beginner photography tips
Tips On Photographing A Wedding
In today’s economy, more and more family members are being asked to bring along their camera’s to document the event. Being a professional photography studio, I do not suggest this but understand the need when budgets are being squeezed. I am going to outline some basic tips that can be helpful when photographing a wedding.
1. Go to the wedding site ahead of time at the same time of day as the wedding is to proceed so you can check for any lighting problems or ideas!
2. Have the bride complete a “group shot list” prior to the wedding. On the wedding day, you can use this as a check list to make the group photos orderly, and to make sure you don’t miss an important photo.
3. Spend sometime before the wedding to advise the wedding couple to pause and look at the camera for all the significant moments in the wedding, such as the first dance, cake cutting, and etc. remind the couple again on the wedding day.
4. Incorporate personal items, things that mean something special to the bride or the groom, into your photo sessions!
5. When photographing a large group of people, have everyone close their eyes, count to three, then tell everyone to open their eyes! This way you are more likely to get everyone with their eyes open and if there are any children in the shot, they will be laughing by this point…which should all make for a great group shot!!
6. Try not to shoot everything at the front of the altar. Try windows, middle of the church between the aisles, or even the back of church. Mix it up a little for different perspectives.
7. Walk around the church or reception site and look for any architectural details, such as arched windows, stone steps or balconies that would add a special element to your photographs.
8. Encourage your bride to tear pictures out of bridal magazines to show you what she likes. This will tell you what shots are important to the bride.
9. When shooting weddings, be patient, and something beautiful will happen.
10. Don’t be afraid to shoot into the light. Spectacular halos and brilliant saturation are waiting for you if you just turn around.
11. When shooting in various environments, try to find background colors that match the eyes of the subject to enhance the focal point of a photo.
12. 99.9% of wedding photography is anticipation. Keep your camera up, and your eyes sharp and the magic shots will come.
13. The lower a bride holds her flowers the thinner she will look.
14. Pay close attention to the facial expressions of the subjects. Do not seek only the smiles, but also the frowns and genuine emotions of the moment.
15. Almost any photograph can be improved by getting closer to the subject (or zooming in) to eliminate needless background details.
I hope that you find these tips helpful. I do want to mention one last time that having a non-professional photographer is a very risky proposition. If you want to guarantee that your memories with be captured properly, always try and hire a professional photographer. It is worth the investment and there are many studios that have very affordable wedding packages.
Tips For Better Quality Photographs
* Take high-resolution photos. Getting more images on your memory card in the past was an issue because they were expensive. Today, you can get very large memory cards at a fraction of the cost. If you are only interested in putting your photo’s on the Web or e-mailing to family and friends, by all means, set you camera to a lower resolution. If you plan to print your photo’s, set your camera to the highest resolution to ensure you capture enough detail to provide good print quality.
* Edit your photos before printing. The digital imaging age is wonderful, giving you the opportunity to take as many photos as you want and not worry about quality or wasting film. When you print your photos, though, quality matters. If the color levels in your photo are off, touch them up in editing. If your photo is off-center, crop it. More advanced photo-editing software gives you the opportunity to apply filters and special effects to your photos for a truly unique memory. Take advantage of the ability to edit digital photos to create the best possible photo to print.
* Make a test print. You can do this with your printer set on a lower quality print function to save on ink. Make a test print on regular paper. Decide whether you need to make any adjustments. After you have a proof done, then set your printer to the highest quality for your final print.
* Consider your ink. Some photo-quality printers use inexpensive ink for everyday printing and special photo ink for photo-quality reproduction. If you’ve got a photo printer that uses special photo ink, invest in the high-quality ink for your photo prints.
* Use good paper. When possible, use the manufacturer’s paper. Manufacturers know what paper works best with their printers and can offer specific paper stocks for the best-quality prints your printer can produce. If you want to use a third-party brand of photo paper, buy a small pack first and test it with your printer to ensure good-quality prints.
Storing Digital Photography?
The benefits of a digital archiving are unmistakable.
