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Shoot: Greenroom Post Show

Lesson 8 from: Taking the Fear Out Of Low Light Photography

Jared Polin

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Lesson Info

8. Shoot: Greenroom Post Show

Lesson Info

Shoot: Greenroom Post Show

I said I was in a switch to the d for us and I'm just going toe candidly do what I need to do but those are very good questions guys at home that definitely ah they're good so let me make sure we get to go pro going for the first person shooter we're gonna be all tethered there we go oh ok you guys want to do that all right no do it sit there you lost your seat. You're going to sit right there now I think that one the microphone that they placed here from creative live is distracting in my frame I think these water bottles looked terrible is this yours? Can you like just hide it in your seat? Maybe less distracting it was this anybody's. So all right, we've got this teapot I'm a little one short and stout will put that over there because I don't like that in the frame. I think that could be it's good for a photo story and all but they have these things are definitely in the way I'm just going to move it so and here's your soda a k a your beer or whatever it is so I'm just set dressing ...

you have to be cognizant of what's going on in the scene I don't mind that coffee cup but maybe alone the coffee cup doesn't make any sense there do you mind if I move the coffee cup c I asked permission it's empty so it doesn't matter so I asked permission it's ask that's what we do and just converse go ahead do your thing and I'm going to see what lens works best for me first I should get my settings right maybe let's go to five thousand I also will be a three point two I'm going to switch into continuous sorry f single for single point boom let's take a look and see what we got now under exposed plus we've got that light over there that's a little much larry's a little in the dark side again in order to get larry a little more light I can try to move the light that's in the room if I have enough really which I bet you I don't but I do have the reach awesome so I may not put this in the in the image but look I'm moving it around your the photographer you do what you need to do this is going to throw some more light there and is going to be pretty even these air gonna honestly end up being black and white and I may switch over to go to aa the fourteen to twenty four but now this is this is pretty cool let's see I'm going to go to two point eight drop into a fiftieth of a second locking in I'm actually cutting off the ah the light over there and this aiken definitely work with. I love the difference between the bricks on the wall. You have people looking in different directions. I want to shoot a little wider here, so I'm going to switch to the fourteen to twenty four. The reason I want to do that is I want to get a little closer to feel this out and everything. What you want to weigh had and that's what she said moment she wants to get closer so she can feel it out. You gotta remember back stage is going to be a lot slower. It's not his action packed as in front that's it's perfectly fine. The pow's project practice jumps way. Oh, yeah, that happened before usually way. I just wait doubles now I don't, although very, very watched me don't double yeah, but I just don't I can't so yeah, yeah, you do the back, forward and back yeah he's like the nipples e I mean, yes, I love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I just actually think of assaulting people and like, this is awesome, but learning how to like people yeah, this is what happens backstage, everybody, you just let people talk oh and I turned the camera off sorry camera not supposed to do that when I tether but you just let them talk backstage on dh then you get that type of thing if we had a boom mike you would hear what they're saying but they're just interacting having fun and that's why I'm focusing in on just shooting so you can get a feel for that so I got to give the camera second to ah to get this going something's happening this's great e about cats and one yeah cats and exercise perfect a box like twenty dollars exactly and before I even opened it he just like plots a whole factor everybody it's a beach we've already got our settings right so the focus comes down to just what we're doing I'm also waiting for my previews to show up and I'm really happy with the settings I met one fiftieth of a second at two point eight five thousand s o which you could do with anything I actually gonna go to three two right here on deal just we'll just do this smooth get my disgusting for you yeah yeah yeah I like the like the interaction but sometimes it would go away yeah yeah there's bad that she looks like all right, I'm just switching lenses because I want it now but they're interacting and tom basically ignoring may I can sit here with the longer lens pop the v r back on which I turned off during the show just so that I can try to get these cool shots over here I'm like in the way that larry looks and I like the way that everybody else is on the state sitting back here so I'm just going to focus on that e way gold shoes yeah this is good stuff that we can work with I don't like the light in the corner too much but it's what I have to deal with I mean just like it was the best thing ever I can still hear their get from it's the right thing seems very few he does she does bond through the years yeah, well uh we'll follow them around all of this speed around once larry starts actually playing just be like ok, I got you and now oh then if larry starts to walk away I love the interaction that's going on I like the results we're getting this brick walls are great. This is this is back stairs. You just just shut your mouth and shoot that's what? It comes down to be focused. You got your settings right now just observe and capture and I think a lot of this stuff here should be wider, so I'm gonna go back tio twenty four that's it all right here we go in every sense because chuck norris wouldn't use weights the way it's used chuck norris all right and then every once in a while it's okay to chime in keep your mouth shut if you don't know what you're talking about they're going to tell you to shut up so unless you're secure enough to say something that's when you can chime in right I know chuck norris chuck norris doesn't shoot raw raul shoots larry give me a look like you're gonna look here and the band over there this