Take Great Photos of Kids, part 4

Great photos are over-rated: they take forever to set up, the "right" equipment costs an arm and a leg, and nobody really notices the difference anyway, do they?

No, they don't, at least not consciously. But subconsciously, people can tell the difference between a great photo and a mediocre one. But in order to take great photos, you need to know how to take bad ones first, right? As part two of a series (In part one, I talked about the light) here's another simple rule to keep in mind in order to take lousy photos:

4. Only shoot when you want to
This one sort of goes along with rule # 3, but it's an extension. Not only should you ignore the light, but you should ignore the moment. After all, how often are candids better than staged shots? Er, hmmm... well, maybe


Bottom line: If you're not ready to shoot when the opportunity presents itself, you'll miss a lot of great candids.

This rule applies to composition as well as light. When you learn to recognize great light, you'll learn to keep the camera handy and to change your priorities to accommodate photography. As it turns out, great light is predictable. It happens in the same place at the same time every day (depending on the weather, of course).

Our side yard has fantastic evening light, so I'm ready when the magic time rolls around. This magic time is earlier in winter than in summer, but it's always when the sun is at the same height in the sky. Learn to look for it, and you'll be able to set up, and come away with, some great shots.

Also, be willing to experiment with strange lighting conditions. Sparklers at night for example, are a great opportunity. Jack up the ISO to as high as you can, turn off the flash, and start shooting. Slow down the shutter speed for more light. When slowing shutter speed, it's helpful to have a tripod, but it's not absolutely needed if you take extra care to anchor the camera steady (Dig your elbows into your gut and don't breathe).

Give Movement to Action Shots

You can get that NASCAR blur in your photos by tracking your subject and slowing the shutter speed.

Ever wonder how sports photographers capture high speed events without making the athletes look like mannequins? Or how they shoot a speeding car in exactly the opposite way that you do -- with the background focused and the car blurred? After all, the car is moving, not the trees in the background, so how do they do it? One word: panning or tacking. Ok, I know that was three words, but I love that joke (the old "One word" answer followed by more than one word).

Panning and tracking are two similar photographic techniques
Panning is when you follow the subject with the camera, so the camera moves along with the subject. Tracking is when you're moving along side the subject, such as in a boat next to another boat, so the camera is still. Both techniques will keep the subject relatively in focus. But fast shutter speeds will keep the background in focus as well, making the photo too static to convey movement.

Dragging the shutter adds movement
In order to put the background out of focus, you need to slow the shutter speed. The speed of the shutter depends on how far away the subject is -- closer can allow faster speeds, farther allows slower speeds. Generally the range is 1/125 second to 1/8 second with the optimal values falling between, usually 1/60 to 1/15th.

Slower shutter speeds will blur the subject as well, which may be the desired effect. The above photo of Tommy on a carnival ride were taken at 1/40th of a second. You can adjust the amount of blur in the subject by further slowing the shutter. If the subject is on a boat or jet ski, you may want to go with a faster shutter speed (1/60th) to isolate the water droplets spraying through the air; if the subject is a gymnast, a slower shutter (1/15th) may be a nice effect to show the trail of her tumbling.

Use your upper body to pan the action
Keep your feet planted and move only the upper part of your body while tracking the subject. Start with your body twisted to one side and track the subject. When the subject is passing in front of you, snap the shutter. Keep tracking even after the shutter snaps. If you have any control over the background, try for darker one with no odd objects that will leave trails. But you don’t always get to choose. And keep an eye out for foreground noise as well: bushes, fences or Bubba's head.

To further boost your chances of success, use the viewfinder, not the LCD screen on the back of the camera. And don't zoom in too close: that will onlt boost your chances of missing the action or capturing the back half of the car. If you shoot at high resolution, you can blow up and crop to get the tight shot.

A flash can add flexibility
While a flash will freeze the action, coupled with a slow shutter speed, it may help you to isolate your subject, especially if it’s against a dark background. You can also use a rear curtain flash to get some motion in the subject while still freezing them in the shot. Adjusting your flash to rear curtain will fire the flash when the shutter is closing rather than when it's opening. Coupled with a slow shutter speed, you'll get movement up to the flash where the subject will be frozen. This will leave a trail behind the runner, rather than in front of him.

