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Tag Archives: taking great photos

Monday, March 26, 2012

Taking Better Pictures – Part 3

Posted in Tips & Tricks

I hope you have enjoyed my photo tips…if you haven’t read the others, check out Sunny Days and Getting Up Close…

Have you ever taken a photo of this once-in- lifetime moment? You know, the stars aligned…your sweet angel cooperated…the perfect smile was smiled…there were no boogers in, on, or around the nose…there was a twinkle in sweetness’ eye. That moment. As soon as you snapped the picture, your mind started racing about what you were going to do with that picture. Visions of Facebook adulation, prints and reprints, maybe a cutest kid’s contest entry, and envy-inducing holiday cards danced joyfully in your head. You pop the SD card in the computer and wait impatiently for the photos to upload to your computer. Then the moment arrives…you get to see the image in all of its glory. Then IT happens. Joy turns to catastrophic despair when you see the image of the year in all its BLURRY glory. Yup, YOUR photo…blurry. Crushing isn’t it? Ever cried over one of these duds? I have…more than once. I won’t lie…it hurts.

So how does this happen?

  • Bad exposure is the usual villain in this story. And why was the exposure bad? Because it was too darn dark. Cameras are scared of the dark. They want light…light from outside or a window or light from the flash. Lack of light will always create blurry, grainy photos. If the lighting is good, your camera will take the picture faster which will stop any motion and reduce blur.
  • Another culprit is camera shake. As in you were holding the camera, you moved causing a blurred effect. Here’s a free tip: consuming a 5 hour energy drink before taking pictures in not advisable. You couldn’t stop yourself from shaking even if you wanted to. It’s even in their slogan: 5 Hour Energy. Drink it in seconds. Feel it in minutes. Lasts for hours. Not recommended for drinking before taking pictures…okay I added the last little bit.
  • Subject movement…little sweetness moves just as you are clicking the button and it causes blur. Depending on the age of your subject, this one is hard. Ever try to get a toddler to stand or sit still for more than a millisecond? Sometimes the odds are better at winning the lottery than making that happen. It can be done and sometimes you just have to be patient.

Do you throw your camera on the ground and stomp on it until it is in little pieces? I wouldn’t recommend that. Although there might be some therapeutic value in that, once you have calmed down your rage will turn to depression as you realize you just busted your camera into a billion pieces.

Here are a few ideas to eliminate blur:

  • Open the blinds or a door to let natural light into the room.
  • Use the camera’s flash.
  • Move your subject towards a light source.
  • Depending on your camera, use a different mode such as action.   This usually looks like a little guy running. This is meant for fast moving subjects like kids. It might be on a dial on your camera or buried in a menu. Look for him…It might just save your bacon.

Are you wondering why I didn’t suggest simply turning on the light in the room? You can do this, but I would advise you to be cautious. Most of the time, the lighting in our homes casts a yellow or orange ugliness in photos. You could end up with photos of people that have a very dark orange-y suntan. Use overhead lights in your home with caution.

 

 

Before you go…if you don’t want to miss any of my pearls of wisdom, then click on the little envelope below or scroll down and click on “subscribe” if you are reading this on your smartphone and subscribe to my blog…these blog posts will show up in your inbox a couple of times a week. Don’t sweat getting spam…I don’t eat or sell the stuff so you are safe…

 

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Taking Better Pictures – Part 2

Posted in Tips & Tricks

Last time we talked about Sunny Day pictures…if you missed that post go back and check it out…

Today we are going to talk about getting up close and personal with your subjects…

Too many times I see photos of people that were taken so far back the person taking the photo probably had to use a mega phone to tell the subject to smile. The subject is so stinkin’ small that I feel compelled to get out my magnifying glass just to verify who I think is in the picture. Not good. If your picture turns into a Where’s Waldo adventure, then you have issues.

My suspicion is that this phenomena comes from a fear of intimacy…I mean fear of limb chopping among other things. You don’t want to chop off feet or legs. You feel like you have to get the entire person in the frame…all the time. I bet some of you think that getting an obscene amount of the background in the image is the route to a prize-worthy photo. Well, you thought wrong!! !!! Sorry, that has harsh…let me rephrase…you tried super duper hard with the best of intentions but you were just a teensy weensy bit mistaken. Better?

