TIPS FOR TAKING PHOTOS OF HOLY WEEK PROCESSIONS [+ RECOMMENDED SETTINGS]

Taking pictures of Holy Week could seem like a very complex photographic exercise: very adverse lighting conditions (especially at night), movements and hustle and bustle, too many unforeseen events. Today I intend to show you that it is not that difficult , because by following some guidelines you will be able to get interesting photographs of Holy Week . It's easy, fun, and a rewarding learning experience.

Stand in a strategic place
Be creative
Experiment with unusual targets
Shoot in manual mode

We are going to see them one by one and, later, the recommended settings.

TIPS TO TAKE GOOD PHOTOS OF THE HOLY WEEK PROCESSIONS

1. PLACE YOURSELF IN A STRATEGIC PLACE

Not any place is fine. You are interested in finding a place from which you can shoot comfortably. Search in advance and try to find out the points where there are going to be stops along the route. You should be at one of those points because that way you will have a reasonable amount of time to take a few photos while the brotherhood rests.
If it's night, you should look for a moderately lit point, near a lamppost or public light source. That will allow you to play with the camera settings as you please without fear of getting a dark photo.

2. BE CREATIVE

Do not limit yourself to photographing only the brotherhoods or Nazarenes. Look for subjects among the public, turn the neighbors into protagonists, look for small details, focus on the symbology, portray rosaries or candles, shoot from unusual perspectives. Photograph the procession from the ground and title it "The Procession Seen by a Cockroach" for example. I don't know, play with the camera settings to take a photo at a slow shutter speed, on purpose: you will get an unusually dynamic photo that reflects movement. Get out of the typical.

3. EXPERIMENT WITH UNUSUAL TARGETS

Have you ever thought of taking a picture of a Holy Week Procession with a wide angle lens? How about a fish eye? Or maybe a telephoto lens that will give you the convenience of zooming in and picking up small details from far away. Definitely the lens you use will condition the final photo, keep that in mind. If you need a lens that you don't have, think about the possibility of a friend lending it to you. There are even places and stores where you can rent them for a day or two, for a very affordable price.

4. SHOOT IN MANUAL MODE

Don't know which settings to use? Keep reading.

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING HOLY WEEK PROCESSIONS

1. LARGE OPENING

As is evident, lenses with large diaphragms greatly facilitate the photographer's task, especially if the Procession takes place in the evening/night. A large aperture lens lets in more light and therefore helps a lot to prevent blur. My recommendation is that you set the lens at the maximum aperture that it allows you (small f/value). For example if you use a 35mm f/1.4 lens you should shoot at f/1.4 or f/1.8.

2. RATE OF FIRE

If you shoot during the day you won't have many complications. If you do it at night, the recommended settings will depend on many factors. As a general recommendation, my advice is that you choose a shooting speed over 1/100, and from there you fine-tune depending on the result. If you get a shaky photo, you should increase the speed more. Try 1/150 and see what you get. That the photo comes out clear but dark? You slow down the speed by lowering it to 1/60 for example, and so on.

3.ISO

I recommend leaving the ISO value low, and not raising it more than what is strictly necessary. Of course, if necessary, upload it please. Do it without fear.
Imagine that with the previous adjustments that I have just mentioned, you get a dark photo. You cannot slow down the shutter speed because then you would get a shaky photo. You also can't open the diaphragm as you have it maxed out. What remedy do you have left? Raise the ISO value of course. Do not hesitate. Start by raising it very little, like 400 or so, and you keep trying. Some cameras like the fabulous Nikon D7000It allows you to turn it up to 1000 with hardly any noise. Seize it. What if you end up with a cool photo but full of ISO noise? Well, hey, nothing's wrong. Later you can process it with an editing program like Photoshop that will help you reduce the amount of noise. Even if that's not possible you shouldn't worry. A photo with a little noise is better than a shaky photo in which the subjects cannot be distinguished.

4. MANUAL FOCUS

It is night, there is a lot of movement and too many subjects. It is normal for the camera to go crazy trying to focus on something. Help her by switching to Manual Focus mode. By focusing manually you can decide directly who or what you want to focus on, otherwise you will waste a lot of time and nerves waiting for the camera to focus on what you want. Cameras don't read your mind. Yet.

5. AVOID FLASH (WITH ONE EXCEPTION)

The flash has its moment and its usefulness. But not in a Holy Week Procession, especially if it is at night. If you shoot with flash you run the risk of taking a very ugly photo, with too much flash contrast and shadow areas. In addition, the flash in this type of context produces a light that is too aggressive.
The exception I see here is if you have a diffusing screen. The diffuser screen is a small accessory that filters the light emitted from the flash and softens it, making it fall on the subject(s) in a softer and more homogeneous way. If you have one of these screens, you may be interested in using it, although in the external context of a Procession you will need a very powerful flash .

6. ACTIVATE THE IMAGE STABILIZER OF YOUR LENS OR CAMERA

Some Nikon and Canon lenses have an image stabilization button (it says VR on Nikkor, IS on Canon lenses). This is the time to activate it. It will help you gain some stability and mitigate hand movement. In Sony and Pentax (and some other brands) the image stabilizer is integrated into the camera itself.

7. USE A MONOPOD IF YOU CAN (IF IT'S NIGHT)

Darkness is the photographer's worst enemy. Anything you can use against him will come in handy. Ideally you should set up a tripod, mount the camera on top and shoot. Given the complexity of using a tripod in the circumstances of a Procession, a monopod can be a great idea, since it is the middle ground between the stability that the tripod gives you and the agility of being able to move the monopod and run with it on one side. to another.

8. IF YOU CAN AND KNOW HOW, SHOOT RAW

I have already told you on numerous occasions about the advantages of shooting in RAW mode. It allows you to take the picture quickly and without stress, knowing that later in front of the computer you will be able to modify and play with many elements afterwards (white balance, exposure, brightness and dark, etc.).

Shooting in RAW is not essential, but it is very useful. I always shoot in RAW whenever I can. I find it extremely useful.

9. HAVE FUN

This is more of a "mindset" that you have to wear. It's not about stressing you out, it's about having fun. Remember it.

And to finish, I leave you with a video of Alex Cámara photographing Holy Week in Granada.

I hope these tips help you achieve that great picture you want from Easter. Remember that the most important thing is the experience you are going to live while chasing that photo. The learning you gain from taking photos at Easter will make you a better photographer. I promise.