Common Mistakes Shooting with Polaroid SX-70 in a studio: https://youtu.be/JqtAMxPkjiE
Make a splash, use a flash, how convenient and appropriate is that when you are in a studio! Except when it’s sunny and bright outside and you live in England!
Right after we set everything up in the studio, I decided to look out the window very quickly.
The clouds had clear and there was just this gorgeous afternoon light, and I decided, right, that's it.
I wasn’t going to miss the rare opportunity to shoot outside. We went right out the gate, straight downstairs, and then started shooting.
Below are my top tips on how to shoot late afternoon with direct sunlight. How to make sure that every time you shoot in these conditions, you get a great shot every single time.
Don’t shoot directly with the sun coming onto your subject. Make sure that you are away from that direct harsh light, particularly with a Polaroid SX-70.
Find a place where there isn't direct harsh sunlight coming through. For example you may find a narrow alleyway or anywhere there are surrounding walls that you can use.
This way you’ll get some softer light, more spread out around your subject. This is particularly important when you're shooting with a Polaroid SX-70 from my experience.
Furthermore you’ll be able to focus better in those conditions as well as getting sharper and well lit images.
If you are going shoot with the direct sunlight coming onto the subject because you feel like that's going to create that drama and element that you're looking for, then just be careful about where those shadows are falling in the frame that you're taking.
Shadows late afternoon in the Northern Hemisphere just go nuts. So just be mindful of where you're standing and that your shadow is not in frame. Otherwise you might create something, which you don't want to have in your picture.
However, I think it's pretty cool playing with long shadows. If you carefully work with your subject then you can create quite a dramatic look, down to your personal preference. Just be aware that with that strong light coming onto the subject, you're going have those accentuated shadows as well.
Get really close to your subject. This is one of the most important aspects of shooting with the Polaroid SX-70.
Get as close as possible to them and you'll be able to frame them better. The quality of the images will also come out much better.
If you are taking from further away, be prepared to lose some definition in your subject. It might be a little bit more difficult for the Polaroid to capture what you're trying to capture. If you are taking a portrait for example, it might come out slightly blurry depending on your manual dexterity. With that in mind, just get as close as possible to your subject.
Keep moving, move your feet, get into new positions, new angles, every time you're taking a different shot.
With only eight shots on the Polaroid SX-70. Use each frame wisely. Don't just stand there each time with the camera, shooting the subject directly in front of you every single time.
Get creative with your positioning, move your feet to get that shot that you're looking for.
Try something different, try different angle. Every time you do that, you will find something new. Who knows? You might create some magic in that process. Something that you weren't expecting and that might come about or be the most memorable shot from the shoot that you've been doing.
Conclusion
Get creative with it, play with your positioning, move your feet as often as possible.
I absolutely love, love, love this camera. It's such a fun camera to shoot with. Strongly recommended.
If you don't have your own one, I highly recommend you getting one. It's got so much history behind it, I love it. I just love its designed, the way it operates, the feel of it. I've I've got so much joy out of shooting with this camera.
I hope that you found these tips useful for you, for when you do go out and shoot.
I've got a series of videos that I've already posted on this. Be sure that you go back and check out the other ones that I have posted.
Through the videos you'll be able to pick up something new and that will save you the time and money from making the mistakes that I've made along the way.
Let me know which photos were your favourite out of this set. Check out the other videos and I will catch you on another one very, very soon.
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