The DO'S & DON'TS of Square Format Film Photography
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
- The Do's & Don'ts of Square Format Photography - I have been using my 6x6 Yashica Mat film camera for a good few months now and I have learnt a lot. Square format can take a little getting used to so in this video I wanted to talk about some tips and things you should probably avoid to help you get the best shots. I am still learning myself and these are by no means the perfect rules to follow but I think they will certainly help you improve your own photography.
JOIN THE DISCORD COMMUNITY - / discord
As always if you have any questions just drop them below or DM us on Instagram (Link Below)
#FilmPhotography #Photography #MediumFormat
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:02 Square Format Tip 1
02:54 Clean & Tidy Tip 2
04:17 Negative Space Tip 3
06:35 The Corners Tip 4
08:44 LINES! LINES! LINES! Tip 5
09:50 MOVE! Tip 6
11:23 Final Thoughts on Square Format Photography
- ITEMS IN OUR CAMERA BAG -
FUJIFILM XT30 - amzn.to/3bU6xYg
FUJIFILM LENS 18-55- amzn.to/3CVboVe
DJI MAVIC MINI 2 - amzn.to/3wooc3W
TIDE OPTICS CINESOFT FILTER - amzn.to/2ZuG5SL
RX10 - amzn.to/3oauHUt
SJCAM - amzn.to/3mPZRku
AKASO BRAVE 7 - amzn.to/3H0giTd
RODE MIC - amzn.to/3woxugd
MIC ADAPTOR - amzn.to/3khi9cB
WRIST STRAP - amzn.to/3qfxv5l
CAMERA STRAP - amzn.to/3GZgnql
SHUTTER BUTTON - amzn.to/2Ynhu1t
XT30 HAND GRIP - amzn.to/3BNt2c4
CARABINER CLIPS - amzn.to/2YpzdW5
NEEWER TRIPOD - amzn.to/3050bTG
FEIYUTECH GIMBAL - amzn.to/3qo7qAO
MANFROTTO TRIPOD - amzn.to/3BUDhvk
TARION CAMERA BAG - amzn.to/3mQSOYz
UURIG FLIP SCREEN - amzn.to/3kzLTBR
STEP UP RINGS - amzn.to/3H2Ijth
LUME CUBE KIT - amzn.to/3qcmu4E
ULANZI LIGHT - amzn.to/307pAMD
JJC ND FILTER - amzn.to/3bO6woK
PL FILTER - amzn.to/3GZiudL
GREY CARDS - amzn.to/3mSvsBV
ULANZI QUICK RELEASE - amzn.to/3wqv1C7
📷Instagram - / macnteens
📷Christina's Insta - / christina_t. .
📷Chris's Insta - / chrismac_vi. .
BUSINESS EMAIL - macnteens@yahoo.com
Music used in ALL RUclips videos - www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
I've shot 6x6 for years and you make some very good points. One other thing that I like about 6x6 is it's ability center things in the frame and still look good. I don't always do that but for some situations placing an object symmetrically in the center of the frame really works where it might not with a rectangular format. In some ways 6x6 breaks a lot of the traditional rules of composition.
Hey! Well thanks appreciate that. Totally agree though, I am a fan of placing things in the centre and it does tend to look really good on 6x6. I find it hard not to do that tbh. Cheers again, have a nice weekend ✌
This might be more of a cinematic thing but center framing works great even in wide formats. Check out like any movie shot by Grieg frasier. Dude loves center framing. Another great example would be fury road, nearly the whole film is center framed.
@@liampugh I agree it's works great and looks great. Obviously doesn't follow the rules everyone is taught in school but who cares lol
Something that was a game-changer for me: When you flip up the magnifier to get critical focus, I have a tendency to put my eye right up to it to grab focus. I found it was much easier to get focus if I looked through it from about 6 inches away instead and just grabbed focus on my subject. Try it out!
This is so weird because I have actually been thinking about that this week for some reason haha Cheers for sharing anyway though, It's something I have been doing more recently after trying it out at a few car shows. (Nailed focus in nearly every shot lol ) It definitely helps get critical focus more spot on I found, even though it's hard to see anywhere other than the center of the frame. Sure helps though.