is cool oh I see the teapot is short and stout over there I don't want that in there so I just recomposed and I got that out of the frame this's what they called rectilinear ok it's the opposite of fisheye fish eyes more bowed this is more straight and I'll show you and it's also good to show yes it's good to show the band everyone's wanted to get a feel for what you're shooting so you guys were just hanging out larry is not the guy in the shadow anymore he's out in front just getting his photos taken just like that so that's that's cool so just keep hanging and uh I'm going to keep directing for a little more and then after this maybe we'll do a band shot against the wall I love it or maybe we'll take some people out into the hallway and do some portrait there but it's just it's just it's all in how you say I have I made you guys feel comfortable exactly I didn't take my shirt off yet and it's and it's just I was not yeah you looked right at me I want you to reach your hand out towards the lens yeah good point out oh there we go just hold it right there and I'll just show you ah durian they're on there it is I think we got it see I'm focused in on larry smiling is pointing his finger all right so this stuff works if you see the whole band that's the other one course your finger and hand or out of focus but we're focused in on you in that way it's pretty good this is a band shots tend to be boring band shots tend to be the same thing all the time it's like hey, I'll be the one who crosses my arms I'll be the one with the hands in my pocket I'll be the one looking aimlessly at nothing and that's usually the drummer in the back with drum sticks in their hands going you know so that's that doesn't always work but this type of kansas shot is something that if you want to talk about today's day and age this shot of larry if it was known the others that would be a good facebook banner on the top except you we have to you have to be cognizant of the the profile picture because that cuts that out, but that would be cool. It would be a cool banner photo to be put up there it is all thinking about the promotion and the business side of it. These photos would be so useful for you guys because I'm sure it's not often that you get somebody who comes back and gets quality candid work and candid shots to go with everything else. So we've got that and I guess I should talkto us to see if there's questions in the meantime, we always have. Russ always has questions. What are they enjoying this? Are you guys enjoying this so far? The more laid back. I mean, I was amped earlier because that's a live show, you have to be amped and this is more relaxed. Yeah, people been love and see and seeing how it goes in here and just a question for maybe the band is well, but does this feel like kind of a typical green room type situation for you guys to just kind of be hanging out like this? Uh, with photographer in this way, I mean, talk about what's typical and both from the ban and jared as well. Yeah, this this is definitely the typical backstage setting, especially pre show everyone's just kind of centering their energy they're getting ready to go there conserving a lot of energy because you know we're going to be putting that all out on stage and generally you know, sort of bonding I were really tight band really good friends so we generally hang out together and you know, we have had photographers that have, you know, come back and shot us backstage but they generally will just kind of engage with our you know, maybe we're just chilling and you know, everyone's zoning out or you know or maybe we're super engaging and everyone's joking around, but I mean, it basically is just everyone's sitting in one place may be stretching maybe you know, what I like about is I didn't tell them to just sit here and start talking I did direct a little bit and say, hey, go go over here you know, all right stay sitting over there and then they just started talking and laughing and then now it's my job to shut my mouth and just focus in on shooting and capturing the moment when you guys were sitting and standing up and waving your arms I was shooting those pictures because they're unique they're different and I just that just happens you don't make that stuff up but when I say hey larry, can you point it hey, larry, I want to say, hey, what exactly, um I'm like, reach your hand out but that's cause I'm right here and I've said a few funny things that actually went over well but not too many so that that keeps the interaction going well good one is really nice lines up in the ceiling if I was one of those type of photographers I would be shooting that stuff but I'm not good looking one from d j do you ever under exposed or go for a really gnarly effect to bring out like a bad ass or dark look or do you get that affect their different method ever intentionally under exposed um yeah I intentionally under expose when I need to cheat the system where I don't want to bump the I s o up too high which is in most cases you don't really need the worry so much about it but if I want to bring the ice so down in a situation like this where they're not moving I could get the v r on aiken hand holding the twentieth of a second even when I'm breaking those rules I shouldn't break but you can I will wonder expose when needed but really backstage you don't need to worry about that too much that's more of something that I do on stage because if I know leslie is going to jump but the light's not so good and I want to be it one five hundredth of a second but really one stop less it may be one two fifty if is better but I know that's going to blur I'll cheat the system and bring it back and post um and that's just thinking ahead of how I want to capture it we love it ben shot do you ever use flash backstage in the green room or anywhere else backstage? I don't even I didn't even pack a flash with me to come on this trip that's me personally it's a good idea to have in the bag in case they ask you to shoot a grip and grin type thing hey, can you get a picture of us with our friends or fans before the show? Sometimes that's needed so it's a good thing to throw in the bag and have it's just generally speaking, when I'm doing these candace, I don't like using the flash it becomes much less candid, he has a flash is always going off and just interfering with the scene because they know it's going off. Yeah, well and that's actually something that a couple of people asked about was the auto focus beep on whether you do