9/20/2011

The 6 Most Vital Hints For Taking Great Photographs

By Autumn Lockwood


The majority of us fall a little bit short in terms of taking pictures that warrant showing in picture frames on top of our desks at work. However, digital cameras are becoming better and better, allowing everybody to capture excellent snapshots. After all, most digital cameras available today are point-and-shoot models that do all the hard things for you, from face recognition to identifying on their own if a flash is needed. Nonetheless, becoming a better photographer is doable when you have some experience with your camera under your belt, and a sense of know-how. Get out your digital camera and have a peek at the hints below which will be sure to improve your pictures.

* Make eye contact with your subject to capture a more engaging photo. Keep your camera at the subject's eye level and you will notice that you get a much more unique shot. When shooting pictures of children or household pets, get down to their level. This is much more attractive than shots taken looking down on your subject. Furthermore, when a picture is taken at eye level it is usually much more personalized and welcoming, and will catch the attention of the viewer.

* Emphasize your main focus in the photo by keeping distractions outside of the background. A flagpole which seems to spear your subject through their head will distract from the real subject of the photograph. Make sure you take into account the surroundings of the subject when taking pictures. A plain or simple backdrop with little or no activity works best.

* Recognize when to use the flash. A large amount of sunlight often produces dramatic shadows on a face. A good method to remove these shadows is with your camera's flash, perhaps even when there is a great deal of light outdoors. This is particularly true when the day is really sunny. If you can choose between fill flash or the full flash, it is generally good to use the fill flash for closer subjects which are five feet away or less, and use the full flash if your subject is more than five feet away from your camera.

* Know when you should move up closer. For subjects smaller than a normal sized automobile, take a few steps closer to your subject before snapping your picture. Or it may be an even better idea to use the zoom function on your camera. The thing you are trying to obtain is revealing features, like a charming set of freckles or a stunning set of teeth.

* Know when you're just too close to the subject. While getting close makes for a much better shot most of the time, you should also avoid coming too close. If you are too near, your pictures will end up blurry. The closest focusing distance on the typical digital camera is about a yard, which is around one step beyond the lens of the camera. Any closer than this and your photos may not come out as clear as you would like.

* Position your subject in the very center of the picture, but only if that is the way it looks the best. The nice thing about the digital camera is that you are able to shoot, shoot, and re-shoot until the shot you are taking turns out like you want it. Many times, the middle is an ideal position for the subject, but this is not always true. Snap multiple shots so you can compare them side by side and discover which position works the best for the subject.

If you really take time to think things through, you can easily capture pictures that are well worth putting in picture frames all over your office and house.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment