Photo Tip #10

MOVE IN CLOSER

The famous and amazing war photographer Robert Capa, who covered five different wars, once said, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough." Capa was killed in 1954 covering the First Indochina War for Life magazine, having stepped on a land mine while the regiment he was covering was under heavy fire. He died with his camera in his hand. Above is one of his most famous photos, "Falling Soldier," the 1936 image of a Spanish Republican militiaman at the moment he was shot dead.

That's probably too close for most of us. And most of us will be photographing subjects and events far less dangerous to our health. But the idea - 'move in closer' - is on the money. So often, our images lack impact and emotion because we are too far away. Get in there and fill your frame! And discover how joyful super-close photos can be.

A good bit of patience went into this photo of Madison Norrell, left, and her friend Morgan Dixon, as they stayed cool and I worked up a sweat. But getting in as close as I could, given their nonstop ballet around the pool with me circling the perimeter, is what captured their fabulous expressions. This was shot with a 20mm lens.

Mom and dad hold little Zachary Adams steady at the start of a race for three to five-year olds during the Georgia State Championships Mountain Bike Race this past spring at Flat Rock Park. I couldn't stand directly in front of him, but again, using a wide angle lens, (and knowing that I would crop in from the left), I filled the frame as much as possible with Zach and his parents' hands.

When Mildred Upshaw died earlier this year, her friends who work at the 13th Street Lewis Jones left flowers and a message at her campsite. The homeless woman was well known around downtown and midtown, and one local artist has painted portraits of her. There was no need to focus on the disarray - it's still obvious from the photo that a homeless person lived here. The focus is the message to Mildred - a message that she was not invisible to the community.

I used a 200mm lens to photograph Sgt. Christopher Alcala, 23, of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team Advance Party and his five-month old daughter Angelina when his unit arrived home from Iraq. Then I cropped in even closer. The soldier from Texas had come home for his daughter's birth, then rejoined his unit to complete the 15-month deployment. Now daddy's home.

When you are thinking 'close-up,' consider CLOSE UP!

Grab your camera and enjoy this beautiful weather -
Robin