Mastering Zone Focusing for Street Photography: A Timeless Technique

Autofocus is great—until it isn’t.

Street photography happens fast. One blink and the moment is gone. That’s why zone focusing—an old-school manual focus technique—is still one of the most powerful tools in any photographer’s arsenal.

In my latest Substack post, I explain:

• What zone focusing actually is (and how to do it)

• Why it beats autofocus in certain situations

• How I use it with Leica and manual lenses in real-life shooting

• Tips to build the muscle memory for faster, sharper frames

This technique changed how I shoot. It might change yours, too.

👉 Read the full article on Substack →
🔗 https://marcosecchi.substack.com/p/mastering-zone-focusing
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Photographing Less, But Better: My Journey from Photojournalism to Artistic Mastery

In a world saturated with images, the temptation to shoot everything is strong. As a former photojournalist, I used to live by the mantra "capture it all." However, since transitioning from the fast-paced world of photojournalism to a more reflective style of photography, I've discovered a new mantra: "photograph less, but photograph better." This shift has transformed not only my approach but also the quality and impact of my work.

The Power of Limitation: One Camera, One Lens

One of the most significant changes in my approach has been the decision to limit myself to one camera and one lens. This minimalist setup forces me to think more critically about each shot. By choosing a high-quality, full-frame camera paired with a fast prime lens, I can focus on composition, light, and moment without the distraction of changing gear. This simplicity has allowed me to delve deeper into the art of photography, creating images that are more thoughtful and intentional.

Embracing Full Frame for Maximum Quality

Switching to a full-frame format has been another game-changer. The larger sensor size captures more detail and provides better performance in low light, which is crucial for the kind of high-quality work I aspire to produce. The depth and richness of full-frame images have added a new dimension to my photography, making each shot more vibrant and lifelike.

Investing in the Best: High-Quality Camera and Lenses

Quality matters. Investing in top-tier camera bodies and lenses has elevated my work. The precision and clarity that come with high-quality equipment are unmatched, allowing me to capture the world with a level of detail and sharpness that wasn't possible before. Fast lenses, with their wide apertures, enable stunning bokeh and incredible low-light performance, adding a professional touch to every photograph.

The Importance of Planning and Study

Perhaps the most profound shift has been in my mindset. Where once I might have snapped away, hoping to capture something worthwhile, I now take the time to plan and study my subjects. This preparation involves researching locations, understanding lighting conditions, and conceptualizing the story I want to tell with each image. By thinking ahead, I can anticipate moments rather than simply reacting to them, leading to more powerful and evocative photographs.

Creating a Legacy

This deliberate approach to photography is not just about improving the quality of my images; it's also about leaving a lasting legacy. By focusing on creating fewer but more impactful photographs, I aim to produce work that stands the test of time. Each carefully crafted image contributes to a body of work that I hope will inspire and resonate with future generations, leaving behind a meaningful artistic footprint.

Conclusion: Quality Over Quantity

This journey from photojournalism to a more deliberate style of photography has been incredibly rewarding. By focusing on photographing less but better, I've rekindled my passion for the art form. Each image I capture now carries more weight, more thought, and more of my artistic vision. For anyone looking to elevate their photography, I highly recommend embracing this philosophy. Limiting your gear, investing in quality, and planning your shots can transform your work and reignite your creative spark.

Creating beautiful photo on your own

I have been recently asked to post some basic tips for new photographers

So welcome to your first issue of Photography Tips & Tricks. Inside each issue of Photography Tips & Tricks you will learn valuable tip's, tricks and information on how you can take great photos that you will be proud to show off.

In today's issue, we are going to go through some quick tips that you can use to create beautiful photography of your own. Photography is much more than just taking pictures of things. It is an art form and can help us remember some of our most treasured memories. However, few people actually take the time to wait for that gorgeous shot and may doubt their ability to do it effectively. This article contains some great tips for improving your photography skills and capturing beautiful photographs that will be appreciated by many.

One of the most common photography mistakes is people not taking the time to truly understand their camera. If you have a decent digital camera, it comes armed with many features that can be used to enhance the quality of your photographs such as different light settings or flash speeds.

You've probably often heard that using your flash outdoors is unnecessary to take great pictures. Wrong! Unless there is very bright sunlight outside, you should still be regularly using your flash. Even on cloudy days, picture quality can become compromised by not using a good outdoor flash setting.