Thanks for this great insight into square format photography! Helps me to think outside the box!
Hey there! Glad it was helpful, thank you! Square format is great and can work in so many different environments I think.
I shoot square the whole time. But I don't think people realise these TLR were design to take both landscape and portrait giving you the option to crop in the darkroom. Most people in the past didn't print square. My focusing screen has the two upright and two horizontal composition lines. I still love square!
This is a very important distinction that most people don't realize about 6x6!
That's a great point actually, it does make sense. There is something about cropping a lot that does feel a little strange though haha But I do love a square shot so haven't thought about cropping to other aspect ratios much just yet. Cheers for sharing though.
@@MacnTeensVisuals Yeah, I love the square format. I have my father's Minolta Autocord and I remember him telling me when he shot weddings the lab would develop and print the full roll at 8X10 and they would decide on the crop based on what dad had framed in the viewfinder. The funny part is he said he would shoot 2 rolls per wedding and give them 20 pictures for their album. At our wedding we got over a 1000. Crazy!!
@@tonymonaghan5993 Oh that's cool, hope it's still all working well. No way that is pretty crazy to hear :O Times have certainly changed but you still can't beat the feeling of taking a photo on an old camera 👌
We need to train ourselves to see a picture rather than a subject such as a car or person or house. This applies to all formats, but the 6x6 ground glass gives us a good chance to see the picture.
Wise words right there. Totally agree, looking through that ground glass is so much nicer than other cameras.
To comment or not to comment - that’s a question. Love your video. But can’t agree with most of your thoughts. Yes it’s a personal thing. Yes you have to move around to compose. But, it’s not always about lines and negative spaces. What are you shooting, what emotional response a viewer gets from your photo. This is not graphic design. What’s the subject and what it the story/feeling behind your “angle of view”. Sorry mate, don’t comment usually. Felt you steering into wrong direction. Yes the “square” is different, when trying to compose. Yes, all elements in the frame should work. But it’s just a canvas, that happened to be square. Klimt had some wonderful square landscapes btw. Still a subject and the thought, feeling, emotion - that’s what matters more than lines and negative spaces. It’s a theatre after all and the stage happened to be a square.
Liked, subscribed!
Hey ✌ First of all I appreciate you sharing your opinion and I get where you are coming from. The subject or scene you are photographing is the most important thing, you have to be drawn to something to take a photo of it so there is probably going to be some emotional response involved. But even if you have an amazing subject you still need to think about the technical aspects while composing the photo. It's possible to take a really nice & technically sound photo of a subject which may be rather boring but it is also possible to take a bad phot of a very interesting subject. When it comes to square format I just wanted to share some experiences I had and what I think caused some of my photos to fail in my opinion. I totally believe that the technical rules are there to be broken and they don't always lead to a great photo but most of the time I think applying them will help.
Again cheers for sharing your thoughts, even if we don't totally agree on everything it's nice to hear other photographers thoughts on things.
Thanks for the support really appreciate it!
Great video with lots of helpful tips. Man, I love square format. Need to bust out the Bronica here soon!
Thanks very much Brae appreciate it man. It is pretty great there is just something satisfying about a nice square image. Oh the good old Bronica, look forward to it 👌 Also looking forward to the UFC this weekend, get the cold ones in the fridge 👊
Love my Yashica Mat. Extra white space in my image is hard to avoid, so I often add a subtle vignette in post.
Hey Carlton, It's definitely a nice change shooting with a TLR. That's not a bad idea for certain shots if you like the look.
Great tips. I have been shooting 6x6 for awhile and it was definitely a learning curve to start. I have always been rather fond of TLRs.
Cheers Daniel appreciate man. Totally agree it's certainly a whole different ball game haha Love the look and the process of using TLR's too though.
Great video on a subject not often seen. I started my photography odyssey with a Yashica D. The thing to remember is you have 2 formats in your square format. There's also a 6x4.5 hiding in the middle.
Hey Gordon cheers appreciate that. Can't imagine starting out with a TLR but they are fun to use. That is true, I actually would love a 6x4.5 at some point so it will be nice to see the difference.