Moving on….

Have you noticed that your photos with the subject farther away are just not very sharp? They seem fuzzy? Well, your camera looks for a focal point. A what point? Focal point: the red square that comes up on your LCD. You just thought that was there to obstruct your view and annoy you, didn’t you? No, it has a purpose. The camera’s focal point is looking for something to hang on to for dear life. It wants to find something to focus on to give you a sharp picture. Make sense? When your subject is far away, the camera doesn’t have anything definitive to hold onto…everything begins to run together from the camera’s viewpoint…it looks for something and thinks it has it, but you find out later it didn’t have a firm grasp and now your insanely awesome photo…sucks. It happens to the best of us…

Do your camera a favor and find it something to hang onto…move your subject a little closer and then take your shot. If you can move your focal point (again, the red box), I would place it over the subjects face. After all, that is what you want to be sharp right?

Now, let’s talk about limb chop…don’t be afraid of cutting off limbs. Here is the rule of thumb on this issue: Don’t cut off limbs at joints…ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, elbows, etc. Got it? Good. Enough said.

And what about the background? Well, riddle me this Batman: What is the subject of your picture? Is it the scenery? Is it your child? Is it a combination of both? Give this a second of thought before you snap the picture.  If you are at the Grand Canyon and want to take a picture of your kids, then by all means include more of the background with the kids. It is the Grand Canyon…seems pretty amazing and in this situation, you have 2 subjects…the kids and the hole in the ground. If you are taking a picture of you adoring toddler inside your house that looks like a preschool blew up in it, then consider minimizing the background and getting up close on your toddler….SHE is the focus of the picture…not the shrapnel from the explosion.

I want you to do a little experiment and have someone stand at different lengths from you as you take pictures. I bet you notice that your images get sharper as your subject gets closer. I took the challenge and used Zach as my guinea pig…

photo of child at various distances in san antonio

Next time we are going to tackle blurry images….

Before you go…if you don’t want to miss any of my pearls of wisdom, then click on the little envelope below or scroll down and click on “subscribe” if you are reading this on your smartphone and subscribe to my blog…these blog posts will show up in your inbox a couple of times a week. Don’t sweat getting spam…I don’t eat or sell the stuff so you are safe…

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Taking Better Pictures – Part 1

Posted in Tips & Tricks

Say Click!! Take a pic!! Say Click!! Take a pic!! Soy click la camera…I can take a pic…blah…blah…blah…if that little squirt Dora can take good pictures so can you. For those of you that don’t know Dora, count your blessings…her little picture song is cute, but it quickly gets infused in your head.  Removing it is next to impossible…

I thought I would do a series on Tips for Taking Better Pictures…seems like a good idea for you to be up to at least Dora’s level in your photo taking (wink!)…so here goes…

Today’s tip: Bright sunny days do not equal good pics.

I know that seems crazy and you are already thinking I have no clue what I am talking about, but let me assure you I am not as nutty as you think. Bright sunny days create harsh shadows, squinty eyes, and silhouettes.

I bet you have pictures where someone’s face is glowing on one side and dark on the other. You can admit it…we all have these pictures…there is no shame. Blame the sun and the harsh shadows she creates…

I bet you also have pictures with people that appear to have no eyes or black eyes. You can see in the examples below that Joshua is trying to keep his eyes open but the sun is so bright he can’t. He now has a case of the squinty eyes which is sad because he has gorgeous blue eyes. You want your subject to have eyes…have you seen pictures where the people all have dark eyes (read: black)…those aren’t aliens…those are humans having their picture taken in light that is too bright. Not attractive.

