Sunday, January 1, 2012

Being The Best Family Photographer You Can Be

By Lynda O. Boykin


Can you take great pictures? Would you like to find out how to hone your photographic skills? If the answer is yes, this article is for you. The following advice will help you take your photography to the next level.

Almost any subject can make an amazing picture, indoors or outdoors. Experiment! Grab your camera, and start snapping.

You'll take the best photographs when you love what you're doing. Pictures should serve as a reminder for a particular moment that you would like to capture forever and be able to look back on in the future. Stay excited and enthusiastic about taking pictures and it will show up in the results.

There are three important factors you need to consider when the subject of your photograph is a landscape. These three factors are the foreground, the background, and the mid-ground. This concept is not exclusive to photography, however. Painters rely on the idea to add visual depth to their creations.

When you are trying to take close-up shots you should use optical zoom instead of digital zoom. Most cameras will allow you to continue zooming in closer and closer on your subject, but the image quality is always compromised when it switches from optical to digital mode zoom. The image quality is significantly worse when you digitally zoom. The manual for your camera should have instructions to disable digital mode.

It can be difficult to take quality pictures of food items. The food doesn't always stay as fresh and appetizing looking as time passes, while you set up your shot. When you are taking a food picture, you want to have everything (the silverware, glassware and napkins) set up beforehand. Make sure the room's lighting is adjusted correctly for aesthetics, place the food in your planned location, and just click a great shot!

Your image sensor settings (ISO) can help you get very good shots if you know how to work with them. If not, they can sabotage your pictures quickly. The higher the ISO is set, the more grain will be on your pictures. This can be a terrible thing to happen to a shot unless your shot requires the grain.

Make your subject feel comfortable, especially if you don't know them. A lot of people look at someone taking pictures as a potential threat. Therefore, you should be friendly and welcoming and get your subject's permission before taking any photographs. Help them understand that this is art, and not just a method of invading their privacy.

Make sure you read the manual that came with your camera. Manuals frequently are large and awkward. The common reaction to a manual is to pitch it into a cabinet and forget it or even toss it straight in the garbage. Take your time to read and study your manual instead of just throwing it away. It can enable you to take better photos, and it will also prevent you from making stupid mistakes.

When taking a photograph with your cell phone you must be even more careful about the lighting you use. Since few phone cameras contain a flash, you have to work with the light available to you. If you use the zoom feature and go in close to your subject, you will block some of the shadows and sunspots, which will increase the quality of your photo.

If the subject of your picture ends up with red eyes, you are not going to frame that shot. Red eye can be prevented by completely avoiding flash when possible. If you must use flash, you should inform the person not to look straight at the lens. Many cameras now have a feature to eliminate red eye built into them to eliminate the problem altogether.

Experiment with new techniques or subjects, and do not fear taking some original photos. An original point of view or an original take on an old subject will give you a personal style that attracts attention. Avoid cliched poses or shots that you have seen millions of times. Look for different angles to emphasize different aspects of your subject.

For more creative photos, experiment with unorthodox angles. Unique angles bring a new dimension into your photography. For example, you can change the angle by standing above your subject and looking down. Frame shots sideways or diagonally to create a dynamic, unusual composition.

Now that you've read this article, you should have some ideas for how to improve your photography skills. Refer back to this article whenever you need some new ideas. Keep persevering, and you will transform your photos into true art.




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