This is a 'How To' guest post from Kristy of Kristy
Pruet
Photography (www.kristypruetphotography.com).
I have the best job in the
world as a lifestyle photographer in the Birmingham metro area specializing
in children and family photography.
NOTE --
HOW TO TAKE BETTER SNAPSHOTS OF YOUR FAMILY:
I'm so excited to be guest posting for Christie. Today, I am going to share
with you a few simple tips and tricks to get better snapshot photos of your
family.
You do not have to have a fancy-schmancy DSLR camera to take great
photographs. With the current technology, a basic point and shoot camera is
capable of taking spectacular photographs. That book that came in the box
wasn't packing material. Get it out. Read it front to back and then read
it again. Cameras these days have so many great built in features that will
help you create a great photograph. For instance, the landscape mode is
going to use a smaller aperture to keep your whole frame in focus. You
could also use this mode when taking a photo of a large group to avoid
anyone being blurred out in what is called depth of field. Learn your
camera and its features and understand what affect they will have on your
image. Now that you know what all those buttons and dials do, let's talk
about what goes into taking a good photograph.
Lighting-
Let there be light and let it be good light. The best source of
light is absolutely free-the sun. If you are shooting outdoors, look for
nice open shade where you can avoid crazy shadows but still get great light
on your subject. Typically you will get the best results if you position the
camera facing the light, otherwise you may end up with harsh shadows across
the face. If you are shooting indoors, try everything possible to avoid
your on-camera pop-up flash. The problem with pop-up flash is that the
flash is parallel to your lens and your subject so it will create dull,
flat, shadowless lighting that isn't attractive for anyone. If you can,
move closer to a door or window, or use the available ambient lighting to
get a well lit shot. Once you learn to "see" light and how it affects your
images, you will notice a huge improvement in your amateur photography
skills.
Composition-
That is how you compose the frame of your shot and it can make
or break a good shot. There are many things that make a well composed shot
and I am going to share the biggie with you. I think the most important is
what is called the Rule of Thirds. Think of the most unattractive portrait
you can think of. a mugshot. It wasn't just Nick Nolte's bad hair and crazy
expression that made his mug so horrible. Photos like this are called
center-weighted and they are boring and lack any visual interest. It
absolutely does not follow the Rule of Thirds. This rule is simple and easy
to follow. Imagine there is a tic-tac-toe board inside your viewfinder. It
is best to put your subject or focal point on one of the top intersecting
points of the grid. Think about the news, documentaries and interviews you
see on television. Usually the person being interviewed or speaking is off
centered to the right. It's not just coincidence that it is that way. It
is far more visually appealing than a center-weighted arrangement. Now that
you know to have your subject off center, what else? Get down! If you are
shooting a small child or a pet, sit, kneel, squat, whatever you have to do
to get on their level. It's a whole different world down there and you
should capture it. Watch for clutter in the background. You don't want a
trash can in the background of the photos of your family picnic. Watch for
things "growing" our of people's bodies. People are always inclined to take
a photo of someone in front of a tree and oftentimes, there will be what
appears to be a limb coming out of their ear. Instead, place your subject
to either side of the tree. You still get the same affect without the
intruding limb. Just be aware. Being conscience of everything in your
frame will definitely make a better photo. Make everything in your frame
have a purpose.
You've taken a photo that you love but it's lacking the WOW that you are
looking for. Now we are at what I call post-processing. It's like
the
darkroom of the digital era
.
The "WOW" factor-
A little photo editing can easily make a good picture a
wow picture. With programs like Photoshop you can do simple cropping,
sharpening, add contrast and color boost very easily without much training.
Even free software programs like Picasa and Gimp can work wonders on a photo
that has good technical merit. No program is going to fix a photo that is
way too dark or way too bright but on those that are well exposed and well
composed, it's fun to play around with and experiment to see what you can
come up.
Now that you have a frame worthy photo you need to protect it. That brings
us to the last tip I'm going to share with you today.
I cannot stress this enough. If I told you a million times, I could
still tell you again, backup your photos. Computers die. It's a fact of
life and more often than not, it's going to happen right before you planned
to backup your hard drive. And let me tell you. it will be a sad and
miserable day at your house the moment you realize that years of your photos
are non-existent. Some people choose to backup hard drives to an external
device. Other's burn CD's or DVD's of their images. The sad news is that
external hard drives, CD's and DVD's can fail you too! There is a solution
to this and it's absolutely free.
is a great
company that gives you unlimited file storage to save your precious family
photos. You simply create an account, create albums and upload your files.
You can simply use this site as file storage or you can purchase your prints
directly from them. Whatever you choose, in the event your computer goes on
the fritz, you are protected. That piece of mind is priceless and free too!
I hope that you have learned something today (Did I mention to back up your
files?) and that you experiment and have fun taking photos of your family.
You can take great snapshots of your family with a little practice. Just be
aware and plan your shot well. And remember, the only bad photo is one you
never take so keep shooting! I hope you will swing by my