Worth a Thousand Words

The best kind of photos are the ones that you’re not expecting to take. Photojournalism is a process of telling stories through photography by creating a visual representation of a story.

Though there’s no technique, recognizing certain features within a photograph help to build a stronger eye for when moments unfold in the future.

Here are some tips for recognizing and capturing moments as they’re happening:

Become one with the crowd

Protestors lie on the ground and chant “I can’t breathe!” (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Protests are generally full of intense emotions, but there will be others with phones and professional cameras out who have intentions of catching the best moment too. Don’t follow the crowd, chasing the most distraught person, become one with the protestors and capture from their point of view.

Laying down where the protesters were, for 8 minutes and 45 seconds just as George Floyd had been with a knee to his neck, I felt what I needed to capture. The texture of the ground, the people lying face down and the kid; in the midst of chaos but determined to make a statement.

The cameras are pointed towards the right of the frame, capturing the same three people who were standing over everyone as they portrayed the message. Surrounding me, protestors laying on the hard gravel chanting “I can’t breathe!” with their hands behind their back and eyes screaming for justice.

Fleeting Happiness

A group of friends play a bonding game at the beach. (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

In any event, catching at least one face to speak for the rest is crucial. The eyes and mouth hold the most emotion; with the one girl’s mouth wide open with a smile, eyes barely open but fixated on her friends, this moment is captured as a good one.

Putting everyone to the right of the frame shows movement; we read from left to right so this makes it appear as though they’re on their way to the end of the story that this photo tells. They’re holding and falling into each other in unity to tell the story of their fleeting moment of happiness.

A lot of photos are up for interpretation to the viewer so making sure you’re able to capture the moment for what it is creates that effective method of storytelling through your photos that you need ­– photojournalism.

This technique allows you to have more control of the meaning behind a photo because you decide the angles and subjects to capture. With that comes personal responsibility to make sure that it’s honest.

Snack on This

Let me get your appetite running for Thanksgiving with a few photo tips to take your snacks to the next level.

Try out these concepts to make anyone’s mouth water while looking at a photo of any snack:

A delicious corn in a cup, with Takis decorating it with flavor. (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Let’s face it, if you were a bird, you’d dive into this ‘Takis Elote en Baso’ from Tea Be Honest. The trick is to capture snacks from the angle you’d look at them, bird’s eye view, and make it pop.

Everything is put into one place so subtly. The spice of Takis is already enough to make you drool, but looking at the corn peeking through the top, knowing there’s more flavor to enhance your taste buds… now that’ll make anyone get their keys to drive to the nearest Tea Be Honest.

Perspective

Tropicorn from California Snack Foods (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Put into perspective what it would look like to have the snack in the viewer’s grasp. It’s like a spectrum between grabbing snacks with your fingertips or cupping as much as you can in both hands. 

There are two hands full of popcorn because of the wide selection of colors. This shows that there’s endless possibilities of flavors that will make anyone’s mouth water.

Angles Matter

Provide a different perspective through your lens by taking your photos from various angles. Angles can fix some small imperfections within and/or define the voice, presence and visual purpose of a photo.

Take a look at how a shift in the angle of these engagement photos brought the moment to life:

Patchy Glory

_{Dora and Ivan pose for their engagement photos by wind turbines. (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)}

Golden hour in a desert is probably the best time for natural lighting in your photos, especially for engagement photos! Romanticize the moment even more by finding the right angle that hides the small flaws in the environment.

In the first photo, Dora and Ivan sit on a patchy desert floor and hold each other close. The second photo, the patch is used to enhance the photo by creating the illusion that they’re relaxing side-by-side in a field.  

The Purpose-al

^{Dora and Ivan pose on a blanket in their backyard. (Photo by Kristy Ramirez)}

To pull a moment together, you have to pull people together and get creative with where you stand. Stand over your subjects to capture a close-up of their emotions.

This photo is looking to foreshadow a life together. The two of them, not their environment, so equally distributing the amount of frame-space they take up is essential. Get creative with the angles until you find the best fit!