Moreover, the electronic archive can be retrieved via the internet, making the files available day and night, from anywhere in the world. Sharing pictures was never as easy as it is today.
At the same time, digital medium has important drawbacks, which undermine all the advantages. The first problem is the physical durability of digital data carriers or storage media, which is much shorter than that printed media. If treated well, paper can be kept for at least one hundred years, while good quality paper can be maintained up to 500 years. CD’s and DVD’s have a life expectancy of only 50 to 100 years. With increased convenience, so it seems, comes a decreased life expectancy.
Worse, however, is the life expectancy of (re)writable optical media, like CD’s and DVD. These are the storage media that most people use to save their family pictures, writings and movies.
Manufacturers of (re)writable optical discs claim a life expectancy comparable to that of compact discs, but experts say these claims are way too optimistic. Archivists count on a maximum life expectancy of around ten years, comparable to the life expectancy of magnetic tapes like music and video cassettes.
Rewritable media might resemble pre-recorded digital media, but they are a very different technology. They are decaying much faster and they are extremely vulnerable to environmental conditions like humidity, temperature and even light. If not saved with care, these media can become unusable in just a few years, or even months.
Hard disks and portable media like mp3-players, USB-sticks and external hard drives also have a disappointing life expectancies of less than ten years. Therefore, if you want to keep digital information for a lifetime, you have to copy the data to new discs every couple of years. Archivists and professional photographers are doing that already. They also make two copies: one to use and one to store in optimal conditions.
Unfortunately, the limited physical life expectancy of digital media is not the only challenge for long-term storage of digital information. Even worse is the danger of technological obsolescence. An analogue letter or picture is easy to keep and store.
To view a 100 year-old book or photo album, you only have to open it. Not so in the case of a digital file. You do not only have to save the photos, but also the machine which is needed to view it.
To view a digital photo-album, you need a particular imaging program, which in its turn is dependent of a particular operating system of the computer used to save the image. This operating system only runs on a certain computer platform. If the photo-album is stored on an external storage medium, like a DVD-ROM, you also need a specific reading device. If just one of these components is not present, then the data are not accessible.
The ever changing developments in hardware and software threaten to make the life expectancy of the now massively produced digital information extremely short. For example: diskettes, the accepted storage technology during the first half of the nineties, are impossible to read on most laptops today. Digital storage media of 20 years ago (large floppy discs) are unreadable by most computer on the market today.
Chances are in twenty years we will consider CD’s and DVD’s we use now with floppy discs or the beta tapes of yesteryear. The storage medium does not even have to change format to become unreadable. Not all DVD-players are capable of reading CD-R’s or CD-RW’s, because their laser beam uses a different wave length. And if it’s not the data carrier that changes, then it’s a standard, a software program or a cable.
So back to the original question, what is the best, safest and most efficient way to store digital files? In my business, I have a disclaimer posted in the studio which says that the business can’t be responsible for damaged, lost or unusable photographs taken of clients for the very reasons mentioned above. Our company has several steps we go through to minimize the risks of storing digital media. Firstly, we save the files onto the computers internal hard drive, then onto an external hard drive, and lastly, we back up the photo shoot onto a dvd. Each year, we choose to remove the computers internal hard drive for safe storage. We also safely store the external hard drive along with a DVD and a printed version of the files. As you can see, the process of storing digital media is very time consuming and expensive. We recommend using several different methods to back up your important and most cherished memories.
What Camera Should I Buy?
Is Digital Right for You?
Let’s start by looking at the non-positives.
1. Usually end up with no physical photo album
2. Nearly always involves time on the computer (archiving, sorting, etc.)
3. Digital files can become lost or currupt due to computer crashes and damaged storage.
4. Must have adequate computer system requirement
5. Reliance on battery life of camera and potentially traveling laptop / storage
6. Cost of camera
By far the most difficult of these issues is the amount of involvement on the computer end (the archiving, sorting) and often the lack of a physical album.