Many people are quick to jump at photo opportunities and just take any old picture. However, the secret to great photography lies in taking the time and having the patience to wait for the perfect shot to come along. If you are photographing still items, set them up exactly how you want them before taking your first shots. If your subject is on the move, take multiple shots with a rapid-picture camera to ensure you get the best picture possible.

Our first inclination is to snap pictures of objects that are centred in the camera's lens, but taking off-centre pictures can be a great way to spice up your photographs. Taking a picture of a subject that is off- centered in the photo adds an interesting element people may not expect to usually see and can get your photographs noticed.

When photographing people, always make sure to avoid direct sunlight in the background of the photo. This will make odd shadows and add an undesirable element to the picture. Position the people so the sun is to the side, but not shining directly in their face either. This will cause the subjects of your photograph to be squinting uncontrollably. Pictures that have multiple subjects or a busy foreground can highly benefit from a simple background to keep attention directed toward your subjects. However, if a simple background isn't available, many cameras can be focused to the foreground. This will cause the background to become more subtle and blurry, thus eliminating a busy background setting.

If your camera has a macro -photography feature, use it! The macro feature has the ability to focus in on very tiny subjects close up and is a great way to portray a lot of detail on a very small area. Things like small insects will immediately come to life with the use of this feature and will help you get great shots of the smaller things in life.

As you can see, photography takes patience and skill, but with a little practice, you will be able to get great shots every time. By utilizing the ideas presented in this article, you will be able to spice up your photography, add detail and variety to your shots, and create lasting memories through the art of photography.

Make sure you look for your next issue soon. We will be going over the basics of photography - a little refresher!

The impact of hashtags on Instagram

More and more platforms use hashtags, which means more information is publicly available to social media users. Twitter was the first platform to adopt hashtags, and since then, they have also appeared on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest. [8, 19, 20]

While Facebook works to make its platforms hashtag-friendly, there are a lot of hashtag generators for Instagram and a number of other online tools you can use. You can search the search bar for a particular hashtag, and then click on hashtags that come from other services, such as Instagram. Alternatively, you can take the search results and create a post directly from there. When you select a relevant hashtag for your company profile, look for the most commonly used hashtag on Instagram. This provides data on which hashtag is popular and thus makes it possible to investigate your competitor's social media accounts by searching through your own social media posts and their social media accounts using an online tool. 2, 6, 10, 18

My favourite program to search, analyze and help e with Hashtags is for sure IQHASHTAGS

I use it on a daily basis and is open all the time in my browser, it helps me discover where and how to get ideas for your hashtags, find popular hashtags, and determine which hashtag size is the best fit for your profile, but also checks which hashtags have performed best and have provided the biggest reach for your content and profile. A hashtag with a more extensive reach means more likes and followers. Analyze the connection between the time of your post, engagement, hashtag reach.

In addition, using community hashtags to brand your hashtag is a way to increase the number of Instagram users who can see your post. Even more importantly, Instagram gives you the ability to use many hashtags in your posts, so you can use between 0-30 hashtags that give you more attention and reach when you address various related hashtags. It can also seem spammy to ram a hashtag into people's Instagram Stories and use the maximum number of hashtags at all. You don't have to promote the hashtag often in a post on Instagram Stories, but ask your followers to share the post with it. [Sources: 0, 10, 13, 14]

If you find a hashtag for your own Instagram post, let it be simple: You could use # cybermonday2017, for example, not # cyber Monday 2017. [Sources: 11]

The purpose of hashtags is to ensure that the hashtag you use is relevant to your target audience, so that more users and accounts are involved. If you use a hashtag with the intention of discovering content, you can put the right hashtag in front of your target audience if you have never been connected to it. If you take the time to use hashtagged, you'll make a decision about whether or not it fits your social media strategy. Although hashtagging is a great way to promote your business, please make sure it is specific. [Sources: 7, 16]

It doesn't matter how well you use hashtags on Instagram if your users can't connect with you or understand your content. [Sources: 3]

While hashtagging on Twitter can definitely help your social media presence (hashtags are designed to make it easier for you to find things and connect with others), using a long, verbose hashtag like # bestcoffeeshopintheworld can hurt your presence. In addition to the long hashtag, using too many of them in a post can also damage your social media presence and damage your brand image and connectivity. [Sources: 9]

Another advantage of using hashtags on Instagram is that they are still searchable while they are in the comments section, but the first comment is hidden from people's feeds. Users can follow the hashtag they are interested in to ensure that content with this hashtag appears regularly in their feed. When you post a photo on Instagram, Tailwind's hashtags and First Comment tool will post your hashtag as the first comment to keep your comments clean and look good. Any post that uses a hashtag will push you to its page where you can follow it and view the top of the post, along with the most recent one. [Sources: 3, 4, 15, 16]

