A Tool I Never Knew I Needed...

Intro by Skip Cohen

Every day technology adds a few more creative tools for photographers. Giulio Sciorio has been doing a lot with 4K, and a does a great job in this guest post of a more in-depth explanation of how he's using it. There's been a lot of discussion about 4K and images that under normal circumstances would be difficult if not impossible to capture.

If you don't know Giulio, it's time he was on your radar. (Check out his headshot on his About page.) He's the epitome of an artist who's always pushing the creative envelope. He's testing virtually every imaging tool/application that comes along. His images below are all single frames from a 4K video shoot of a street performer. But, even better than the images is the way Giulio explains the process and why he's fallen in love with 4K.

Giulio is a Panasonic Luminary and part of a team of incredibly diverse artists. They represent some of the finest photographers, writers and educators in contemporary imaging. You find out more about Giulio and the Luminary team with a quick trip to the LUMIX Lounge.

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by Giulio Scorio

When it comes to new features in cameras I always look to them with an open mind and explore if a feature is something I can use or not. I'm not really judgmental on features being gimmicks or tools. I think that's up to the person behind the camera whether or not their photography is based on gimmicks or art.

Sometimes a tool is introduced that once I start to wrap my right brain around it, I realize its something I never knew I needed until I had it. This is the case with 4K Photo. Although 4K Photo is delivered in a video wrapper, 4K Photo is definitely not video. If you were to open up a 4K Photo wrapper (that is the MP4) what you would see inside is a series of JPEGs and a audio file. Look at 4K Photo as 30 FPS mode and you'll have a much easier time of understanding it.

Not every type of photography can benefit from 4K Photo, just like you would not need to take 16 frames per second of your awesome breakfast burrito, you don't need 4K Photo for that either. For street shooting though I'm starting to discover that 4K Photo mode is a valuable tool.

I've missed so many killer shots while on the street because I simply cannot push the shutter release at the perfect time. With 4K Photo I'm capturing 30 frames per second so getting the perfect shot is easier than before.

These shots of a street performer would not have been possible without 4K Photo. She was moving too fast and asking her to hold an expression was not only unrealistic it would have killed the shot. With 4K Photo mode I captured 30 frames per second at 8 megapixels which was perfect for my needs. When I first started shooting editorial in 2005 magazines were happy with 5 megapixel images for cover shots. Crazy to think that with "video" each frame captured surpasses what is needed for a magazine cover.

While 4K Photo mode is a tool that I'll continue to explore, it's quickly becoming a tool that I never knew I needed until I had it.