June 2010

Of course the technical end of photography is only a small part of getting a good photo. Let's take a look at some general tips in composing your portraits (and yes, even self portraits):

• Position people between camera and subject
• Focus on people
• People at side
• Wide aperture (lower numbers) 
for separation, narrow (higher numbers) for depth

The best way to move from the tourist-style snapshots is by separating the people in your photo from the background. I prefer to set-up my photo of the background to create a good image of just that, then add my people closer to the camera making them as prominent as the primary object I'm capturing in the background. Generally you'll want to get your people from waist up allowing them to be larger in the frame. It also looks best to have them off to either the left or right side of the frame rather than in the center. To focus on them with many cameras you can use a technique usually called the "half-press." Move the camera so the people are in the center, press the shutter half-way to focus, then without releasing the button recompose then press the button all the way. Work on these tips and before long you'll see a difference in your photos (we'll work on the aperture later).

Just a reminder that this Saturday is the Geocaching 12 of 12. Haul your camera out and grab a dozen shots to tell the story of your day of geocaching then share them over at geocaching12of12.com.

{ 0 comments }

As I write today about self portrait taken from arm's length you'll notice that I'm contradicting some of the points I made in the last Photography4Cachers post. Without an LCD capable of facing the lens it can be very challenging to get a good image especially at close range. The technique of holding your camera out as far in front of yourself as possible is very useful when caching alone or without a good location for a support. In brief, here's what you'll be doing for a good arm's length self portrait:

• Zoom out (on most compact cameras you'll need to zoom out as far as possible),
• check behind you (that will be the background in your photo and make sure the sun won't be back there),
  
• hold camera at arm’s length,
  
• look into the lens,
• position the camera at or above your eyes,
• gently press the shutter release,
  
• check and re-shoot if you're not happy with the results.
  

Despite the advice in the last post to avoid wide angle focal lengths for portraits, there's not much choice under these conditions. There's not much distance between your head and the camera, so wide shots can't be avoided. The bonus though is that shaking is harder to detect in images captured with wide angle focal length and your far less stable with your hand stretched out. It also will allow for more of the background to make it in behind your head for a better sense of where you are. The wide will still tend to give you an apparent big head, but by keeping the camera's position high you're more likely to enlarge the eyes rather other features like your nose or nostrils. As much as I want to see your photo, I really don't want to look up your nose.

The hardest part is figuring out where the camera is pointed without that LCD to frame the shot. What has worked the best for me on most cameras is to look straight down the lens, then tilt the camera down just slightly. I'll still have to remember where I was looking when I check the photo and retake it a couple of times, but it's a great spot to start. This is where the compact digital camera has really helped -- imagine if you couldn't check your photo in the field? Take advantage of that though, and once you find a position that works try to remember where that was so you can replicate it next time.

{ 0 comments }

As I write today about self portrait taken from arm's length you'll notice that I'm contradicting some of the points I made in the last Photography4Cachers post. Without an LCD capable of facing the lens it can be very challenging to get a good image especially at close range. The technique of holding your camera out as far in front of yourself as possible is very useful when caching alone or without a good location for a support. In brief, here's what you'll be doing for a good arm's length self portrait:

• Zoom out (on most compact cameras you'll need to zoom out as far as possible),
• check behind you (that will be the background in your photo and make sure the sun won't be back there),
  
• hold camera at arm’s length,
  
• look into the lens,
• position the camera at or above your eyes,
• gently press the shutter release,
  
• check and re-shoot if you're not happy with the results.
  

Despite the advice in the last post to avoid wide angle focal lengths for portraits, there's not much choice under these conditions. There's not much distance between your head and the camera, so wide shots can't be avoided. The bonus though is that shaking is harder to detect in images captured with wide angle focal length and your far less stable with your hand stretched out. It also will allow for more of the background to make it in behind your head for a better sense of where you are. The wide will still tend to give you an apparent big head, but by keeping the camera's position high you're more likely to enlarge the eyes rather other features like your nose or nostrils. As much as I want to see your photo, I really don't want to look up your nose.

The hardest part is figuring out where the camera is pointed without that LCD to frame the shot. What has worked the best for me on most cameras is to look straight down the lens, then tilt the camera down just slightly. I'll still have to remember where I was looking when I check the photo and retake it a couple of times, but it's a great spot to start. This is where the compact digital camera has really helped -- imagine if you couldn't check your photo in the field? Take advantage of that though, and once you find a position that works try to remember where that was so you can replicate it next time.

{ 0 comments }