I have been shooting 6x6 since the late 50s with my moher's Brownie Hawkeye and still do with Rolleiflexes, a Rolleicord IV, Yashica-Mats, a Minolta Autocod, a Meopta Flexaret and a Hasselblad 500CM. Apparently, I like the square format. I find grid screens, when available, to be a great help. You have some very good and helpful tips here. Thank You!
Some really sound advice here. Many thanks! 🙂
Thanks, glad to hear it was helpful 😀✌
I particularly like the idea of using the corners. Good insight.
Hey! Thanks appreciate it. I do love using that technique when I can, it just seems to work most of the time.
Nice video. Solid advice. I some square shooting experience with a Kiev 60 and found myself nodding along.
Thanks appreciate that, love to hear it. I would love to try out a few other square format cameras.
@@MacnTeensVisuals The Kiev is great. Both waist level and pentaprism options. Excellent lenses.
@@NattyHumpo Sounds nice, would be nice if the Yashica had a prism viewfinder too although I do love the waist level finder.
My tip: If you cut the bottom of the frame with a line, do it also for the top of the frame. If you have sky and ground your images might get bottom heavy. Just putting something to upper part of the image or some line cutting top of the frame will balance it nicely. Like portrait where shoulders are clean lines going down but on the top there is just emptyness. Some branches at the top is good. But thanks, many great tips on this video
Hey, yeah I know what you mean, that can definitely help balance things at times. Sometimes it is not always possible though in a scene which is where things can be tricky. Thanks though appreciate that 😁✌🏼
Thanks mate, just picked up a 124G so these will help alot!!
Hey Michael, glad to hear it was helpful. Happy shooting they are such cool cameras to use, great choice 👌
A very enjoyable video, thanks. I recently decided to get back into film after about 10 years and picked up a TLR. This is the first time with square format, well since Kodak Instamatic in my pre-teen years. It feels like I’m looking at the world in a completely new way. Really enjoying it since it has slowed me down. It almost seems like a new hobby for me even though I’ve been into photography over 50 years.
Thanks very much! Glad to hear that, it is a totally definitley feel especially with a TLR their is something so nice about looking down through that ground glass. Happy shooting, enjoy ✌
Enjoyed the video ans agree with what you have said having been using the YashicaMat for many years now.
WHat strap do you have on the YachicaMat, it looks pretty comfortable ?
Hey Ian, cheers nice to know others agree haha Yeah it's actually really nice around the neck. We actually got it customised on Etsy but the same strap is linked in our description. Just to let you know it is an Amazon affiliate link 👍
I've always wanted to shoot 6x6, but I imagine it's tough to wrap your head around. But your points on negative space are so relevant man! Soooo much negative space on IG right now, it's a pet peeve of mine. When used well it's great, but that 16:9 IG ratio means people are going to just have empty space all over. I am feeling the call of a TLR, somewhere in my future... 🤣
It's certainly different but I do find that I can get nice compositions because you can cut a lot out you know. Cheers man, I wasn't sure if that came across as I meant it too haha Yeah love a good bit of minimal space myself but too much is too much 😂 I reckon you would love it, everyone should try a TLR at some point 👌
Usually my biggest problem with negative space is the negative space between my ears. Gotta keep your wits about you.
Nice discussion! I've been happy to see more square photo frames on the market these days too, maybe as a remnant of the early days of square-format-only Instagram, so I don't always have to crop my photo to get it on the wall.
Haha totally agree it certainly is handy for Instagram. Nice to be able to post the image as you took it. Love square format 👌
I have one of these, along with a Yashica-D, set in a 3D configuration with a single trigger for both. Not sure if they still work, though, and I wouldn't know how to use them. Not sure I even would, given the convenience of digital. But it's very cool to know that people are still using them even now. I still have double slides from them, along with a couple box viewers to see them in 3D, and the images are very nice IMO.
One tip for tlr’s is to remember the viewing lens and capturing lens are not the same. If I don’t keep this in mind I often cut off the bottom of my composition and leave a little gap on the top. I don’t realize it until I get my scans and viewing them together it becomes very obvious 😂...
