a few photo tips
1. Go point-and-shoot, because how often do you happen to have an SLR in your pocket?
I admit that even entry-level consumer SLRs take much better photographs than any point-and-shoot camera. And, if you were planning to frame 16×20 art prints of your family, this would be the way to go. But most of the time you just don’t need the quality or the resolution. The first rule to getting a great shot is having a camera there to get the shot.
2. Keep the flash off as much as possible. Flash photography is great and allows you to take many shots that you otherwise couldn’t get. The downside is that the picture looks nothing like the actual real moment. In dim lighting conditions experiment with taking pictures at higher ISOs to see how the quality holds up. You’ll be surprised how many shots you can get, even at night. And a little blur is not a bad thing. Also, remember that most on-camera flashes are only effective up to six feet or so — turn off the flash at concerts and other events – it’s just not doing anything.
3. Get closer. It’s tempting on vacation to take that super-wide shot of a loved one standing in front of a majestic landscape. But beyond proving that you were in fact at said location, what else does it do? Get in close and capture a spontaneous moment, and it will be a much better souvenir.
4. Hold the shutter down halfway. Sometimes you just know a great moment is just about to happen. But kids are fickle, and fast-moving. Focus on your subject, hold the shutter down halfway and wait. You might have to do this several times as the situation changes, but you’ll have a much better chance of capturing that split-second moment when it happens.
February 27th, 2010 at 23:08
These are great tips! I was especially interested to see the first one…I only use a point-and-shoot, and although I know my photos aren’t art-quality prints, I’m pretty happy with the results most of the time.