leave that on and whether you feel like that does that interfere with the candid nature of it doesn't help you that because I didn't even write forgot I had it on my glasses did you guys even realize that I have a focus? People on I don't think it was disruptive is say a flash would be I mean, you know, it's, just another sound in the room with us talking, but it didn't make us feel like someone's watching us, right? Like, I would definitely say that if we were sitting back here in a flash kept going off, that would be that would be really just right. I mean, it would be be jarring. Yeah, right. And the you just said you would leave the room and that and that you don't want to piss off the band. So you stay out of the way you do your thing and you just you feel you just you become part of it. I mean, that that's what you have to do, you have to be real about it. Love it's let's. See what else we want to ask poppies got a question? What do you do if the band is obnoxious and acting like a prima donnas like these people are right here. Well, when you have prima donnas, I don't like dealing with prima donnas. It's not worth it. It depends on who they are on. It depends. You know, most of the time, you'll find that people that you would think or prima donnas air really just putting on a show when they step on stage and backstage there's somebody different like a really strong business person on there just really focused on a lot of it is part of the show, but if you really had to deal with something I've been disrespected and I have just given it right back to them at some point I'm not going to let somebody disrespect me and make fun of me if they're not my friend if they're my friend they can say whatever they want because they're my friend, but I will not take disrespect and usually at some point you put somebody in their place they'll respect you a lot more where you just walk out and say, you know what? I don't need your photos because you're being a dick I like it some sound about right sounds about right I like it a lot let's see dumb hook is winning if you could talk a little bit about your whole three shot exposure thing where you give yourself three shots to get closure. Yeah, I could talk about that for anyone who doesn't know I talk all the time about getting your shot right in three exposures or less and that starts off with guessing your settings in the first place I think we demonstrate that at the basketball court coming up tomorrow or on saturday where we take a picture guessing the settings, I let somebody in the crowd tell me what the setting should be. We take it it was so underexposed and there's like this is what the image looks like in here, where the settings what do we need to do to make the exposure better? Let's get it right and we got it right on the second shot. I I think that you should there should be no reason why you can't get the exposure right in three shots. That the secret to that is that you take the picture with your settings and you on ly change one thing the next time if you try changing your shutter speed your aperture at the same time, you're going to mess yourself up unless you're a pro and you know what you're doing and you've gotten familiar that well, if I change this and this, then this is going to happen in my head, just it's all cause and effect, if I do, x why is goingto happen? So start with one thing, start with shutter speed, that's what you want to start with and then build from there on that shot and you should get it in three shots or less, which we've done down here, even with the kit basic d thirty three hundred which again, thank you for switching to that when everyone while people are people been really grateful that you've been using it because it is something that they don't see very often so it's great to see you can get the shots without without meeting the high end yet it's crazy going back to it sometimes but if you can't go back to it than you chase says it all the time the best cameras the one that you have right that is, quote best cameras the one you have with you I don't believe it all the time though I e I think it starts with fundamentals the fundamental start with everything and the the best camera is the one that you have if you understand the fundamentals of photography you could have this camera I could give it to larry right now and he may have a little bit of a say on how to get it right because he has a camera. But if I handed this camera to somebody set properly that has never shot a picture in their life, they're not going to get great results from it unless they unless they buy my bigger guide and start to understand that stuff but I if that's what it's about it's understanding the fundamentals and I don't even remember the quake o d thirty three I have no problem breaking it out of course it's scary to go back to something like that cause you are limited but look, I'd be crazy to say we'll be it be a prima donna and they know I'm not going to shoot with that today because that's I only want to use this I want to use this all the time but I prove it by using that one great one from slack copper is a great one what's your blank slack copper all these a slack liner must be a hipster like we had a friend we had a steven sutter everybody that knows that is my readers to see the slack lining that's the thing it's hard to do well his maybe this is why he's asking this question or what's your p o v of choice for situations like this high low mid do you try and get a mixture of them? What do you think each perspective has? What effect you think it has on the image? Yeah it obviously affects everything I'm on eye level with them right now what you also saw that I shoot a lot from low angles that's just how I do it and a lot depends on the composition standing up may give you a good overview of the room if there's a lot of stuff on the table that is interesting got money you got what you got beer, you got alcohol, you've got a guitar pick you've got strings. If you have all of this different stuff on a table, getting to a higher level may showcase that more than if you were too low to the ground. If you're too low to the ground, you're not going to showcase all that interesting stuff on the table, especially with the band in the background. You really just change your point of view for what looks right in the camera. I found lower angles, work great for me. I don't stand and a full erect stance all the time to shoot, because I don't think that that, for me, is part of my style.

Ratings and Reviews

Rusty Shinault
 

I'm a huge fan of Jared Polin; love his humorous and relaxed style of teaching. I love that he's passionate about photography, and that he is willing to share his experiences, opinions, and knowledge. I really enjoy Creative Live classes, and really enjoyed watching Jared teach in front of a live class. Hope to see more of Jared teaching on your platform.

user cf5d2d
 

Jared did not disappoint! He shared his knowledge of composition, exposure, and capturing the moment - all while engaging his audience and keeping things light and fun. I absolutely LOVE when how he sets up his equipment so that we can see each snapshot he takes, and then tells us why it's a good shot or why it's not a keeper. It's so easy to learn that way. I'm a second grade teacher (a.k.a. an educator) who, thanks to Jared can call myself a photographer. Jared is a photographer who is also a great educator!

a Creativelive Student
 

I've seen a few CreativeLive sessions and this was one of the best. It was very unique and engaging I liked the onsite shooting and review and critique. I have done teaching and I know how hard it is to teach WHILE you are doing and I think Jared did a great job of balancing that. I'm quite familiar with his FroKnowsPhoto podcast and website so I knew what to expect and both HE and CreativeLive EXCEEDED my expectations. Thanks much also for letting him use use studio for Raw Talk on the Road (my suggested name for it), I could see a real opportunity for CL to provide access to their facilities for others wanting to record training, etc.

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