That is something I have made sure to remember when taking shots. It can be a bit hard to judge for composing but I have found it to be a problem when nailing focus for portraits.
I'm waiting for a Yashica A that I got on ebay to arrive and this video is just in time.
Oh love to hear it David. Hope this was helpful in some way. Enjoy the camera, it might take a little time to get used to but using something that's fully mechanical is just so nice. Happy Holidays ✌
Anyone else a square format fan? Hope some of these tips were helpful 👍
I bought my first Yashica 124 in 1983 (I have two) because I used one in the 1970s for my high school photography class and fell in love with it. I wasn't able to buy one due to the price of it then. Most of the pictures were B&W; then, we learned to develop the photos in the darkroom and crop them. I have to say that my Yashicas never took color photos. Nowadays, I use them from time to time, mainly for landscape pictures ( I have a darkroom, so I don't have to worry about sending the film to be developed. I am still in the dark ages and have not jumped into the digital era. I am waiting for the Fujifilm XT30II and the XE4 to be available. I watched your T30 accessories video, and it gave me a lot of ideas, thank you. You have a subscriber here. Stay safe.
@@luisbperez368 Hey Luiz! Oh really no way, that's a cool story man. Safe to say you have a lot more film photography experience than I do then haha There really is something super satisfying about using old mechanical film cameras. Well I think you will really like the XT30 II it's clearly inspired by old 35mm film cameras and it's just really nice to use. Really like the look of the XE4 too but haven't had the chance to try one out just yet. Cheers for the support though, it means a lot. Glad you enjoyed the video. Lots more to come :)
My Autocord Seikosha 😍
@@thefilmdegenerate Oh very nice, hope you're still enjoying it 😀
@@MacnTeensVisuals Thank you, Sir.
Good tips for people who haven't shot square very much, and important reminders for lazy old photographers, like me.
Thanks, glad it was helpful. I think we can all be a little lazy with our photography at times haha
I grew up with photography as a hobby during the high ;point of camera and film development. I tried 6x6cm cameras a bit, but never liked the 6x6 format, as I was always cropping to make prints. The 6x6 format was popularized by Rolleiflex in the 1930s. It became the professional's portable camera. The square format was adopted because pros shot pictures for magazine editors, and they didn't want to be turning photos over and back on a light table, so one shape fit all. Rollei begat Hasselblad, Hasselblad begat Bronica, etc. Also, the TLR and medium format SLRs are very non-ergonomic if they had to be turned on their sides to shoot a vertical. Well, Life and Look magazines are dead - no editors to please. If I'm going to crop a 6x6 negative to 6x4.5 to print, I'l save the extra film and camera bulk, and jut buy a 645 SLR.
Very good point, I used a TLR and 6x6 for weddings and news photography in the late 80’s and through the 90’s. The square format was used a lot to be able to compose in horizontal and vertical without turning the camera. These images were often cropped to 645. The exception is if it was intended to be a square photograph. I knew a lot of portrait photographers that would shoot in 6x6 and crop to 645.
were you able to solve the 'out of focus' shooting at infinity? Thanks
Hey Wayne. To be honest not really. I never shoot anything with the focus knob turned the whole way to infinity anymore. I pick somewhere closer in the scene and normally use F11 -F16 depending on much foreground I want in focus.
Thanks for sharing. That’s a nice leather camera strap. Where did you get it? Cheers!
Hey Steve, hope it was somewhat helpful. Cheers, Christina actually got it for me as a gift, the link to the same strap is in our description (It's an Amazon affiliate link just to let you know) really comfortable strap to use 👍
Thanks, great video. I recently got me a 6x6 system and have been shooting 645 and 35mm for many years. The crop or not crop is something I need to get my head around…
For now I will treat it as 6x6 WILL REMAIN 6x6 but then I consider Ansel Adams’ epic halfdome image…
Oh well, time will tell…
Thanks very much Anton appreciate that :) I actually think the next film camera go for will be a 645 of some sort haha Honestly for me I feel like 6x6 just works so nicely for the shots I want to get most of the time so I haven't thought about cropping too much but each to their own.
