Friday, March 6, 2009

Free Photo Tip Friday

Hello Everyone. Welcome to Free Photo Tips Friday. I am going to try and give some basic photography advice from time to time. I'll try to explain it in plain ole English and keep it simple. Just basic little things that can really improve your snapshots. I am no Strobist, this I know. But, some people aren't interested in using multi-light off camera strobes. They just have a little point and shoot, and want to take pictures.

Today's topic is: Keep it SIMPLE. Ask yourself these quick questions before you press the shutter: What is the "subject" of the photo? What is the purpose of the picture? Is there a bunch of clutter in the background? Am I at eye level of the subject, and if not, why? Will the picture be more pleasing if I just take a step forward or backwards, a little to the right or left, etc...

Example #1 (this is a snapshot to illustrate my point)


So, what is the "subject" of this photo?? Who knows?? There is so much junk in the shot you can't tell. Pretend for a moment that the little fan in the picture was a childs head. This is a typical snapshot.

Example #2

This is the same fan...I mean "Child's Head" as in the first photo. All I did was move around a bit, look at my background, and get down to the same level as the subject. I didn't move the fan at all. These were taken with my little point and shoot camera.

Here are a couple more examples of "killing the background" and defining the subject.
This one was done by blurring the background by using a wide apperature lens:This one was done my zooming in, or, moving closer:

I hope this helps someone out and makes you think a little more before pressing the shutter next time. Sometimes little tips make a big difference in photos. Check back often, click the link to follow the blog, and don't forget to leave me some "blog lovin" or ask questions in the comments section. Have a great weekend....Chris




1 comment:

  1. Very nice. Thanks for the tip. That is pretty cool how a simple relocation of the camera before the shot makes such a HUGH difference. I'll try to get some practice in this weekend. I need to go buy a tripod too.

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