Nikon D5500: good reportage is always a story

The first and the most important thing to remember once and for all about any reportage is that a good reportage is always a story. The techniques, the angles and the angles, it all has to work for the story you want to tell. So you should start shooting any reportage with understanding what the story is about. To shoot this material I went to the Kaluga region, the village Nikola-Lenivets, where a unique natural landscape park by the architect Nikolai Polissky has existed for a decade. There are a lot of stories and reports about Nikola-Lenivets, but most journalists and bloggers focus on the visible part of the iceberg – the amazing sculptures and landscape art objects of Nikola-Lenivets.

Few people know that Bobur, Universal Mind, Sturm the Sky, Selpo and many other art objects are made by the hands of local Nikola-Lenivets men. Which are kind of like country men, but can turn an unsightly snag into a bird, turtle or monkey’s head in a couple of movements of a chainsaw or drill. With Chris Rhee and Sting playing in front of a disused 19th century church. Total sur. That’s what you need to capture.

So, we have worked out the plot, now we have to choose the format. Stories can fit into a single photo, so you can get the whole story in one shot, without the need for captions. But more often for the story requires ten to twenty-five pictures. It is better not to type more, because after the second dozen pictures, the viewer’s attention is already starting to wander.

Try to make the main characters of the story stand out. It could be people or things. The main character could even be a town, and you have to foreground the life of that giant object, not the people in it. But this is aerobatics, so we’ll start with an easier subject. If your main character is human, then try to communicate with him, learn about his habits, character, food and music preferences. This knowledge will help you bring out your character better in pictures. Take a portrait of him, not necessarily using a portrait lens like 85mm. A good portrait you can do at your desk at a wide angle. And yes, don’t be shy to ask your character to pose for you – let him sit at the desk, show part of the process. If he is a woodcarver or a potter, for example, let him show you how he works.

Generally speaking, the tips for shooting a good reportage are the same for social, industrial, or event reporting. Shoot different angles. Start with a general plan, which will help show the place of action and help you assess the environment, the number of people and even the weather. Use a wide angle lens. Use a medium wide angle or a tripod to show some of the action, some of the bigger scene. And be sure to shoot close-ups, with attention to detail. A televisor will help.

A set of tools, a mess or, on the contrary, a perfect order on your desk, a pile of discarded workpieces or a pile of torn paper – it can all become part of the story, you just need to understand what is important and focus on it. Make sure you shoot the hands, clothes, jewelry they can tell a lot about the person. At markets and bazaars, get close-ups of produce. At flea markets, get snapshots of things on vendors’ stalls. All these details are key to a good reportage.

Try to find an original angle. Lift the camera above your head and lower it to the ground itself – thankfully, the Nikon D5500’s pivoting screen allows you to comfortably shoot from such angles. Use reflections in mirrors and puddles to visually expand and combine any incompatible objects in the same frame. look for “portals” – open doors, windows, holes in walls and holes in any other object like original sculptures or badges on cars and shoot reality on the other side of these “portals. But don’t forget it shouldn’t be a reception for the sake of reception – try to convey some sense or conflict by combining or contrasting such a “portal” with what you can see through it.

A separate task is to take pictures of people in a reportage. If you’ve arranged for a shoot in advance, there probably shouldn’t be any difficulties. At large events people are usually ready to be filmed and react easily to the camera. But when it comes to city reportage, taking pictures of people can be a daunting task. For example, in America people react very badly to a camera pointed in their direction. For such a thing you can easily get an unflattering comment about your person. People who are easier will punch their faces right away. Of course you can always come up and ask to take a picture, but then the naturalness of the scene will be destroyed. In some cases, the same flip-up display will help make a discreet portrait. People won’t respond to you as a photographer if they can’t see the camera at your face level. With the screen tilted back and the camera held at waist level you can take pictures of people even in the subway during rush hour – no one will even notice.

You often have to shoot reports indoors, where there isn’t much light. In this case, it is better to use a fast lens, and set the sensitivity as high as possible to achieve a shutter speed equal to one divided by the focal length. This kind of shutter speed will allow you to shoot static subjects without causing shake. But for moving objects, and in reportage something is always moving somewhere, shutter speed should be even shorter. Besides aperture value you can also introduce negative exposure compensation and shoot in RAW. This format lets you not only adjust the white balance in the finished picture, but also stretch out an underexposed or noisy frame.

But even if the shot is not technically perfect, you shouldn’t throw it in the trash. Don’t forget that in reporting, it’s much more important to the story, not to achieve technical perfection. With a proper composition and a strong subject, even a blurry, over-exposed picture can turn out a masterpiece, and all the technical mistakes will be perceived as an artistic trick.