The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens has developed a strong following at air shows. And for good reason- it’s sharp as a tack and has a great zoom range for photographing airplanes in action.
But what about the times when the creative bug bites you and there isn’t an air show happening in your area? For me, the answer is to go hang out at some of the small, local airports. And to realize not all interesting aviation photos have to be taken at an air show.
And…it also doesn’t mean you need to leave your Sigma 150-600 lens at home. It’s a great lens for capturing a different perspective on aviation. The narrow field of view and compression become artistic tools for your imagination. It’s also a great opportunity to give all of your Sigma lenses a workout…not to mention your imagination.
Negative space…no its not the place in your head where you second guess your photographic composition and/or lens choice and/or exposure settings and/or enter general anxiety here. The simplest explanation of negative space that I can think of is that it is any space in your photograph that is not the intended subject. Or as Wiki puts it “is the space around and between the subject(s) of an image.” For editorial photographers the negative space of an image can be incredibly important and can make or break an image for publication.
When you are sent out on assignment or are asked for a stock submission you may get some request like, “mind the gutter”, or “right read two page opener” or better yet “cover please!” All of these requests are basically code for negative space and how they want that space to be organized. When you are out shooting, you should keep these negative spaces in mind. Below are a few example of how negative space is used in editorial photography.
Mind the Gutter- Just like it sounds, the gutter is where the left and right pages meet in the middle of the magazine and art directors generally will not want to place the subject of the image within the gutter. If the subject is centered then they may make the image a ¾ spread and put text in the left or right column depending which way the image was placed
Right (or left) read two page opener- Be prepared to keep you subject and the action confined to one side of an image. Often you will find that a story opens as a two-page spread photograph with the copy on the right side and the action/subject on the left and sometimes the other way around. Continue reading Negative Space for Editorial Photography using Sigma Lenses
I spent the better part of last week chasing some of the best mountain bikers in the country all around my hometown trails of Breckenridge Colorado for the Breck Epic 6 Day bike race.
The Breck Epic is a six day mountain bike stage race held every August in Breckenridge, CO. Its open to all levels and abilities from big name pros to those just entering the sport. It is incredibly challenging(courses are 35-50 miles with 4,800-7,200 vert) but rewards racers with some of the most scenic single track riding in the U.S.
I don’t shoot much race coverage, in fact this is the only race I have covered this year. My assignment was twofold: get great back-country action shots and also capture behind the scenes images of two of the racers. These images were used to promote the race, town, athletes and brands involved. Continue reading Breck Epic 2016
