#3 Certification Pictures

[Tom Black]

The most common issue/problem cited with taking gripper pictures is flash. The problem usually being too much flash. The often-cited solution is to take the picture outside, which is not a bad solution, but I believe there are better. First, you have to understand why the flash burns out the picture, especially with auto exposure cameras (most new ones are, especially digital). The simple description is that the camera exposes perfectly for a mid-tone image, in particular gray. Not black, not white, but in between gray. The reason the flash burns many a picture out is that the camera reads the entire image and decides how much flash is needed, but the hand and the gripper are only a small part of the scene. A typical scenario would be that the hand is held out with the gripper, the photographer is “above” the hand with the camera pointed down. The camera reads the image as dark, especially if the floor is darker than the hand and produces too much flash to compensate for the “low” light. If you take pictures indoors try to take them above a floor that is neutral in color (a darker Beige being the most common). The floor does not need to be gray, but a shade that is not too dark or too light.

The next main reason for the flash burning the image is simply too close. Using a camera with a zoom lens the simple solution for this is to have the photographer zoom in the lens as far as it will go and step farther back from the hand/gripper. On one of my cameras I could take nearly the identical picture from 8 feet away and zoomed in (telephoto) or 3 feet away and zoomed out (wide angle). The 3 feet away would usually burn the image out.

The next issue is whether to have a photographer or use a tripod and self timer/remote shutter (not as common, but available on Olympus digital cameras at least). Frankly, if the photographer doesn’t understand what you are trying to do that alone will be very frustrating. They may make you wait what seems like an eternity with the gripper shut as they get the shot. I one time paused on the bottom of a 365-pound squat while the photographer poked around. They were not even sure which eye to use in the camera (they are designed for the right eye), and I’m not used to stopping at the bottom. If they are using your camera they have both the learning curve of using the camera and understanding that they have to take the picture with the gripper closed, but not when the hand is still moving into position.

Personally, I prefer the tripod and timer/remote even when a person is available. One trick with the tripod that is useful: Some cameras don’t auto focus as well as others. I sometimes switch to manual focus and focus on a sledgehammer handle perpendicular to the ground at the point I will put my hand or position myself for other feats. I then move the camera up so that the handle is out of the frame and close the gripper above the handle. The result is perfect focus. Another trick is marks on the floor, which can be made with tape or chalk. If you look at Richard Sorin’s pictures of his Blob lift you can see round marks on the floor where he put his feet. His “technique” is showing and my guess these were self-portraits or at least positioning marks so that he stayed in frame. Or the marks could just be a coincidence.

Another reason for out of focus shots with an auto focus camera is that the camera will pre focus on the background of the image before the hand comes into the frame. This is caused by the photographer hitting the button half way and holding it. This is usually a factor with people who know about this feature but do not fully understand that the camera will not be able to re-focus with the hand in the frame. The solution to this problem, beyond teaching the photographer to use the camera properly, is to have the background of the image nearly flat with the hand (The Holle Brothers double gripper shot with a close flag in the background is a good example of this technique. I was successful in taking pictures of two people closing the #3 using this technique (uncertified). This may frustrate many, but one of the pictures was literally taken the first time the individual closed the #3. The other picture was the second time that the individual closed the #3. So instead of weeks of frustration, both the trainees had their #3 pictures in the bag. For these pictures I used the back of a chair. Oddly, the chair was dark, breaking my rule above, but I made sure that the hand and gripper where a large portion of the frame thus making the camera expose more properly for the hand as opposed to the background.