Exposed

Bring imagination into reality through the scope of your lens. Slow your shutter speed and use the long exposure – you usually aim to capture the fleeting moment, but take time to plan your own moment and unleash wondrous results.

Long exposure can be used in various settings to express a fast-pace – it could be bikes, cars, rivers, rain, stars or my personal favorite, lights – you have more control of what you capture.

When I first started I thought it was a drag to take so long for a single photo, but look at the results now:

Catching Fire

I held fire and it didn’t burn my hand!
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Have you ever smothered your hand in hand sanitizer to set it on fire? The results weren’t pretty. If only I had known about this cool trick before, long exposure won’t burn your hand.

I turned off all of the lights, set up the camera by my bed and I brought the shutter speed down to 20″, which basically means that I had 20 seconds for the photo to develop. So I ran to sit down and with my phone’s flashlight, covered by my finger, I drew an imaginary fire coming from my hand. It wasn’t as exciting to do it, but once I heard the camera click, I rushed to look and voila.

I had a rough start when I first learned about long exposure though, did you know that if you write something you have to write it backward?

Remember the Name

I ended in an epic pose and everything, look at the feet!
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Say goodbye to writing your name in boring old worksheets and start to practice writing it backward. It’s not really a breeze, but your name is the easiest to get a hang of when shooting in long exposure. After a few practice runs (literal runs), the end result will give you a new appreciation for your name.

For photos like these, you’re going to be running around to do everything within 20 seconds. If you want something light – no running, no sitting, no drawing – set up your camera by a road and wait for the cars to do the work.

In a Flash

A sped-up fleeting moment in frame but in reality? Way too much time waiting for a car to pass by.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

This may seem like the easiest option – just waiting. But it gets tricky to capture the vision when you’re not in control. Although it requires less work on your end, working with cars takes more patience than anything. In the end it’s all worth it though, to have captured something that isn’t visible to the naked eye.

Chiaroscuro

How do you take a great photo with only a camera and a light? Chiaroscuro – create a dramatic three-dimensional illusion on your subject through this technique to display extreme contrast between light and dark.

This simple approach will generate great results in any photo. Here are some handy tips to amplify your shots:

Face-Definition

Melisa Ramirez staring blankly into the camera after one too many shots.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Turn off all the lights and get a hold of the nearest light bulb for the source of light. A black and white filter helps when background colors become too distracting.

The definition of her eyebrow and the shaded side of her face illustrates the mystery of her character.

Emotion

Melisa Ramirez clenching her fist to recreate the Arthur meme that went viral in 2016.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

It doesn’t always have to be a person – capture a body part or even an object (No joke, I used an orange peel for a project in high school).

The shadow casted from the veins on her hand adds emotion that can perceived by the viewer as frustration, anger, longing etc.

Color

Juan Figueroa staring into the camera at the Desert Hot Springs High School theater room.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Cast a dramatic light on your subject matter and present the surrounding colors, softly or sharply, depending on what you want to evoke with your photograph.

This photo uses soft colors to present a neutral state in something great.

“Work it” With Your Model

Finding the perfect angles is only the beginning when working with models. You need to know how to style, set the scene and help them pose too!

Take a look at these helpful tips for a successful photoshoot:

A Perfect Angle

Wendy Martinez and her reflection surrounded by vibrant red flowers.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Get creative with where you point your camera. The even split between the model and her reflection gives an illusion but perspective comes in different forms. Take your photos from a perspective that the viewer isn’t expecting. Think about the angle of your camera, model or props.

The mirror was angled down toward me, the model looked into the camera through the reflection and my camera was pointed at a slightly downward angle. Think a lot about what you want the finished product to look like so the viewer doesn’t have to.

Fashionably Made

Wendy Martinez rocking her style like a boss on a broken white bench.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Style your model to enhance the image as a whole. The wardrobe should guide the emotion of the photo and the model; make them feel and look confident. Color should be the main element of your final decision (dark colors = authority; pastel colors = softness).

She’s staring into the camera with her shoulders back and her chin up. She compliments her attire with her body language which sets the mood for the photo.