Using trending hashtags in your social media posts helps you reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness across the social media universe. You can see your post by reading different hashtags and then deciding whether it's worth following, which means that hashtag is a great way to increase your audience. On the contrary, using a more specific hashtag on Instagram can help build a larger audience for your business. Using a hashtag in an Instagram post not only boosts your followers, but also strengthens your art business and makes your long-shared world easier to find. [Sources: 1, 8, 9, 11]

Now, let's get to the reason why you should use hashtags in your Instagram marketing campaigns. On Instagram, the use of hashtags in Instagram photos allows companies to influence their target audience and create brand awareness. This form of branding comes in many forms, such as social media posts, blog posts and tweets, and advertising. [Sources: 5, 12]

Hashtags on Instagram are useful because they help other Insta users discover their profile, which can ultimately increase the likelihood of getting more followers. If your post uses trendy hashtags or relevant to your business, you will be visible to a larger group. [Sources: 9, 12]

My suggestion is to give a free trial to IQHASHTAGS and see a huge improvement in your followers and interactions

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Sources:

[0]: http://www.flux15.com/News/Tech/2020/02-February/01-The-Definitive-Instagram-Hashtag-Strategy-Guide-For-2020.html

[1]: https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-business/instagram-for-artists-hashtags/

[2]: https://newbirddesign.com/5-reasons-instagram-hashtags-important/

[3]: https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/using-hashtags-on-instagram/

[4]: https://www.tailwindapp.com/blog/best-hashtags-for-instagram

[5]: https://www.nateleung.com/4-reasons-why-you-should-use-instagrams-hashtag-for-your-business/

[6]: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/05/29/instagram-hashtags

[7]: https://thrivehive.com/how-to-use-hashtag-marketing-to-grow-your-business/

[8]: https://socialnomics.net/2020/07/02/importance-of-hashtags-in-social-media-marketing/

[9]: https://www.business2community.com/social-media/importance-hashtags-know-use-01837644

[10]: https://www.socialinsider.io/blog/instagram-hashtag-guide/

[11]: https://skedsocial.com/blog/everything-to-know-instagram-hashtags/

[12]: https://www.a1future.com/blog/power-of-hashtags-in-social-media-marketing/

[13]: https://blog.kicksta.co/trending-instagram-hashtags/

[14]: https://www.tweetbinder.com/blog/social-media-statistics/

[15]: https://brandmentions.com/blog/how-to-find-trending-hashtags/

[16]: https://www.shopify.com/blog/instagram-hashtag

[17]: https://www.postplanner.com/how-to-use-hashtags-on-facebook

[18]: https://slicecommunications.com/blog/the-importance-of-using-hashtags-to-drive-traffic

[19]: https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/how-to-use-hashtags-in-social-medi

[20]: https://www.naylor.com/associationadviser/why-are-hashtags-important/

Fifteen Tips For Better Photography

Would you like to improve your photographic skills just that little bit more? Tired of shooting the same old photos from the same angle and the same subject every time? Here are fifteen cherished tips you can use to improve your photography.

Keep an eye on the weather

Weather conditions can play a big part in setting the mood of your shot. Rather than waiting for the bright light of the midday sun, a misty morning in a forest can be the perfect time of day for that mood-shot.

Take your time to choose the subject

Take your time to choose the subject, then spend time walking around the subject looking for the best angle and lighting.

Take your time to set up the shot

Don't be afraid to take your time to set up your shot. Although it can get a bit frustrating if you have your loved ones tagging along and they're sitting and waiting impatiently for 20 minutes for you to take a single shot of a piece of driftwood on the beach!

Don't always choose brightly-coloured subjects

Subjects with muted colours can sometimes produce excellent results. A field of wheat of similar yellow-brown colour can produce striking results when accompanied by a low-sun and long shadows.

Movement diffusion

If you have a camera that allows you to shoot with a manual shutter speed - try slowing the speed and increasing the F-stop. Then move your camera when taking the shot. Some very effective arty-type images can be produced with blur effects.

Overexpose your subject

Not too good to do all the time, but experiment with results by over-exposing the subject.

Try macro photography

Grab a magnifying glass and see if you can focus your camera through the glass onto a small subject. It just may work! And may open up a whole new range of subjects for you!

