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Do you wish you were a better
photographer? All it takes is a little know-how and experience. Keep
reading for some important picture-taking tips. Then grab your camera
and start shooting your way to great pictures.
| 1. |
Look your subject in
the eye |
| 2. |
Use a plain background |
| 3. |
Use flash outdoors |
| 4. |
Move in close |
| 5. |
Move it from the middle |
| 6. |
Lock the focus |
| 7. |
Know your flash's range |
| 8. |
Watch the light |
| 9. |
Take some vertical
pictures |
| 10. |
Be a picture director |
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1 Look your subject in the eye
Direct eye contact can be as engaging in
a picture as it is in real life. When taking a picture of someone,
hold the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of
those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles. For children, that
means stooping to their level. And your subject need not always
stare at the camera. All by itself that eye level angle will create
a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture.
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2. Use a plain background
A plain background shows off the subject
you are photographing. When you look through the camera viewfinder,
force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make
sure no poles grow from the head of your favorite niece and that
no cars seem to dangle from her ears.
Improving the background is easier than you
think. |
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3. Use flash outdoors
Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial
shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the
face. When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash
on. You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or full-flash mode.
If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode; beyond
five feet, the full-power mode may be required. With a digital camera,
use the picture display panel to review the results.
On cloudy days, use the camera's fill-flash
mode if it has one. The flash will brighten up people's faces and
make them stand out. Also take a picture without the flash, because
the soft light of overcast days sometimes gives quite pleasing results
by itself. |
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4 Move in close
If your subject is smaller than a car, take
a step or two closer before taking the picture and zoom in on your
subject. Your goal is to fill the picture area with the subject
you are photographing. Up close you can reveal telling details,
like a sprinkle of freckles or an arched eyebrow.
But don't get too close or your pictures will
be blurry. The closest focusing distance for most cameras is about
three feet, or about one step away from your camera. If you get closer
than the closest focusing distance of your camera (see your manual
to be sure), your pictures will be blurry. |
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5. Move it away from the
middle
Center-stage is a great place for a performer
to be. However, the middle of your picture is not the best place
for your subject. Bring your picture to life by simply moving your
subject away from the middle of your picture. Start by playing tick-tack-toe
with subject position. Imagine a tick-tack-toe grid in your viewfinder.
Now place your important subject at one of the intersections of
lines.
You'll need to lock the focus if you have an
auto-focus camera because most of them focus on whatever is in the
center of the viewfinder.
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If your subject is not in the center of the
picture, you need to lock the focus to create a sharp picture. Most
auto-focus cameras focus on whatever is in the center of the picture.
But to improve pictures, you will often want to move the subject
away from the center of the picture. If you don't want a blurred
picture, you'll need to first lock the focus with the subject in
the middle and then recompose the picture so the subject is away
from the middle.
Usually you can lock the focus in three steps.
First, center the subject and press and hold the shutter button halfway
down. Second, reposition your camera (while still holding the shutter
button) so the subject is away from the center. And third, finish
by pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
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7. Know your flash's range
The number one flash mistake is taking pictures
beyond the flash's range. Why is this a mistake? Because pictures
taken beyond the maximum flash range will be too dark. For many
cameras, the maximum flash range is less than fifteen feet about
five steps away.
What is your camera's flash range? Look it up
in your camera manual. Can't find it? Then don't take a chance. Position
yourself so subjects are no farther than ten feet away. Film users
can extend the flash range by using Kodak Max versatility or versatility
plus film. |
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| 8. Watch the light
Next to the subject, the most important part of
every picture is the light. It affects the appearance of everything
you photograph. On a great-grandmother, bright sunlight from the
side can enhance wrinkles. But the soft light of a cloudy day can
subdue those same wrinkles.
Don't like the light on your subject? Then move
yourself or your subject. For landscapes, try to take pictures early
or late in the day when the light is orangish and rakes across the
land.
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9. Take some vertical pictures
Is your camera vertically challenged? It is if
you never turn it sideways to take a vertical picture. All sorts
of things look better in a vertical picture. From a lighthouse near
a cliff to the Eiffel Tower to your four-year-old niece jumping
in a puddle. So next time out, make a conscious effort to turn your
camera sideways and take some vertical pictures.
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| 10. Be a digital
picture director
Take control of your picture-taking and watch your
pictures dramatically improve. Become a picture director, not just
a passive picture-taker. A picture director takes charge. A picture
director picks the location: "Everybody go outside to the backyard."
A picture director adds props: "Girls, put on your pink sunglasses."
A picture director arranges people: "Now move in close, and
lean toward the camera."
Most pictures won't be that involved, but you get
the idea: Take charge of your pictures and win your own best picture
awards.
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