Planning A Photography Trip John Nixon, Master Photographer Fort Worth Camera Club Oct. 9, 2018
Topics Determine location Research location Type of transportation Equipment Work the scene Back up images Processing and Output
Determine Location This is the fun part. Where are you going and what are you going to shoot. Local, National, or International. Dream Location for Photography or a Family Trip. Is it on your Bucket List. I will be going to Chaco Culture National Historical Park for night photography in September. Research time.
How will you get there? Where will you be staying? What is available at the site? What will you need to bring? What information is available about the Site? What Weather conditions and environment will you be working in. These are all question you need to answer to Develop your plan.
Websites to Research Flickr, Google Photos, 500px, Smug Mug, web searches, and talk to those that have been there. Professional Photographers websites. Goggle Earth. Maps and Books. Your Photography Club or a Photography Club in the area. Area web sites. Photo Apps like Photopills.
Equipment Mode of Transportation Car or Plane/Rail/Bus What type of Photography are you gong to do? Sports Wildlife Landscape Night Street Macro Abstract Architecture
Equipment Equipment I bring to every shoot. Tripod and sometimes a monopod. Lens and Sensor cleaning equipment. Back or Belt Pack. Flashlight and gels. A rain cover for camera and back pack Extra batteries and Battery Chargers Back up Camera
Equipment Proper Clothing and boots. Intervalometer or remote trigger for camera. Lens filters (ND, Polarizer). Lenses needed for the type of Photography you are going to do. Wide angle, Telephoto, etc. Phone. Computer with External hard drives to back up images.
My equipment list for Chaco Two cameras (D850 and D500). D750 infrared camera for middle of the day. Three flashlights with gels. On camera flash. Lenses (17-35 2.8, 10-20 3.4 for D500, 70-300 f4, and 24-70 2.8). Two tripods. Back pack and belt pack. Filters for daylight shooting. Camping equipment including food and water.
On-Site I shoot in RAW with the camera in manual. ( JPEG-256 tone variations per channel while 14 bit RAW equates to 16,000 tone variations per channel). I expose to the right without clipping the highlights. You have done your research so you have an idea of what you want but stay flexible. Scout the area to determine the composition you want before you set up your tripod. Do not be afraid to move around and change your view of the scene. Raising or lowering your cameral position can have a dramatic impact on your image. Police your Borders and study scene to eliminate distractions. Photography is as much about what we eliminate from the scene as what we include. Check your image for sharpness and proper exposure. Vary your settings to capture different versions of the scene. Vary Depth of Field and amount of motion. Change focal length. Get in close for detail shots.
On-Site Be deliberant in what you shoot. Do not spray and pray. Look for the decisive moment and then shoot. Work the scene. Pay attention to the light and adjust accordingly. Think about how you are going to process the image when you get home. Do you need to take multiple exposures for HRD, Pano, high key or low key, etc. Take time to enjoy yourself. It is the journey which is most important.
Processing Images Software Programs I use. Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik (Silver Effects Pro), Helicon, Photomatix, Zerene Stacker and Topaz. Import and Back up images using Lightroom and Chronosync. Make at least two copies. I make three with one in a gun safe in my Garage. Add Global key words to images during import. Apply basic processing as a preset during import.
Processing Images I use lightroom for managing all of my images, editing about 75% of the image, exporting and printing my images. Most of my tone and color adjustments are done in Lightroom. I use Photoshop for cloning, healing, final tone and color adjustments and using plugins like Nik or Topaz as layers. I use Helicon for all my focus stacking projects. I use Photomatix or Lightroom for HDR conversions. I use Lightroom or Photoshop for stitching panos. I use Nik Silver Effects Pro or Topaz B&W for black and white conversions. I have started to experiment with Topaz Detail for sharpening but I am not comfortable with it so I use the Nik sharpening tool when I print an image. I use an Epson 3000 with Red River Paper to print my images.
Editing First task after import is to evaluate the images. Reject images that are not sharp, poor exposure, or test photos. Assign a star ranking to those that I consider good or exceptional. Go through the ranked photos and assign two or more stars to those that are exceptional. I repeat this process until I am satisfied with my final picks. I Develop only those images that I consider exceptional. I Wait a month or more then repeat the process I just described to ensure you have not missed something.
Review Poor planning produces Poor Results. Determine location and Type of Photography. Pack accordingly. Think about processing while shooting. Processing cannot correct poor technique. Taking the picture is only half of the process. Digital Processing is the other half. Software makes the image pop. Get out there and shoot. It is a lot of fun.