Choosing a Camera

First look at the most important features to you, narrow the field by reading what the pros say, finally, pick the one that meets your needs best.

While many people think about travel when they look for a camers, I would argue that most of the time you're shooting photos, you're traveling in one way or another. For this reason, I wouldn't let compactness override the features most important in a camera. After all, you're buying great pictures, not more space in your pockets. If your pockets are too full, buy a fanny pack.

Here is some good advice on choosing a digital camera from a poster at Fodor's message board:

posted by: toedtoes

First, go to betterphoto.com's digital camera calculator for a list of about 10-15 camera choices in your price range.

Then go to www.dpreview.com and read the reviews of the cameras on the list. Cross off anything that doesn't get a "Recommended" or higher rating.

That should get you down to 2 or 3 cameras.

Now look at the differences and decide which one will give you more of what you want and less of what you don't want. For example, if you are down to 2 cameras and one has a 10x optical zoom but takes a proprietary battery, and the other has a 4x optical zoom but takes AA batteries, decide which is more important to you: more zoom capability or AA compatibility.I have found this to be the easiest way to sort through all the choices out there. By the time you're actually comparing cameras, you have less than 5 that you're looking at.

Good advice.

Take Great Photos of Kids Every Time, part 3

Great photos are over-rated: they take forever to set up, the "right" equipment costs an arm and a leg, and nobody really notices the difference anyway, do they?

No, they don't, at least not consciously. But subconsciously, people can tell the difference between a great photo and a mediocre one. But in order to take great photos, you need to know how to take bad ones first, right? As part two of a series (In part one, I talked about the light) here's another simple rule to keep in mind in order to take lousy photos:

3. Make them say “Cheese”
When you find something that works, stick with it, right? Right. And saying "Cheese" always works right? Wrong. Telling people to say cheese never works. Especially if you don't snap the shutter until after they actually say "Cheese", which is what most people do. If you're lucky, you can get them to hold the fake smile after they say cheese while their eyes are batting around wondering when the misery will be over. Look at it this way, you're going to get a school portrait every year, so why make the little monsters stand still for a million more, epecially if the result is lame?

Candid shots are quite frequently better because the smiles are genuine. They're more work, but they're worth it. Shoot picture of kids doing stuff they like to do, such as playing at a playground or reading a book with Grampy. Here's a tip: When shooting candids, the flash will often alert the subject(s) that they're under surveilance. Stay poised after this first shot, when they look up (often smiling) you can get a keeper. Another tip: shoot in burst mode. This will give you a better chance of getting the eyes open, mouth just right, and all of the other little things that screw up a picture. This is especially important when shooting a group of people who are talking.

Take Great Photos of Kids, part 2

Great photos are over-rated: they take forever to set up, the "right" equipment costs an arm and a leg, and nobody really notices the difference anyway, do they?

No, they don't, at least not consciously. But subconsciously, people can tell the difference between a great photo and a mediocre one. But in order to take great photos, you need to know how to take bad ones first, right? As part two of a series (In part one, I talked about the light) here's another simple rule to keep in mind in order to take lousy photos:

Rule #2. Don't stoop to their level
Most people see the world from about 5-1/2 feet to 6 feet above the ground (sorry Aunt Mary), so why shouldn't you snap photos from any other elevation? Because most people in the world see life from 5-1/2 feet to 6 feet above the ground (Aunt Mary notwithstanding), that's why.
Interesting photos are taken from above or below this 'normal' height. Because kids are close to the ground, you'll capture them much better from down low. Getting on a kid's level let's people see them as they don't usually see them: the way they are. (Getting low works well for photographing pets too).

Run, spin, drop and shoot
One way to get cool photos of dogs and toddlers is to run way ahead of them, spin around, and then fall to the ground snapping fast and furiously. Use an adjustable lens so that you can start zoomed and back it off as your subject trots (or crawls) towards you. Think about which way the light is coming from before you take off running, try to arrange it so that the light will be behind you off to one side when you spin, drop, and start shooting.

Use a wide angle lens to add drama
If you have bad knees, embrace your height advantage by making the shot more dramatic; use the lines in the photo's composition to play up the height difference. Or better yet, use a foreshortening with a wide angle lens. This makes the head appear a lot bigger than the rest of the body.