 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photography Poses - The Missing Ingredient
You've read all the "best digital camera" articles, got the best price on your first digital camera, and even glanced at its owner's manual. Are you itching to take some shots of your family, or what? Slow down, soldier. Before you take 200 shots that seem great at the time, but then upon review of the final picture are less than what you expected, let's prepare. Prepare?!?! I'll bet you thought charging the battery was the hardest part of taking great photos, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint you, but if you want to improve your photo results 50% in 2 minutes, let's review some basic advice of the pros. There are two categories of GENERAL ADVICE which applies, regardless of whether you're using a digital camera to take family portrait poses, baby pictures, pet portraits, group pictures, funny photos, or even maternity portraits. The first category is... "Good Planning" Advice for Photography Poses 1) Prepare For The Event Prepare for the event by thinking about every photograph you want to take and what kind of photography pose or poses you would like to capture. Consider who, where, how, and the type of environment. 2) Take Multiple Photographs Take multiple shots of each pose (remember, digital memory is reusable, a.k.a. "free"). Regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification); which leads to... 3) Check LCD Screen Check the digital camera's LCD screen for general framing of the picture, any movement, visibility of faces, and the histogram. Note that you can think up a fantastic photography pose; arrange everyone perfectly; and, have the photograph "frozen" (no blinking, and no shaking of the camera)...but, when you check it out in the LCD, you see 2 drunks fighting in the background! And, my favorite... 4) Funny Phrases Have some funny phrases handy to use just before you take the photo. Don't use it when setting up for the shot. And, don't use the same phrase all the time. Throw in funny anecdotes, phrases, names, words that you know your family will find more amusing than "cheese." A natural smile looks four times better than a fake one. The second category is... "Location" Advice for Photography Poses Taking indoor family photography, is very different than outdoor family photograph (duh!). For INDOOR pictures... 1) Wide Angle You will tend to use the wide angle more often than your telephoto setting. Pay particular attention to your "end people" (those farthest to the right and the left in your viewfinder), and verify there is enough space in picture, so that if cropping is required, the end people don't have to lose a limb. 2) The Flash Flash considerations are critical. Do not be outside your "flash range." For example, if at ISO 100, your flash can properly illuminate 12 feet, don't attempt any photography pose that requires anyone to stand at 14 feet (unless, of course, it's evil cousin Ira who you want to appear in darkness). 3) Plan "B" If you need to be further away than your flash allows, here are 2 things you can try...First, increase the ISO setting (but not so much as to produce to much noise), or second, move to a significantly brighter location. 4) Watch Your Background If there are distracting features, change your settings to blur the background (see the Techniques page). The best photography pose in the world won't look right with a distracting background. And finally... 5) Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall If there are mirrors or reflective surfaces in the background and you can't find a different location, only take the picture in such a way that the flash is not perpendicularto the surface, but at an angle (unless you want a nice photo of your flash). Outdoor family photography has completely different issues. For OUTDOOR photography... 6) The Sun Avoid photographing in direct sunlight, or in mixed light and shade, especially faces. Optimal lighting results from a slightly overcast sky. 7) Shade When photographing in shade, use fill-flash (see terms) when necessary. And, really finally... 8) Beauty If practical, take the picture at one of the beautiful natural settings near you. Imagine the result of a creative photography pose captured in a stunning environment. Can you say: "Over the mantle!"? To see some sample pictures including more photography tips, go to www.best-family-photography-tips.com/photography-pose.html. Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved. Robert Bezman is a professional photographer and owner of Custom Photographic Expressions. Robert has created http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com to help the digital world create better photographs.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Advantages of Underwater Camera Housing You will need an underwater camera housing to keep your valuable camera dry. This is a very important piece of equipment. Digital Imaging Explained Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned document, or image is converted into a series of electronic dots called pixels. Pixels is an acronym for "picture elements". Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is so they can share their photos with others. Even if you are just going to print your photos for yourself, you will want them to look their best. Photography Success Without School What I learned from a mentor that enabled me to go from an amateur photographer to a professional portrait photographer in very specific steps is something I like to pass on. Rather than spending countless hours in classes learning every possible detail, I learned just the necessary specifics and now I work out of my home full time and have been in business for over 17 years, but I started out with practically nothing; just an interest in photography and the need to earn more money. A Guide to Underwater Cameras There are two types of underwater camera systems: an ""amphibious"" camera, which is a self-contained waterproof system, and an SLR land camera with waterproof housing. Amphibious systems are small, compact, and easy to travel with, while SLRs offer more advanced features, such as auto-focus, advanced exposure control, and through-the-lens viewing. Digital Camera Memory Cards A digital camera accessory you should purchase is a spare memory card. Most cameras are sold with a 'starter' memory card that is usually a low capacity card that's enough to take a few sample photos on, but not enough for day-to-day use. Top 10 Digital Cameras - What You Need To Know About Them There are a large number of top 10 digital camera lists available on the Internet today. Each one of them is different and they all have different sets of criteria, on the basis of which these lists are compiled. Photography Jobs: Do You Have a Future in Photography? There is a wide world of photography. It touches each of us in our lives on a daily basis in some form or another. The Photography Portfolio: Building Your Reputation If you have hopes of becoming a professional photographer, or even just of trying to get your work published in a public forum, you will need to create a photography portfolio. So what's so important about a photography portfolio anyway?There are many reasons why having a portfolio of your work available for others to view. Stitching Memories Sometimes, usual photographs look so common and boring. Converting your pictures into charcoal or oil painting is a welcome change but then, a lot of people have been into these crafts already that there are times when these portraits too, look clichéd. Top of the Line Digital Cameras If you think that digital cameras are for snapshots only, then you obviously haven't heard about SLR (Single Lens Reflex) digital cameras. SLR is a type of camera which has one lens for composing the frame and capturing the image. Stock Your Kit with Digital Camera Accessories There are a large number of digital camera accessories available in the market today. Even though you might have invested a few hundred dollars in your digital camera (although they are getting cheaper by the day), you should buy yourself a few accessories as well so that you can enhance the photo quality of your pictures and be able to capture anything that comes along in your daily digital life. Digital Camera Printers The digital camera is not meant only for capturing images and storing them on the computer memory disks. The real effect comes from the hard copy of those fantastic images taken by the users, that is the printed photographs! In order to get the printer copy of the images a very important device necessary is the printer. Review of the Photek Product Shooting Tent Here's the challenge. You have to photograph small items for Ebay or for clients' brochures. Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the happiest and stressful days of you life. The happy part comes naturally but how can you cut down on the stress? Well from a photographers standpoint, seeing that he is with you from the beginning of the day till the end, and sees you before and after the wedding, I would like to offer some tips and secrets to make it more happy than stressful. Picture Framing for Photographers - Part 2 There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making a frame. You can firstly start with a straight piece of timber, and using a home routing system make your own moulding shape with a rebate to take the art work. Understanding Digital Photography Most serious photographers and all professionals use a Single Lens Reflex camera (SLR), the definition of an SLR camera is that the image is captured exactly as you see it in the viewfinder. However there are now two types of SLR the single lend reflex film (SLRF) and the single lens digital (SLD). Where to Find Cheap Disposable Cameras There are many kinds of disposable cameras. All disposable cameras are already inexpensive, but there are some that are even more of a bargain than others. Canon-Powershot-A80 Review Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for about $325 including shipping after looking at digital cameras for about a month. It had all the features we were looking for in our price range and the stylish gleaming metal case didn't hurt either. Getting The Right Digital Camera For You There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot till you dropTaking digital images on your camera has no implication other then you have captured the image. Then you can review each image on the small screen on the back of your camera.
|
|
|
 |
 |
