Picture Perfect

Charlotte Savino reports on how to snap professional-quality photos in less-than-ideal conditions


“And in five minutes, the Chinese government arrested me and took my camera…” – Franco Fracassi.

From the deserts of Southwest Asia to the cobblestone streets of Rome, snapping the perfect picture is risky business. Perhaps this won’t be your story from the RomeFilmFest, but for journalist and documentary film maker, Franco Fracassi, getting arrested is all part of the job. With his expert opinion on renegade photography, you should be ready to capture all of the newsworthy events of the October gala.

Celebrity photography is a booming industry. Unless you live under a rock, you know the shots of Brangelina’s baby, Shiloh Novelle Jolie-Pitt, fetched an obscene amount of money, a reported $4.1 million. Imagine the possibilities for a nice pay-day a few pictures taken from the RomeFilmFest could reap. As a novice paparazzo, however, you’ll have more than Chinese police to watch out for; poor lighting, hoards of people, action, and distance will all work against your ambitions as a celebrity snapper.

Rome-ing the CinemaFest and Fracassi team up to bring you quick tips to optimize all of the photo-ops at the upcoming events:


♦No Light? No Problem:

“I never use a flash,” says Fracassi. Instead, he relies on the new genius of digital cameras. Unlike traditional film cameras, the digital medium allows you to change speeds and aperture automatically, making handling the changing light a breeze. If you are using film, Fracassi suggests 600 or 800 speed. What else makes a good low-light shot? A steady hand. “I could be a good sniper,” Fracassi says, swearing off tripods in favor of a sure grip, managing to keep still for two, three, and even four seconds for a crisp picture.


♦Don’t Worry, Be Blurry:

“I love pictures that show the action and movement”, notes Fracassi, “in a picture you can show movement in your message…it is much more useful to show this movement.” Lucky for you, celebrities work the red carpet posing for photographs. If you happen to catch a celebrity drunkenly running away from your prying camera lens, don't fret. The element of movement will add to the artistry and story of the snapshot. Think of the gritty shots of Kate Moss snorting coke in a trailer. Perfect? Hardly. But that raw quality gives edge and reality to the cover story.


♦No Such Thing as Personal Space:

There’s simply no substitute for a close-range photograph, says Fracassi, “it’s better to be as close as possible”. If anything, using a telephoto lens is more for visual effects. For anything over 200 meters, use a 400 lens or even 1000.


Don’t have lenses to attach to your pocketsize personal camera? Climb trees, flirt your way past velvet ropes, and take a no-holds-barred approach to getting the perfect picture – within the confines of the law of course, Fracassi has many stories of photography-based arrests, and containers in foreign countries (from the Middle East to Uganda) don’t sound like A-list fun.