Photo Techniques & Tips
Are you tired of red eye ruining your favorite photos? Do you want to learn how to take sharper, more focused pictures for your photo Christmas cards? There are numerous techniques and tips in this section to help improve the quality of your photos, making you an expert photographer.
Tips
- When taking photos of dogs, cats or other pets, get down to their level. Instead of standing above your pet, kneel down so you can position your digital camera at the animal's eye level. You'll capture more emotion and personality by taking pictures this way.
- The full flash function on your digital camera is not a cure-all for every lighting challenge. In fact, using a full flash can create unwanted shadows or throw too much light onto your subject. Instead, try the fill flash option on your camera, a happy medium between no flash and full flash. A fill flash will provide more balanced light.
- Turn off your digital camera's automatic flash if the subject is shiny or set against mirrors, or if you're taking pictures through a window. Using a flash in these situtations will create reflections or even completely overexpose your subject.
- Get sharper digital pictures of off-center subjects by locking the focus. This will tell your camera what part of the picture to focus on. First, center your main subject in the viewfinder. Press the shutter button down halfway and wait for the focus-OK lamp (it will glow in green in the viewfinder eyepiece). Then move your camera as desired to create the composition and take the photo.
- Getting a unique perspective on a shot can be as easy as changing your angle. Instead of simply standing and shooting, try different positions: kneel down and angle up, lie down and shoot directly above you or stand on a ladder or other sturdy object and look down.
- When taking photos of people or pets, red-eye (or green-eye with animals) is a common problem. Try to prevent it by adjusting your angle when taking pictures. A slightly different angle will help avoid light from bouncing to the camera lens. You can also direct your subject to not look directly into the camera lens.
- Put your digital camera in macro mode when taking close-up photos of small subjects such as bugs or flowers. Most digital cameras have a macro mode feature, often represented by a flower icon. When enabled, the macro feature switches to a special focus that allows the photographer to shoot more closely than allowed in normal mode.
- Most people take pictures in color, as that is the default color setting on their digital cameras. But don't forget about black & white or sepia photos! Different color settings can add an extra punch to an otherwise boring photo and can also capture a beauty not expressed in a color photo. Learn where the color setting is located on your digital camera so you can easily switch it when taking photos.
- Baseball games, football games and other sporting events provide action-packed opportunities for taking photos. You'll get more compelling shots by getting closer to the game. Unless you have a powerful zoom on your camera, move as close as you can to the field so you are able to capture the faces of athletes and zero in on a single aspect of the action rather than the entire playing field. Of course, getting on the sidelines is easier at your kid's little league game than at professional games!
- Cropping is one of the easiest edits you can make to improve a digital photo. In your editing program, select the crop tool, click on the photo and drag to create a box around the area you want to keep. Focus on what is important in the photo and leave out distractions in the background. Press Enter and your photo is cropped.
- Sometimes after you first crop a photo, you'll want to adjust and capture a little more or less than what you originally selected. Instead of recropping from scratch, point your mouse to any area of the border made with the crop selection tool. Click on the double arrow that appears and move to resize the crop. You can also move the entire crop selection by clicking on the middle of the image and dragging.
- In your photo editing program, did you know that when you use the Crop tool you can also rotate the image while you're at it? Hover your mouse over any corner of the crop selection. The Rotate icon will appear as a curved arrow. When you click on that icon, you'll be able to move your mouse clockwise or counterclockwise to flip the image.
- In photo editing programs like Photoshop, the toolbox includes more features than initially displayed. A little black arrow in the corner of a button indicates that there are additional tools lurking beneath the basic ones shown. For example, you'll see the Lasso tool displayed in the toolbox - but did you know that there you'll find the Polyganol and Magnetic Lasso tools too?
- Confused by what those weird Lasso tools mean in Photoshop? Use the general Lasso tool when you want to select an area that is shaped irregularly. The Polyganol lasso is good for selecting straight edges. And finally, if you want to let the program try to do the work for you, select the Magnetic lasso - it looks at the contrasts in color and automatically guesses what you're attempting to do.
- Maybe you captured the most adorable photo of your niece. The only problem is that the color of her clothes are completely mismatched. Rescue the photo and remove the distraction of clashing colors by converting the photo to black and white.
- Most indoor facilities do not have adequate lighting for action photography. In these situations, make sure you’re shooting with enough light. Even with the best camera, you will need an extremely fast lens of f2.8 or preferably f1.4 and plenty of light. For outdoor events, make sure you are not shooting into the sun. In especially bright or dark situations, you will need to compensate for the extreme lighting.
- When taking photos of outdoor sports played on large fields like football, soccer, and baseball, make sure you have a lens that will reach your subjects and not make them appear lost in a large field of view (minimum 200mm lens is recommended).
- You'll need to adjust your camera's shutter speed depending on how you want to capture your action shots. If you want to stop the action and achieve a clear image, you need to shoot at a faster shutter speed. If you want to see the blur of motion, the shutter speed should be slower.
- To reduce camera shake (even if your camera has some form of image stabilization technology), you should use a tripod or monopod. This is especially important if you are using a larger, heavier telephoto lens.
- A useful photo tip for sports photography is to know the subject. If you are shooting a football game, for example, it is extremely useful to have a working knowledge of the game. This will enable you to predict when and where certain action will take place, so you can get a better shot.
- For action shots, practice following a moving subject (panning). If you see something happening and try to move immediately to the action, you run the risk of getting a blurry shot or missing the shot altogether. By panning, you follow the subject while looking through the viewfinder, and simply release the shutter when you are ready.
- If you want to shoot multiple images in a very short span of time, as in the case of action photography, you will want to get a camera that is capable of capturing a high number of “frames per second” or fps. Many cameras are capable of capturing multiple images by simply holding down the shutter. If your camera has a high fps capacity, you will be able to get more shots in the same burst. Slower cameras need time to record each image, and you can wind up missing a good shot while the camera processes the previous exposure. If you have a camera with a lower fps, it is better to wait for a single good shot.
- For action photography, find a good vantage point. Make sure you have an uninterrupted line of sight to the subject area.
- When photographing sporting events, be invisible. Fans and players do not appreciate you obstructing their view while you try to get a shot, so be aware of your position at all times. Also, try to avoid shooting with flash if doing so will be distracting to players, coaches, or fans. Remember, you are there to record the event, but not at the expense of disrupting the action or disturbing the participants. You may get good shots, but you won’t likely be welcome to shoot the venue in the future.
- Have the right camera. Many of the techniques listed here will require functions that are not available on certain cameras. It is possible to get acceptable pictures with a “point and shoot” camera, but for superior results, you will want an SLR or DSLR camera. Some DSLRs even have pre-programmed functions for taking action photos with minimal effort.
- When using photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop to enhance your photos, be sure to save any changes to a new file so that you don't permanently lose your original photo. Simply save your original file as a copy so you can have the freedom to experiment and tweak.
- Group photos, vast landscapes and cityscapes, and tall trees are perfect opportunities for panoramic photos. Panoramic photography lets you capture impressive compositions that are taller or wider than normal photos. Some digital cameras have a panorama feature built in, enabling you to "stitch" together multiple images while you shoot. You can also create a panoramic photo after the fact by using Photoshop CS, which has a Photomerge feature that combines up to five photos into one continuous image.
- Planning and consistency are important when taking multiple photos to combine into one panoramic image. You should have similar lighting conditions throughout each photo and take all of the photos from the same point. The camera needs to be held steady, so consider using a tripod. When taking the photos, overlap each image 15-40% to make it easier for your digital camera or editing program to match the photos.