 

squinty eyes and harsh shadows photo

I know you have pictures where the background is bright and the person in the picture is super dark….as in, YOU have to squint to make out who is in the picture. This is because your lighting was BEHIND your subject lighting up their butt. Oops. Your subject needs to be facing the light source….light up their face…not their derrière.

sillouette photo of child

Cloudy days or shady places = better pictures. Those clouds diffuse the sun’s rays virtually eliminating harsh shadows. They also make it possible for your subject to look at you without the sun burning a hole in their retina…that’s a plus. Patches of shade will at least provide even lighting on your subject but be careful which direction your subject has to look because you can still get squinty eyes.

san antonio photo of joshua

photo of Joshua

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua was my helper in bringing you this PSA. It only cost me extra outside playing time…pretty cheap for Joshua…

Next time we are going to talk about invading your subjects personal space…just kidding…well, kinda…

Before you go…if you don’t want to miss any of my pearls of wisdom, then click on the little envelope below or scroll down and click on “subscribe” if you are reading this on your smartphone and subscribe to my blog…these blog posts will show up in your inbox a couple of times a week. Don’t sweat getting spam…I don’t eat or sell the stuff so you are safe…

 

 

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

The 8×10 Myth

Posted in Wall Decor Tips

Joshua holding a photo frame in san antonio

 

Last time you took a little trip around your home and looked at your walls. You had to decide whether or not you had walls or fame or walls of shame. Before we can fix those walls, we have to have a little chat about the 8×10 and dispel the myth surrounding this print size…

Today I am going to blow your mind. Ready?

Here is the myth: An 8×10 is a large print.

This is so false it makes me want to beat my head against something. I have gotten all excited at an ordering session when someone tells me they want to purchase a large print. The giddy in me comes out like it is Christmas morning and there are diamond earrings under the tree. Then the client tells me that large print is an 8×10…those diamond earrings just turned into cubic zirconium and I now wish I had spiked Santa’s cookies with laxatives.

There is nothing wrong with an 8×10…it is a great size…and in its proper place it is p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Where is the proper place you ask? Great question. The proper place for an 8×10 is on a desk, dresser, night stand, end table, or book shelf. Let’s re-read that last sentence:

The proper place for an 8×10 is on a desk, dresser, night stand, end table, or book shelf.

What place is missing from that list? That’s right; there was no mention of hanging an 8×10 on a wall. Wanna know why? Because 8x10s on a wall are the size of an atom. Okay, maybe they aren’t quite that small but you get my point.

If you are planning to hang an 8×10 over a large piece of furniture like a couch or bed, then stop what you are doing and put the frame down slowly. For the love of heaven and earth, reconsider what you are doing. Hanging an 8×10 above a large object is like seeing a fat guy with a tiny head (sorry, if you are fat guy with a tiny head).  It don’t work (great grammer, huh?).  If people have to walk right up to your wall to look at a photo, then the photo is too darn small. These are walls for heaven’s sake! They are large…they separate one room from another and today’s home is usually open concept…meaning the walls are freakin’ wide with 7-9 foot tall ceilings. 8x10s are just not proportionally viable options for your walls. Accept it!

Take a deep breath…inhale…exhale…if you need a paper bag to stop the hyperventilating that is okay. I just rocked your world.  Debunking this myth was a “must do” though.  You were living a lie and I just couldn’t have it.

Before you get all worked up and cuss me out for even thinking of shattering this untruth, give me a chance to give you a couple of exceptions to this rule.

#1:  You have a small wall somewhere that a framed 8×10 is the proportionally correct size based on the wall space. Okay, frame that 8×10 and hang ‘er up. Remember it must be PROPORTIONAL.

#2:  You have a master plan of hanging 8x10s in a large group (like 8). Okay, that might work. You still need a large quantity to pull this off correctly and you can’t use a wall that that runs the length of your entire house (read: ginormous). The grouping has to be large enough to be PROPORTIONAL on the wall you are using.

Those are my exceptions…

We have cleaned off your walls, talked about 8x10s and their proper place, and now it is time to fill up those nekid walls with some super awesome pictures…

Before you go…if you don’t want to miss any of my pearls of wisdom, then click on the little envelope below (if you are viewing on a computer) or scroll down and click subscribe (if you are viewing on a mobile device) and subscribe to my blog…these blog posts will show up in your inbox a couple of times a week. Don’t sweat getting spam…I don’t eat or sell the stuff so you are safe… :)

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