CameraPro On The Couch with Benjamin Lee

Benjamin Lee is a Sydney-based freelance photographer and filmmaker specialising in travel, landscape, and urban photography. His engaging content has been commissioned for campaigns with leading brands such as DJI, Adobe, Mercedes Benz and Audible, to name but a few. We caught up with Ben to chat about how he got started in the world of digital content creation and his top tips for street and travel photography.

Considering the stellar quality of his work today, it’s surprising to learn that Ben purchased his first camera simply because he thought it looked cool. The investment did spark an interest in photography, and when Instagram came around, Ben, aka @itchban, decided to create a profile and start uploading photos. In early 2015, after a year on the platform, Instagram featured Ben’s account as a suggested user, directing viewers to his account and rapidly increasing his following. Having recently left his job, Ben was searching for a career direction, and the growing interest in his photography was just the inspiration he needed to keep shooting. 

Taken from Instagram: @itchban

Ben continued building his online presence and developing a portfolio of work by doing personal projects and offering free product shoots. Things really took off when he landed his first paid gig with Adidas shooting the new NMDs. Somewhat shocked at landing the job, Ben invested in a 35mm lens specifically for that project which was his first piece of glass outside the kit lens that had come with his camera. The following year, Canon Australia picked up one of his images and used it in a campaign for the EOS 80D.

‘I think you just need to say yes. But it's also important that you say yes and try your best not to let them down.’

His first foray into film came on a trip to Tasmania, creating content for James Boag and Tourism Tasmania to supplement a campaign they were running. Keen to differentiate himself from other Instagramers on the trip, he captured some video with his Canon 6D and cut it together into a punchy 1.36 minute clip. With video features limited on stills-centric cameras at the time, few were making short-form video content for social media, so his video cut through and was noticed by Canon Australia, who approached Ben and asked him to capture Vivid.

Since embarking on his social media journey nearly a decade ago, Ben has acquired a significant following and garnered a wealth of photographic knowledge that he is always happy to share with his ever-growing online community. A firm believer that mastery of a skill is being able to explain it simply to others, he enjoys creating short-form video content to help answer the many questions he receives from followers.  

‘You should share your tips, I think. Providing value, especially on Instagram and YouTube, that's a big way to get engagement and build a community, so definitely give it a go.’

For those particularly interested in getting into street photography but nervous about hitting the streets solo, Ben encourages pairing up with another street photographer friend and shooting together until you build your confidence. This way, you won't be alone if anything goes awry and you are confronted. And along those lines, don’t do anything wrong, and then you can be at ease with your actions and intentions. Photographing people in public spaces is perfectly acceptable in many countries. Still, it’s always worth doing your homework before shooting in a new location to ensure there are no restrictions you need to be aware of.

Taken from Instagram: @itchban

Ben also applies his personal moral code when deciding whether to press the shutter and chooses not to photograph vulnerable people, making it much easier for him to shoot assuredly. If a human subject looks at him while he’s photographing them, Ben will make a point of not lowering the camera; he'll just keep shooting. That way, they usually assume they are not the image's subject and will carry on about their day. And because his intentions are just and Ben knows he won’t post any picture that makes another person look bad, there’s never a reason to drop the camera as if he’s been sprung. 

‘For street photography, I like that there's a story, and the viewer more or less makes the story up in their head.’

Shooting manually is undoubtedly fantastic for full creative expression but can inhibit reaction time which can mean missed moments. For this reason, Ben predominantly shoots his street stuff in aperture priority and uses exposure compensation to dial it up or down to suit the scene. Preferring to avoid motion blur, he will also set a minimum shutter speed the camera won’t drop below. Ben advises new shooters to avoid the trap of repeatedly shooting wide open; otherwise, all your photos will look the same. 

‘Sometimes it's dark, and you don't want to push the ISO, and for street photography, you have to work with the light you're given, so try to find natural light sources like vending machines and street lamps.’

Zone focusing is a common technique that Ben uses regularly and recommends to others looking to capture candid scenes. It involves prefocussing your lens manually to a set distance and then modifying your aperture to control the depth of field while shooting. The image will be sharp if the subject is within that lens' acceptable zone of focus and the shutter is fast enough. It works particularly well for street scenes where the photographer wants to shoot quickly and discretely, as there is no need to raise the camera to eye level and focus through the viewfinder. 

Taken from Instagram: @itchban

‘You need to know your camera. You miss a lot of shots if you mess up settings and you're not fast enough and not anticipating the shot well enough.’

Ben has some handy tips for finding shooting locations before you even hit the ground on your next adventure. Searching on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Google can give you an idea of the area and particular landmarks you might want to seek out. Save them into folders as you come across them, and then mark them on a map when planning your itinerary. If you’re unsure of the exact location of a scene, try reaching out to people who live in the area or have been there or do a Google search for an article that reveals where it is. Another tip is to upload a saved screenshot to Google Images, which will return web pages based on the image. Satellite view in Google Maps can help you get an idea of terrain and surroundings and assist in finding precise locations. This can be very useful for identifying suitable areas for drone photography or planning where the sun will be at a particular time.

Check out the full conversation here to learn more about Ben and how he built a career in digital content creation.

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