Advanced Photography Class - Previsualization

Last Wednesday I began the advanced (probably more like intermediate) photography class. Our lesson was on previsualization. Our project for the week was to previsualize a photo, take it according to the steps laid out in this article by Ron Bigelow, and then send it in explaining our steps. I took a lot of photos I liked over the weekend, and a lot of them previsualized and technically better photographs, but I decided to send in the one that stirred me the most.

EMOTION

This year over 1400 runners registered to participate in the Soaring Wings Ranch Half Marathon. The proceeds from the marathon benefit abused, neglected, and abandoned children in the state of Arkansas who reside at Soaring Wings Ranch. As the marathon participants run their course, the children of the Ranch line up by the finish line to prepare to pass out medals. When runners come over the finish line, the children excitedly hand them a finisher's medal and shout out words of encouragement and thankfulness. It was the feeling during this moment that I wanted to capture. Many of the runners participate strictly because of the cause. The children enjoy cheering them on and runners are touched by the greeting they receive from these happy children at the finish line.

APPEARANCE OF THE FINAL IMAGE

I am actually on staff at Soaring Wings Ranch. I am their graphic designer and in charge of publications for the Ranch. I wanted to capture a photo that could be published for our newsletter. However, there are state regulations on publishing photos of children in DHS care (for the protection of the children). With those goals in mind, I knew I had to capture a scene that did not include a child's full face. Image quality just needed to be good enough to produce a small print for publication. I visualized an image that showed part of a child's face and an extended arm handing a medal to a runner.

EDITING

I shot in RAW since I was having to quickly take photos while shooting in manual mode. I was unsure whether or not I would be able to expose everything perfectly and have everything as sharp as I wanted so I wanted the comfort of that flexibility (BUT I still tried very hard to get everything correct initially in the shot).  Out of camera, the photo was a tad underexposed and I also needed to sharpen the hands up a bit and up the contrast levels, but editing was minimal.

METHODS OF SHOOTING

Lens: I chose a long lens to capture the scene from a distance and minimize my depth of field even further to blur out the busy backgrounds at the race.

Position: I squatted and positioned myself, focusing on the hand of one of the children and waiting for the opportunity to arise to snap the photo. I was excited when I got this shot of a runner stopping to hi-five one of our kids and take time to speak with him personally after receiving his medal. 

ISO: I chose a medium ISO that gave me maximum flexibility for fast changes of exposure.

Aperture: I chose f/7 so I could minimize depth of field and yet still insure that I kept the subject in focus if he moved slightly.

Shutter speed: I made sure my shutter speed was quick enough to keep up with the movement going on in the scene.

Multiple shots: I set my camera on continuous shooting mode so I could shoot bursts and capture the photo at exactly the best moment.