Chelmsford City Photography Competition is back and accepting entries until August 31st. To help you capture that perfect shot the competition is collaborating with professional photographers to bring you a wealth of resources and tips across the summer.
Find out more about the competition here.
Action shots with Little Stars Circus
The City Photo blog kicks off with an article themed around action shots and capturing poses. It features a little help from Little Stars Circus and their spectacular aerial dance performers.
If you want to have a go at the advice and tips in this article, you can also download our City Photo Top Tips.
Capturing any pose can be tricky. But capturing a pose mid-air and mid-action takes time and patience, as proven in these stunning snaps from Little Stars Circus photographer Nathan Di Vito.
There can be many things to consider, such as the positioning of the camera and what angle is best for the chosen pose. You also need to think about how the overall composition will highlight the beautiful positioning of the poses created by your model.
Look at Amelie (the first photo). Her gorgeous pose could have been captured perfectly if the photo was taken from a different angle, preferably from the side. In the other photo (the second photo), we see all of Amelie’s pose, the material flowing in the wind and we even get a smile to camera.
We must stress, please don’t try this at home, or on Chelmsford high street for that matter. Little Stars Circus have years of experience and training within the aerial dance world.
Instead, consider what poses your model could recreate safely at home and where you’ll position your camera to capture the best angle.
You have your model ready, you have your camera positioned, and now it’s time to think about composition.
Ensure you’re standing at a suitable distance so that you’ll capture all of your model and not cut their feet off like Jessie below (first photo). It’s also good to think about where you want your model to end up in the image. The stunning second snap captured Alice central and the fabric flowing beautifully towards the bottom left corner.
On the odd occasion, the beautiful poses held by Little Stars Circus performers don’t always quite match up with the shutter release. But that’s fine. Photographer Nathan Di Vito, who took these pictures suggests two options. You can keep the photo and learn from it, or delete and make way for a new snap, like the image below with Will’s intricate pose.
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You can check out more from Little Stars Circus on Facebook and Instagram.
Remember, you have until midnight on 31 August to enter your best snap and be in with the chance of winning some fantastic prizes. Up for grabs are exclusive aluminium prints from Blue Sky Printing and training with Unshaken Digital Photography Training, where you’ll gain invaluable photography and industry insight.
Part of Essex 2020, the competition is proudly sponsored by Meadows Shopping Centre, Blue Sky Printing, Unshaken Digital Photography Training and partnered with Essex Chronicle Community.