. The image isn’t 100% bad – the background isn’t as important as the interaction, so that’s deliberately knocked out of focus, due to the low f-number. Secondly, the shutter speed is fast enough to freeze the motion of Sam’s hand, which in this instance is positive – blurring might have been distracting (the hand is not important, the briefing is). But a clear fail on my part, not to have the protagonist in focus, which means the image is not usable for anything other than ‘how not to take a photo’. It really bothers me that Sam’s hand is barely in frame, too – bloody amateur (me, not him!) How would I improve this shot? Either by refocusing on Sam at f4, or by widening the focal plane, say up to f5.6, to make sure I got both people sharp. How far I am away from the subjects is also crucial here, but that’s for another time…
To read more about the building blocks of photography, see M for manual
To read more about composing your shot, see framing your photos
To read more about shooting outdoors at night, see Night Photography
Want to improve your landscape and nature photography? Check out our listings for Scottish landscape, wildlife and nature photography workshops, hides and holidays.