SOOC~ Straight Out Of Camera.
I just thought I’d share some stuff to help my friends take better pictures. Get out your camera’s and enjoy. 🙂
1~ Watch your angle.
Where the camera is in relation to the subject makes a big difference.
NEVER shoot a woman from below, try to shoot from her eye lever or above. This almost always helps with everyone else as well. This lengthiness out the neck and face, minimizing face fat (or what they may perceive as fat) or minimizes it from view below natural curves, and also does flattering things for eyes if the subject is looking into the camera.
2~ Get on your subject’s level.
What’s cuter? a baby on the floor, or a close up from ground level of a baby exploring his hands?
3~ Turn off the flash, and use as much natural light as possible.
Turn off the flash whenever possible, natural light is so much more flattering.
Shoot near a window, open the curtains, open doors. Indirect sunlight is a friend.
4~ Don’t be afraid of the flash.
No, this is not in direct contradiction to my last tip, a photo at all is better than a black rectangle. Also in bright direct sun a flash is almost always helpful to fill in deep shadows. Be careful with reflective surfaces (mirror behind subject, fish tank etc) to take the photo at enough of an angle that the flash bounces off away from the camera instead of becoming a shinny star in the middle of your photo.
5~ Watch your background.
Watch that your background isn’t significantly darker or lighter than your subject (this will result in a too white area or black area in your photo).
Watch that there aren’t trees growing out of heads, and that the colors aren’t significantly distracting.
Take two seconds to pick up clutter and around your subject, and you’ll be 100% happier with your finished photo.
6~Crop in camera.
Get close, unless the emphasis is on the surroundings completely (i.e. family in front of their new house, in that case get some of both), get in there and let your subject fill the frame, you won’t regret it.
7~ turn the camera to take vertical frames if that fits your subject best.
A person sitting with a baby on their lap, looks better vertical instead of horizontal showing the whole couch.
8~ Be careful not to butcher people.
Unless it’s a head frame, watch that you don’t cut off fingers, toes, tops of heads etc.
9~ Watch your horizon.
I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent adjusting photo’s because I wasn’t being too careful of my horizon while shooting.
10~ Keep shooting.
Take pictures of stuff you wouldn’t have thought to before.
Oh, and 11~ Seize the moment.
Some moments just need to be captured regardless of how the pictures will turn out, after all people’s patients don’t last forever.
Thanks for that list. What great tips, hopefully they will help make some awesoem shots of my cute guys.
Great tips! Thank you!