Shoot through wet glass

Try spraying water onto a window, then take a shot through the window to a subject outside. (wet the outside of the window - not the inside of your home!)

Colour balance

Try balancing colour by having the subject and the surrounding detail in similar colours.

Silhouettes

Silhouettes usually have a small range of colours, but can produce some of the most beautiful images. Shooting a silhouette involves having the background brighter then the subject in the foreground.

Experiment with patterns

We've all seen those amazing images of the red and orange leaves of maple trees in the fall/autumn. Thousands of leaves - all of a similar shape and colour - but very awe-inspiring and beautiful.

Compliment colours

Two strikingly-different colours can be beautiful too. Picture an image of your girlfriend or wife in a red dress sitting on a field of green grass. Or your boyfriend or husband in a red shirt walking through a field of waist-high wheat stalks. Complimentary colours that will bring more attention to the subject.

Use a colour filter

If your camera can be fitted with coloured filters - try your hand. Although this effect can be made quite easily these days with a photo and image-editing software.

Sunrise is better than sunset

Wake up before sunrise one day and go on a photography expedition. If you've not done it before you'll be pleasantly surprised by the contrasting light and shadows. But remember you'll only have a very short window of time in which to shoot (usually less than an hour) before the sun rises too high and you lose the light.

Use a flash in daylight

Use your flash during the daytime to fill a close subject with light. This will produce better results where the background is brighter than your subject, and the automatic shutter speed on your camera shoots too fast to show the detail of your subject effectively.

For more detailed instructions “Learn Digital Photography: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners” check here

Improve your Long Exposures Photography

Long exposure photography is a technique where you allow your camera’s sensor to gather light for a longer period of time. One major goal of this is revealing more detail in the darker areas of the scene. For more creative purposes, you may want to use a long exposure to create a sense of motion in your images.

Venice with Long Exposure

Filters

When you want to use a long exposure to produce a creative effect such as blurry water but there is too much light to allow a slow shutter speed, it’s possible to increase the exposure time by using filters. Neutral density filters are solid “grey” looking filters of uniform density that have no effect on how colours are recorded but are used to reduce the amount of light entering the camera. They can be either circular screw-on type or square

Create a visual Composition and Calculate your exposure

Depending on the tones in your scene, many cameras can calculate a good long exposure up to 30 seconds. But if you’re doing an exposure that’s longer than 30 seconds, or you’re adding any ND filters, you must calculate the settings for your exposure.

Cable Release

The shutter button on your camera releases the mechanical shutter inside of the camera. Using a shutter release button allows you to capture images without touching the camera at all. A shutter is a curtain that lets light into the camera sensor for a period of time; using a wired or wireless shutter release, you can initiate the opening and closing of this curtain without touching your camera.

Tripod

Although it’s one of the most important elements of any photo set up, it’s also one of the most undervalued, ignored, and overlooked. A good tripod will cost you money, while a cheap one may not even do its job. However, the downside is that some people won’t buy a new tripod because they think that they don’t need a sturdy one yet.

My favourite brand is Manfrotto I have been using then for so long I cannot even remember, One of the latest ones I have been using is the Manfrotto BrFree 3-Way Live Advanced. I will review on another post in the next few days. You can find it here

Manfrotto Befree Tripod

Set your camera on manual or bulb mode

Many DSLRs have multiple pre-programmed modes that can set your shutter speed and aperture for you. But these modes will also be automatically metering for you, which is unlikely to get you the results you’re looking for. So instead opt for Manual mode, or Bulb mode if you will be doing an exposure of over 30 seconds. When using Bulb mode the shutter will stay open from when you press the shutter release button, to when you let go.

Shoot at the lowest ISO possible

Although newer cameras can shoot with relatively little noise at higher ISOs, long exposures can create noise. So shoot with the lowest ISO possible on your camera. Most cameras come with long exposure noise reduction features, but at higher ISOs using this feature can make the noise worse.

Cover your viewfinder to prevent light leaks

Although light leaks rarely occur with regular exposures, with longer exposures the images are subject to light leaks through the viewfinder. Even a small leak can create big issues like hazes on an image with a long exposure. Don’t cover the viewfinder with your thumb, as this can create camera movement. Instead, try covering it with gaffers’ tape or a custom viewfinder cap and compose your image in your camera’s live view.

Shoot in RAW

Shooting long exposures can be tough, especially the first few times. Shooting in RAW will give you more latitude to recover a slightly overexposed image and will give you greater control in your post-production.

Foggy Day in Venice - Long Exposure