Drew_Geraci

I love a good cinematic portrait!

One of the biggest hurdles for people learning video is being apprehensive about adding motion to their still images. Video is super easy to do and one of the best ways to take your still work to the next level. Video allows you to anticipate movement, capture action, and really hone your compositional setups. If you're scared of learning the differences between resolutions, frames per second, picture profiles, and color spaces then timelapse might be perfect for you! Timelapse allows you to create moving images without the hassle of knowing much about video. You can combine still images together inside of programs like Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut pro to create fun, impactful videos -- many of which can/will draw in more viewers for your social media accounts. I've never done a plantlapse before but here is my first attempt! I'm not even mad! https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ci2UlFOA8u4/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet Have you tried to timelapse anything yet? If so what was the biggest challenge for you? Here's a fun guide I put together if you're interested in learning 🙂

The 50mm all the way. While you will get more options with the other lens, anything past 50mm is really limiting for a majority of shooting situations. The 50mm is that perfect wideness and tightness to replicate what the human eye sees. Ultimately if you can bring both (or get 24-105) that's what I'd suggest going with. Happy shooting!

Great advice! You hit the nail on the head with all of your points.

Yup, the A1 is one of my favorites too! Not sure how Sony can top it!! Ha.

The A1 is a great camera but don't cut yourself short - a good eye and patience go along way with wildlife photography, and it's more than just the gear! If you're looking to publish a book, perhaps consider doing an e-book. It's much easier to handle, publish, and often has higher margin returns since there's no real overhead. Either way, good luck with your endeavor!

Fantastic story, thanks for sharing! (And welcome to the community!!!)

Love it! What do you look for the most when you're shooting FOR black & white vs. shooting WITH black & white? Are there certain colors you look for to accent your shots so they produce better dynamics with black and white?

It's a fantastic tool! Great for cooling off in the summer too with that downward breeze, haha!

Great job on creating a very dynamic foreground, middle ground, and background! Love how the subject is nestled between all of these elements.

There are a lot of techniques you can use to help tell better stories and improve upon your photographic skill sets. While investing in better gear is great, some of the simplest things you can do are the following; 1) Use a faster aperture lens (allowing you to better separate the subject from the background), this can be achieved with lenses ranging from F1.2 - 2.8. There are a bunch of super awesome lenses that Sony makes that are relatively cheap to achieve this look. 2) Anticipate your subject but thinking ahead of how the scene is going to play out. EX. You know the bridge and groom are going to kiss at the alter, so position yourself in a spot that allows you to capture them with the best possible light and composition. 3) Use the rule of thirds to better compose your frame (making sure at least 3 out of the 4 points always have your subject in them for the best possible results). Hopefully that helps kick your photograph game up to the next level!

For a lot of photographers and cinematographers choosing the right lens is SUPER important, especially if plan on taking it up hundreds of feet into the air!! When I fly my Airpeak my current go-to-lenses are the Sony 14mm GM, 24mm GM, and 85mm 1.8. These lenses (to me) give you the best range and clarity when filming from the sky (and are the easiest to rebalance on the ground). The 85mm is also one of my favorites because it gives you an incredible cinematic look (something that's hard to achieve with other systems). It's pretty awesome being able to fly with pretty much any lens you want! What lens do you think would be great for aerial photos/video? I'd also love to see what everyone else is capturing with their Airpeaks too!      

Once you try it, make sure you re-share it here! Can't wait to see what you make 🙂

Welcome!! You're going to LOVE Kando 🙂

Astrophotography is fun and super easy to do! If you're looking to spice up your social media game, there are a few things you can do to really make your astro images stand out. Below, you'll see an abstract astrophotography still image that was captured using the Sony A1 + 14mm 1.8 GM and a simple 100mm ball head. The idea or principle behind this shot is getting the right exposure on the stars first, and then using the remaining time of your shutter speed to use the stars as a light source that you can leverage to do a reverse light painting (in camera!). (Sony Alpha 1 + 14mm 1.8: 8" SS, 640 ISO, F1.8, 12 second exposure total) It's very simple to do! 1) Use a wide-angle lens that's fast (at least 2.8 to 1.4 will work the best) 2) Determine what shutter speed you'll need to obtain a well-exposed sky. (Usually, between 8-10 seconds is the sweet spot so you don't have star trails). 3) Once you've figured out your shutter speed, add 3 seconds to it. 4) Next, tilt your camera at a 90-degree angle upward viewpoint so the lens is looking straight up at the sky. 5) Lock your main tripod head but leave the X-Axis unlocked (this will be important) 6) Use a 2-second self-timer to initiate the start of a photo on your camera. 7) Count in your head the original shutter speed that you determined to be the exposure for the scene. Once you've reached that, gently begin to rotate your camera (direction doesn't matter, it's up to you) on the X-Axis and continue to spin it until the shutter releases. 😎Congratulations, you've just created your first Abstract Astro photograph! There are many other ways you can utilize this technique as well and I'd love to see what you create on your own! Happy shooting! (Sony Alpha 1 + 14mm 1.8: 8" SS, 640 ISO, F1.8, 10-second exposure total) #SonyA1 #Astrophotography #14mm