Occasions like Diwali a great opportunity for street photography

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Occasions like Diwali a great opportunity for street photography
Make sure your camera lens is smudge- or dust-free so you can take clean shots.

Dubai - Here are some tips to get the shots you want, especially with those candid ones

By Staff Report

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Published: Thu 8 Nov 2018, 8:54 PM

Last updated: Sat 10 Nov 2018, 12:30 AM

Diwali is an auspicious occasion, and like other events as special, you should be prepared to snap away at those heat-of-the-moment scenes.
"As a photographer, the most important thing is to understand my gear. When you understand your camera it would be easier to focus on creativity side of the photograph you would like to shoot," Ola Allouz, a street photographer, says.
Allouz, who used an Apple iPhone XR to capture Diwali moments in Dubai, says features like Smart HDR helps capture scenes in low light; scenes like fireworks, especially in these situations, can come out alive even more.
"Smart HDR helped me to get the details I wanted in both colors captured and lighting," she added.
"I also always recommend to use the grid in the phone to follow rule of third while shooting - it helps you to see and plan your photo," Allouz says.
"As a street photographer, the way I shoot is either I go around the area and look for something interesting or I find an area which has a great background and I wait as long as I get the photograph I planned for by waiting for the right person to pasty and be part of the scene. For my Diwali shoot, I waited front of a Hindu temple door that was decorated with flowers and lights and waited for people celebrating it who are wearing the right clothes to match the door and the event."
Post-processing, she adds, is also part of great photographs. Allouz always prefers the "dramatic" filter for her photos, as it "gives me the contrast and colour tones that matches my vision".
"Usually I shoot with my camera, but having your phone with you most of the time helps to take the unexpected moments and sometime it is much easier for street photography to avoid unneeded attention to take candid photographs."
Tips for you
Herald Herrera, another street photographer, has his own take on this, breaking down the most important things to keep in mind when you're out there:
Clean your camera: Make sure your camera lens is clean; more often than not, we have fingerprints or dust on the lens, so make it a habit to check it and clean it before any shoot, just to ensure it's not fogged up - you may risk losing perfect shots.
Turn on the grid: Always start off by turning on the grid in camera settings. It allows you to compose images better and follow the rule of thirds.
Display brightness: For any night events make sure to max up your phone display's brightness level to take advantage of the full brightness of the display while checking your shots.
Check your phone storage: If you don't have enough storage, set your camera capture to "High Efficiency"; it reduces photo and video file sizes and make it a HEIF/HEVC format without compromising image quality.
Highlight your photo details: Smart HDR brings more highlight and shadow detail to your photos. It's on by default, and works across your photos.
Capture colourful portraits: Use Portrait Mode to capture happy people. You can play around with the depth control feature to adjust your background to your liking.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

Fireworks can come popping out with the right camera settings.
Fireworks can come popping out with the right camera settings.
With street photography, you always have to be prepared.
With street photography, you always have to be prepared.
You should turn up your brightness level at night to maximise your shots' quality.
You should turn up your brightness level at night to maximise your shots' quality.

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