GoPro Photo Tips - Impressive Photography with an Action-Cam
Spectacular videos of skiing down snowy slopes, vibrant underwater worlds, and breathtaking panoramic shots of freestyle climbing: this is what the robust GoPro action-cam does best. This tiny jack-of-all-trades impresses with its stunning image quality and extraordinary wide-angle shots.
The GoPro is the ideal companion for on-the-go and is used by many sports enthusiasts to take extraordinary photos and brilliant selfies. Taking photos with this popular action-cam is a bit different from photographing with a smartphone or compact camera in a few ways. With these tips, you’ll be able to take perfect photos with your own GoPro action-cam:
Wide-Angle View for GoPro Photos
It takes a while to get used to the GoPro’s 170-degree wide-angle view, which is similar to a fisheye lens. It enables you to take brilliant and one-of-a-kind photos but also has some challenges. For one, if you’re using your hands, you should always hold the camera from behind. Since the camera has a wide-angle lens, it will capture everything that is in front of it, including your finger(s) if you’re not careful.
Since action-cams have a fixed focal length, they do not come with a zoom. If you want to photograph an object or person close-up, you’ll have to get closer to them (up to half a metre). If the distance between you and the subject is too large, it will appear relatively small in the image due to its wide-angle lens.
Change of Perspective for GoPro Photos
The GoPro action-cam is especially well known for being able to take spectacular photos from unusual perspectives. In order to find the best camera position for a certain subject, or to just switch it up a bit when photographing, you should try out as many different perspectives as possible. The camera’s specialised casing protects it from water, dust and impact. This gives you more freedom to find the perfect position for your camera when taking photos. Whether you’re photographing while climbing, skiing, or white-water rafting, various mounting positions and mounting equipment make it possible to find the right camera position for your GoPro to capture unique photos in any given situation.
A POV perspective gives the viewer the feeling of being right in the middle of the action. Special mounting equipment for attaching the camera to your chest or helmet ensures sharp images and keeps your camera mounted safely. You’ll barely notice the camera is there during your exciting sporting activities.
GoPro Tips for Perfect Selfies
Thanks to the selfie trend, photographers can capture both themselves and brilliant backdrops at the same time. The selfie has become one of the most popular ways to capture holidays and unforgettable moments while adding a personal touch to your images. Thanks to its handy size and easy-to-use interface, the GoPro is especially well suited for taking selfies. However, you’ll have to pay attention to the camera’s ultra wide-angle effect while taking selfies. In order to avoid distortions and peculiar proportions, you should hold the camera at least one arm’s length away from your face. Since the middle of the image has the least amount of distortion, you should place your face as close to the centre as possible. You can also capture as much background as possible by using special telescopic poles such as the popular “selfie stick” which has become a trend amongst smartphone photographers.
Tip
You can capture unforgettable moments from new perspectives with your action-cam. Keep your favourite landscape shots and funny selfies in a photo book:
GoPro Tips for Landscape Photography
The wide-angle lens of the GoPro is a true champion when taking landscape photographs. It’s especially well suited for impressively capturing vast landscapes. In order to take a photo with a good composition, you should make sure the horizon is close to the middle of the image. It can be helpful to connect your GoPro to your smartphone via Wi-Fi. This will enable you to use the live preview function. Another useful integrated function is the spot meter. This helps avoid overexposing an object when photographing a bright subject from a dark environment. Although the spot meter is useful when photographing in difficult lighting conditions, it should be switched off when taking landscape photos to avoid overexposure.
GoPro Tips for Underwater Photography
The GoPro is not only great for photographing on land but is also capable of capturing brilliant images underwater. The completely waterproof casing (up to 60 m depending on the model) that comes with the GoPro, does make the camera a bit bulky. However, it’s completely worth it, especially if you want to capture breathtaking images of coral reefs, exotic fish, or maybe even an undiscovered shipwreck. To make sure you have the right exposure when taking photos underwater, you should have the sun in your back. An action-cam is more likely to take blurry photos underwater, since the exposure time is a bit longer. This makes it important to have a steady hand when you take underwater pictures. We also recommend photographing your subject from at least two metres away. This will result in a much sharper image than if you photograph your subject from close by. It can also be useful to use a red filter attachment when going deeper than three metres. This will help compensate overly blue tints.
Tip
Photos of majestic mountain scenery or colourful underwater worlds deserve a very special place. For example, your most impressive GoPro photos will look particularly good as posters.
GoPro Tips for Remote Photography
The integrated Wi-Fi capability of the GoPro action-cam doesn’t only make it possible to easily transfer data to a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, but you can also remotely control the camera itself. When connected to the GoPro, your mobile device will display a live preview, which allows you to watch the action on screen as it unfolds. If you are using a mobile device to control your GoPro, you can activate the shutter release at the right moment from a safe distance. Controlling your GoPro remotely can be an advantage. Especially when you are trying to get that perfect shot of a wild animal or sporting activity where there is a lot of movement, such as skiing or skateboarding, it is a real game changer. More expensive GoPro models come with a remote included. However, you can also purchase a remote separately for about 70 - 90 CHF.
