The goal with all still photography is to use your creativity to make pictures that capture perspectives people have never before seen—perspectives that are enlightening, fresh, tell stories and make people say “Wow!”
In my latest Tech Tip for Adorama TV, “Exploring the Creative Process: Unexpected Angles,” I talk about one of my favorite still photographs. I captured this picture during from a recent commercial shoot for Mazda in which the featured vehicle raced on a dirt road alongside two nationally ranked Canadian whitewater kayakers.
To get this shot, I ended up using a special piece of video equipment that, as a still photographer, I would’ve never thought to bring: a Kessler Crane Pocket Jib PRO jib arm. What’s so cool about this situation is that it really shows how still and motion complement each other thanks to today’s brand of HD-SLR cameras like the Nikon D4s.
But the greater takeaway to this video isn’t that you need to jib arms—or any big, fancy piece of gear to make really interesting shots. It’s important to always rely on your creativity first, and work with what you’ve got. By brainstorming the situation in advance of the action, and pre-determining everything from the focus to the focal length, shutter speed and aperture setting, I worked through the technical problems in advance of making the picture because I knew I’d only have one real shot at getting this picture.
No matter what gear you’re using, the point is to be creative, be resourceful, think ahead, and capture that unique perspective that makes people say, “Wow!”
