6 Jump shots
A true show of emotion
Steph Goralnick
The Idea
Renowned portrait photographer Philippe Halsman started a phenomenon in the late 1950s when he began wrapping photo shoots by persuading his celebrity (and often esteemed and stoic) subjects to jump. He coined the term "jumpology" and employed it as a technique to break the mask that people often wear when sitting for a portrait. Try it yourself to get some exciting shots of friends and family; don't let the same old vacation shots in front of buildings or monuments get you down.
Reltaxomats Jump
Stagger large groups for an image with greater depth rather than having your subjects jump in a single-file line.
The Ingredients
- ▶ Any type of camera
- ▶ Any number of friends
- ▶ A lot of energy
- ▶ [No trampoline necessary!]
The Process
Sometimes the willing subject of your next portrait masterpiece simply doesn't know what to do. "Smile or no smile?" "What do I do with my hands?" Most people default to their ingrained "Say cheese!" expression, It can be tough to break their habit if this look isn't what you're going for. Fear not! A momentary reprieve from natural self-consciousness will shake things up and change the dynamic of the shoot. Your friends might not be professional models, but jumping is something that most anyone can do, and it will lighten the mood and reveal their true personalities.
Make sure the participants of your jump shot know they don't need to be athletic to look good in the photo. I always encourage unseasoned jumpers to kick their own butt when they leap. Bent knees will give the impression of more space between them and the ground than a quick, straight-legged hop. An alternative is to find objects to jump from; park benches, haystacks, moving vehicles-even smaller humans, just make sure they won't hurt themselves! Another way to give your subjects superhuman height is to shoot from a low angle, close to the ground. For outdoor settings, experiment with framing the shot so that they are completely above the horizon. Be sure to remind your subjects to remove valuable objects from their pockets before you give the jump command. The show of emotion that results from a smashed cell phone is something you want to avoid.
Keep in mind that your goal is to capture the moment when the jumper is suspended in midair. In order to freeze motion, you'll want to use the fastest shutter speed available given your light situation. In low light or backlit situations, when you've forgotten to bring your studio strobes, consider a silhouette. While their Oscar-winning facial expression might not be visible, the unexpected ways in which "accessories" such as hair or clothing react can be just as expressive when they become the focus of the image.
Multiple exposures
When photographing enthusiastic and highly energetic friends, you may find yourself with a slew of winning images. If you have several shots with the same background and can't pick a favorite, try layering them in Photoshop for a multiple exposure composition that showcases the full range of your subject's motion. Film shooters with a skill for advance planning can, of course, achieve this technique in-camera. For digital images, load all the photos into one Photoshop document with each as a separate layer set to 50% opacity. Try using Masks or setting the Layer Transparency to Multiply in areas where the jumper overlaps him- or herself. If you didn't use a tripod, consider using the script to "Load files into stack." Be sure to check "Automatically align source images" to get the backgrounds to line up exactly.
And Circumstance Portrait subjects don't know what to do with their hands or how to smile? Have them jump!
Flying Sand It's not just the action of your subject you can freeze— get them to kick or throw something when they leap.
Hay Jump For superhuman height, direct participants to jump from objects, leap above the horizon line, kick their own butts, or all of the above.
Beachrobatics Take a multiple exposure in-camera on film, or layer several images in Photoshop to achieve a similar effect.
Farm Girls Try a silhouette, especially during sunset or when your model is sporting distinctive hair or clothing.
Large groups
If you thought capturing a group shot without anyone blinking was a challenge, try getting them all in the air at once! If possible, find an area with lots of space, like an empty warehouse or a vast desert. Instead of having everyone stand in single file, stagger them so that there are people in the foreground, middle ground, and background. Make sure they are spaced so that the folks in the back will be visible. Some people are naturally inclined to squat down in an attempt to spring high into the air on the count of three, but this tends to result in everyone jumping at different times. Catching jumpers midair can be difficult, especially with a large group. So while it might be counterintuitive, don't delete the discard shots where you missed the jump. Sometimes the gesture of a failed attempt can turn out to be the most interesting and dynamic.