Oh yeah that half dome image is pretty epic indeed.
Well whatever you decide to do hope you enjoy the new camera & happy new year :)
I am on a mission today to test a Bronica S2A with there normal Nikkor lens. I have chosen a very large Catholic Church here in Michigan as my subject matter. Hopefully I can do a series and call it Looking For God. Your vide has me excited because I use a 645 most of the time and framing an image is different as your video reminds us. Thanks so much. I just also put together my 4x5 it will help me with that foremat as well.
Hey Herbert! Glad the video gave you some inspiration, love the idea btw. I think creating a little series of photos around a particular area or subject is something everyone should try at some point. Good luck and enjoy the new cameras man ✌
I quite often shoot my digital to be cropped into square. I just like square photos and sometimes I see things that will fit. I am wondering if when I finally get a TLR whether I will be better prepared or less well prepared due to my reliance on being able to crop... Hmm.
Hey! I think that will certainly help you because you are used to making compositions in square even if its during editing. When you get a TLR you will actually be able to see the frame as a square in the ground glass so it will make things easier than digital where you are seeing it as a landscape and then cropping to a square. 👍
Enjoying your videos...Can I ask? Where did you get the strap firvyiui Yashica Mat..its prey neat.
Thanks
Hey & cheers Alan appreciate it man 😀 Yeah no problem, we actually got it on Etsy but the exact same strap is linked in the description of our videos along with some other stuff we use. Just to let you know they are affiliate links 👍
@@MacnTeensVisuals Thanks...you're inspiring me to get out with my Yashica Mat I got on eBay during pandemic..it's just sat there, looking good but idle..do thanks
I've never shot in square format but I can imagine I would always be cropping to 645. It's so difficult fpr me to see the world as a square
I do that the odd time but I actually think square format works nicely for a lot of different photo styles. I would love a 645 camera at some point soon though :D
6x6, cameras make great pass port cameras.
Haha I'm sure they do.
It's like saying "I've been kicking a football for a few months and I know think I can give advices of how to play soccer".
That would be the case if you didn't improve in those few months. I was able to make improvements on my photos since I started with 6x6 and I wanted to share the reasons why, simple 👍
@@MacnTeensVisuals anyone doing anything for a few months or even weeks becomes better and develops fast but that does not mean they are good enough to teach. It took me 11 years of surfing before I started teaching surfing and 20 years of photographing before I felt ready to do lectures in front of photographers. Most legendary photographers spend decades on their photography projects before they even release something. I'm not saying you're doing a bad job. It's great you inspire more people to photograph, especially within film and printing! There's a bunch of RUclipsrs who spend tens of thousands of dollars on cameragear and they've never printed an image, they are the ones I'm pissed off on😄
Good Video. I think you tend to bea little hard on yourself, though.
Cheers William! I feel like most photographers are like that though lol I feel like I could have or should have done better with some of the photos.
You need to shoot for many years to master 6x6.
I think it's the same with any format really, but I must say I do love 6x6 so far.
Dunno square format extremely suited for street
I actually haven't tried it for street photography but I'm sure it works great.
@@MacnTeensVisuals try it. Very flexible. Best suited for either bust shot or arts shot. Dunno whats the naming is
@@cryptobyt2403 I have used it in towns and villages when travelling but Im always using a tripod and shooting at a slow pace lol
There are no rules. Every rule you mention is routinely violated by most photographers with 6x6. Richard Avedon and Penn. Look at their work. These cameras don't have the best aspect ratio for landscape, obviously.
I totally agree but there are definitely some guidelines you can follow to increase your chances of getting good shots. I do love square format and I think it can be used for anything if you know what you're doing but it can also be tricky.
There aren't any "do's n don'ts" regardless of the format you use. Your photos, your format, your camera - your choice. Why should people follow any "rules" - there aren't any. Rules are for idiots!
I don't totally disagree with you but these are the adjustments I made and I got a lot better photos by doing so. I think the rules are definitely there to be broken but you have to learn the rules first before you can break them.