Digital SLR vs Point and Shoot
One of the most important decisions you will have to make is one the style of camera. The most important differences between cameras is whether or not it has a detachable lens (also known as a SLR or Single Lens Reflex). The cameras fall into either the SLR category or are labeled a “Point and Shoot” (now on referred to as “P&S”). SLRs will always be more expensive than a comparably-featured P&S. These categorization applies to both film and digital.
The easiest way to identify a SLR versus a P&S is generally the size and the appearance of the lens. An SLR will have a focus ring that allows the photographer to adjust the focus on the barrel of the lens. A P&S lens will generally be much smaller and will not have such a ring. SLRs are also usually much bulkier than the P&S, as the P&S style aims for a form factor designed with your pocket in mind.
A couple of years ago, digital SLRs were priced out of reach for all but the most affluent photographers.
Deciding between digital SLR vs Point and Shoot types comes down to your expected uses and how far you want to pursue photography.
The range of point and shoot models has broadened considerably. While the early digital point and shoot cameras were fairly simple and of relatively poor quality(versus their film-based equivalents), a new point and shoot digital cameras has surfaced: the pro-sumer point and shoot. The term pro-sumer is a blend of consumer and professional, indicating that it is designed with the advanced amateur in mind.
* Digital Consumer Point and Shoot
Entry-level digital camera. Can be ultra-compact form factor. Lacks manual exposure, manual focus, optical zoom less than 4x. Very slow autofocus and significant shutter-lag. ISO sensitivity up to ~ 400.
* Digital Pro-sumer Point and Shoot
Mid to high-end for a point and shoot. Might offer manual metering modes, electronic manual focus. Some offer super-zooms up to 10x optical with surprisingly good optical characteristics. Some models have extremely little shutter lag, approaching those of SLRs. ISO sensitivity up to 800 – 1600, although noise from the small sensor elements causes higher ISOs to be less useful.
* Digital SLR
Pro-sumer to professional with interchangeable lenses. Always offers manual exposure, real manual focus. Lenses must be purchased separately, but have the ability to cover a much wider visual range and quality than the “super-zooms” built-in to the pro-sumer point and shoot cameras. Useable ISO sensitivity up to 800 – 3200.
So What To Buy?
Digital Consumer Point & Shoot
Cheap
Compact, light
Expansion poor
Lens quality poor
Manual focus difficult/slow
Larger sensor (Less noise)
Total Shutter lag minimal
Compatibility of lens/accessories poor
Digital SLR
Expensive
Bulky, heavy, multiple lenses take up space
Lens quality unlimited
Manual focus easy/fast
Shutter lag poor
Small sensor (More noise)
Compatibility of lens/accessories great
Tips for photographing people
*Get in there to get the shot. If you see something interesting, don’t be satisfied with just a wide shot. Get closer and closer until you can capture the essence of the shot.
* Look for objects that make sense in the picture in your foreground. Be careful not to let the object overpower your subject.
* Every time you start to take a picture, look for foreground elements, frames or anything that can enhance the subject image. Strive to make photographs three dimensional.
* If you forget or don’t have a tripod, use stationary objects such as rock, camera bag or anything to steady your camera to be able to drop your shutter speed.
* Go at your subject from many different angels. Change your height levels as well to give your photograph more dramatic effects.
* Create a catch-light in the subject’s eyes with a small reflector, such as a dulled mirror or the silver side of a CD, to add a bit of glimmer.
* When using a flash indoors, move your subject away from walls to prevent harsh shadows.
* A piece of very light orange gel over the face of your electronic flash can warm up the light and give it a more pleasing cast.
* Be patient when you are shooting. Wait for the good shot. Once you have that shot in view, then begin multiple shots.
* While looking through your lens for different textures and patterns.
* When you first arrive at a new location, make note of any features that strike you and try an use that in the composition of your shot.
* Anticipate kids’ behavior. set up, compose your image, and wait for them to come running.
* Most important, when photographing people, find out their interests and try and capture that in your image.
You must be logged in to post a comment.