FREEFIVE TIPS FOR GREAT FUNFAIR PHOTOGRAPHY
It doesn’t matter how old we are, the kid inside of us still feels a sense of excitement when visiting a funfair. The noise, the lights, the rides – the whole atmosphere is unlike anything else. A fairground may not seem like an obvious place to take your camera, but it represents a fantastic opportunity to take some creative images that look brilliant printed large on a canvas. This week we’re going to share our five top tips for capturing great fairground photos.
1 – Use a monopod instead of a tripod
Most people will suggest a tripod for this kind of photography, but fairgrounds are dark and full of people milling around having fun. A tripod is a trip hazard, whereas a monopod is lighter and will give you the stability and opportunity to move around quickly between shots.
2 – Shoot in raw
Accurate reproduction of white balance is really important when shooting portraits, but for more creative genres you have a little more leeway to experiment. As long as you shoot in raw you’ll be able to alter white balance in post-production without loss of image quality.
3 – Experiment with shutter speeds
The flashing and whirling lights will be a big attraction to you as a photographer, and they’re likely to be the focus of most of your images. Experiment with shutter speeds from 2 seconds to 10 seconds for some awesome light trail shots. Longer shutter speeds will produce more abstract effects but will require a steadier hand (even with your monopod!), so if your lens or camera body has image stabilisation make sure that you use it.
4 – Don’t forget the details
The key to creating a great set of photographs is to focus both wide and narrow, so as well as capturing the rides and general ambiance of the fair spend some time looking at the details. Don’t be afraid to use a wide angle lens to get in close and shoot details on the rides and stall – it’ll produce some interesting distortion effects – but also use a macro lens (or the macro setting on your camera) for a more faithful reproduction.
5 – Zoom burst is made for funfairs!
Another great way to shoot fairground rides is with a zoom burst. Using a zoom lens and a shutter speed of between 1-4 seconds, start with your lens as wide as you need it to capture the image then click the shutter and smoothly zoom in. If you aim to stop just before the exposure is complete you should grab some great abstract shots.
We hope these five tips will give you all the tools you need to go out and take some brilliant fairground photographs. We guarantee you’ll be having as much fun as all those people on the rides!
Tags canvas print, canvas photography
