This article is a follow up on the previous article So.. how do you take a picture in freefall (part 1)
In the previous article I discussed how freefall photographers operate the shutter on their cameras, which is slightly different from how photographers do this on the ground.
This article focusses on probably the most important thing in photography: composition and framing.
The typical way to take a photo with your camera is to look through the viewfinder on the camera or to look at the screen on the back of the camera (with most point and shoot cameras), but this is a bit tricky when you are not able to see through the viewfinder. This article focuses on just that: how do you frame / compose your photos, without using the viewfinder on the camera?
Normally looking through the viewfinder on your SLR you’d see something like this:
Where the circle is the center of the photo you are about to take.
In skydiving however, the camera is mounted away from your eye, and you use a “ringsight”.
Think of a ringsight as the sight on a rifle, like snipers / sharpshooters use. You don’t see through the barrel of the gun, but you look through the sight, which is lined up perfectly with the barrel and whatever is center in your sight, is center for the barrel of the gun.
Ringsights used in skydiving photography are very similar, the ringsight is mounted on the camera helmet in front of your eye, and the center of the ringsight lines up perfectly with the center of the frame on your camera.
The most popular ringsight used is built by Brent Finley:
What it looks like to look through the ringsight
The ringsight, has a number of concentric rings in it, that allow you to frame the shots.
The middle of the ringsight lines up with the center of the frame of all the cameras mounted on the helmet, and that is how the shot is framed. The other rings around it are used to size the subject in the shot, and to match the shot seen through the ringsight with the size of the subject in the photo you are taking. For example a subject that covers beyond the outside of the ringsight, might be cut off in the actual photo you are taking. There typically is no “zoom” in skydiving photography, you get your zoom from flying closer, or further away from your subject.
The rings are used to judge your distance between you and your subject.
In the image below I made an attempt of illustrating the center of the shot determined by the smallest ring in the sight:
A "full boat" setup with the Canon 40D, Sony HC-1 as video camera and a Ikonoskop A-Cam Super 16mm film camera
In the picture I put a red dot to illustrate the center of the ringsight, and how it lines up with the center of the frame in the other cameras that are mounted on the helmet.
Now with all the gear ready to go, all the cameras lined up perfectly with the ringsight, you are ready to go shoot some photos and / or video!
Disclaimer: USPA safety recommendations are that you have AT LEAST 200 skydives before attempting any kind of skydiving videography or photography. Just having the camera helmet setup perfectly does NOT allow you to go out and shoot photos. This blog is no means of education, it is just for informational purposes. If you are interested in starting out with freefall photography or video, please feel free to contact me for one on one coaching on this subject and for helmet reviews / recommendations.
For your entertainment, a shot of myself landing after “a hard day at work”:
Photo by Lany Muller