Strike a Pose

Vicky Maldonado sitting on the rocks at Cal Poly Pomona’s Japanese Garden.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Oh, you think people climb rocks just to sit on them? Maybe they do, but you can help to make them look pretty while doing it. Good posture goes a long way, it looks and feels good in the long run. Make sure that the model is recognizable; have their face or other identifiable feature face toward the camera.

The upper part of her body is facing the camera, her feet are off to the side and her head is slightly tilted to show off her smile. Make small shifts to those areas and keep their comfort level in mind because it will show in the end-result.

…And Scene

Vicky Maldonado throwing her graduation cap in the air at Cal Poly Pomona.
(Photo by Kristy Ramirez)

Four long years of slumping over a desk will have anyone begging for freedom. Let your model know that she’s free! And let the world know by capturing and portraying what this moment means to him/her.

This Cal Poly Pomona graduate worked her way up to a bachelor’s degree. Her hand leading up towards the top of the building isn’t a coincidence – I did that! That graduation cap signifies that her journey doesn’t end there; she’s going to keep moving up from this point in her life.

Quali-tea Photo Props

Use props to compliment the subject matter. Sure, you can snap a photo holding your boba drink like everyone else, but why not get creative to make someone’s mouth water?

Here are some helpful tips for choosing your props with examples from Tea Be Honest’s drinks:

Red Bean Messy Milk

by Kristy Ramirez

An easy way of adding a little flair to your photos is to exaggerate the use of the most prominent ingredient of your subject matter. Boba is a popular ingredient for teas that people can’t get enough of; take their expectations to the next level by decorating the photo with that!

Tropical Fruit Tea

by Kristy Ramirez

Separate the colors of your subject matter and make them easier to take in. A fruit tea sounds good, but what do you taste when you hear that? The pop of color from different ingredients allows someone to process the taste through a simple glimpse.

Mango Galaxy

by Kristy Ramirez

Get creative with the name. Make a galaxy tea look out of this world! You may not always have props to work with, so focus in on the subject matter to make it pop as a whole. There are always better ways to take photos; you just have to pay attention to what’s around you!

Leading Lines

The main subject of a photo should be clear to the viewer of your photo through the photo’s composition. Leading lines guide the eye in the right direction. Leading lines are often created by roads, walls, bridges or anything that can be used to guide you toward the main subject.

The use of leading lines often tells a story or invokes a feeling to connect people to the photograph. With that said, the main subject isn’t always a person or an object. Sometimes it’s not even in the photo, let me explain:

The Other Side

Photo by Kristy Ramirez

In this photo, the path and trees create a visual guide to the other side. However, the framing of the trees and plants breaking through the gate create a mystery as to where the path leads. The leading lines in this photo create a sense of mystery that is meant to open the curiosity of the viewer, to leave them questioning what’s on the other side.

The Passing Moment

Photo by Kristy Ramirez

This photo uses the train tracks to lead the eye toward the train and back toward you to evoke a feeling of passing by. Instead of invoking curiosity through the path, this gives you space to interpret your feelings toward it.  This fleeting moment will have a different effect on the viewer depending on how he/she views a passing train.

Story-Telling

Photo by Kristy Ramirez

This photo uses the art along the gate to guide you toward the woman who is working on an art piece herself. It creates a moment of realization that the art is created by someone and that the wall did not fill itself up out of the blue. It tells a story as the art along the wall lets you know what the woman’s course of action is. This photo captures the instance of her becoming a part of this story – the in-between of not completely being a part of it, but it’s given that she’s already added her art into the wall.

The Lines That Bounce Back

Photo by Kristy Ramirez

This photo draws the eye toward the man about to break the rack, but his gaze amongst the blur pushes the focus back toward you. This technique is often used to create a personal connection between the viewer and the photo so it feels like you’re a part of the scene. Though this photo doesn’t invoke any type of feelings, it entraps you within the scene through the simple perception of being at the same level as the pool balls that create the leading lines that bounce back toward you.