Tips & Tricks – Hitting the streets with street photographer Nic Chung and the Huawei P9

One of Malaysia’s most accomplished wedding photographers, Nic Chung has captured the magic from behind the lens for over a decade. In between travelling the world to the most scenic wedding venues on the planet, he indulges in street photography and portraiture. When given the Huawei P9, he took to it like a duck to water. During a special talk for owners of the P9, he shared essential tips on getting the best results with Huawei’s latest flagship phone as well as how best to use it in street photography.

What to Look For in Street Photography?
He stresses to be patient and look for patterns and reflections in landscape and the people, which requires you to cultivate a photographer’s keen eye. Things that would be trivial, such as a reflection in a mirror or in a water puddle can often yield very snap-worthy shots. He also espouses patience to wait for the right moment when all the elements in a shot are in place to capture the perfect image.

Look for Photo Opportunities Everywhere
Opportunities to take a beautiful image are everywhere. Nic also advises to look in every direction including both upwards and downwards to find photographic opportunities as well as to scan for reflections both man-made and not such as water puddles, mirrors and polished steel facades that can yield interesting compositions.

 

Seek Lines, Patterns, Colours and Shapes
A good photograph is a photographer’s vision given form and tells a story. To tell a story, a photographer can influence a viewer’s eye by using lines, patterns and either colour or monochromatic elements to tell a story. By combining lines, shapes and colours, you can create a visual narrative. In terms of lines, he advises for symmetry or converging lines to guide the eye. In terms of shapes, he advises to look for geometric shapes like triangles, circles, squares, diamonds and so on in the landscape to create an interesting picture.

Look for reflections
Mirrors and reflections can yield interesting compositions. One such example he demonstrated was the use of a framed mirror that was angled towards a moving escalator. Nic explained that he had the shot composed beforehand and waited for the right subject to move into frame before he took the shot that made full use of reflections,lines. He also showcased a shot he took in downtown Petaling Street via a water puddle in the street after a heavy rain shower. He waited until the right moment that a yellow cab passed by before taking the shot. To make the shot more interesting he advised the use of either the P9’s monochrome mode for dramatic effect or Vivid mode to make colours pop.

Using the Foreground to frame your subject
Another tip he shared was the use of foreground to frame a subject. By using bits of the landscape such as the fringe of a treeline, bushes or even the clutter on a workman’s table, you can frame the actual subject itself to make it more interesting. In this case it would be KLCC amidst foliage.

Using Lines to lead the viewer’s eyes towards your subject
Like street signs, lines in a picture can guide the perspective of a viewer. Nic demonstrated how the lines of a flight of stairs and the use of monotone in an image helped to bring the subject to life in this mood shot of a male subject on a stairs.

Don’t be Afraid To Shoot Backlit Images
While backlit images are traditionally a faux pas when it comes to photography, you can turn it to your advantage as the eye of the viewer will gravitate towards the brightest part of the picture. According to Nic, one can also darken areas that you don’t want attention drawn to as well. Backlight subjects can also be used for dramatic effect.

 

 

Wait for the Moment
Once you’ve scouted out an area, set your focus and composition right and then anticipate the right moment when a subject walks into the frame.  “I lock exposure, prefocus the area I want to shoot and wait for the subject to walk past into the frame so I can get the right shot,” says Nic. In this example, he waited for when the bridesmaid was ascending the staircase to create the perfect juxtaposition and tell a story with the image. For casual street photography, the compact shape of the P9 is ideal rather than a large DSLR though you can also shoot from the hip by selecting the shutter release as the fingerprint sensor on the P9 so you can casually take snaps.

Use Wide Aperture Mode for street portraits
As a wedding photographer, Nic appreciates wide aperture mode so that it blurs out the background. “Portraiture is about people and showing their soul. By blurring the background, you can make the person the centre of focus in the shot,” says Nic. He advised to use windows and natural light for the soft effect. He suggests using bokeh mode on the phone and using the P9’s touch focus to focus on the person more. For a more moody shot, he advises to use the P9’s mono shot mode.

Shoot Under and Clean Up With Apps Later
“The dynamic range of the Huawei P9 is quite good. To make the subject more dramatic try and shoot slightly underexposed to keep details on the highlights,” says Nic. He suggests using image apps like Snapseed and it’s Dodge & Burn mode to bring up the shadow detail later to create a better lit, more dramatic image.

 

To find out more about Nic Chung and his extensive work, swing by his website at www.nicchung.com . To follow his work, swing by his official Facebook profile at www.facebook.com/NicChungPhotography Check out the video below to get the highlights of his workshop.

 

https://www.facebook.com/NicChungPhotography/videos/1213904495322783/?__mref=message_bubble