| |
| |
|
Photography Information |
|
|
|
Birthday Party Photo Tips - How to Make Yours Truly Stand Out
How many of the birthday party pictures you've seen are kept just because they are of someone's birthday, not because it is inherently a terrific photograph? When was the last time you heard anyone exclaim: "THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO?" Can you say? NEVER? And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldn't you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesn't. So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on the horizon and not knowing how to improve on past "how hum" photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow the following 11 tips and you will need to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLE'S birthday parties. Can't-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips 1) Prepare For the Party Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you're going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening the axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you don't want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you? So, what should you prepare for? KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether the party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on the location's blueprint, prepare beforehand for the correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation. 2) Know Your Obstacles What is going to be in your way at the birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that need to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where the optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up the main table someplace else. It's much easier to figure this out before the event than getting to the party and realizing that you need to "move the room a bit to the left." 3) The Main Table If using rectangular tables, take the birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use the wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from the narrow end, use as large an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of the guests will probably still be out of focus (hence, the "shoot from the wide end" suggestion). 4) Flash Decisions Don't automatically assume you should use the camera's flash all the time. If your camera has a "hot shoe" (this and many other useful terms are defined at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/compare-digital-camera-features.html). If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser. As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if the resulting photos are not too "noisy" (digital noise = film grain) 5) Better Safe than Sorry Take multiple shots of the critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, people will blink. And, by the way, don't count on spotting small problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification). 6) The Background What does the background look like? If it's neutral - use it. If it's ugly, maximize your depth of field (smallest possible F-stop) to blur the background. If you don't write this one down, I can guarantee that you won't remember it for more than 10 seconds once you start taking photos. Also, be aware of shadows that fall prominently on your background (hence the suggestions to consider using bounce flash and no flash with a high ISO setting). 7) The LCD Display AVOID USING THE DISPLAY TO CHECK ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU CUT OFF ANYONE'S HEAD. LCD displays should NOT be used to confirm contrast, color, exposure, or any other critical factors. This is why the computer is needed to evaluate test shots prior to the party. If you are very experienced, you can tell certain things from the histogram, but to be safe - take test shots and examine the results on a computer (or, ideally a printer) way before the actual date of the party. 8) Equipment Have fully-charged batteries, memory cards, chargers, external flash, lens accessories, and tripod ready. 9) Construct a Birthday Party Pictures List Jot down MUST HAVE pictures, as well as the ones you would like to capture, if possible. And, what's the good of putting together a list unless you remember to take it to the party AND TO REFER TO IT. 10) Candids If you're putting together a list, may I suggest including "Candids" on it. Very often the best birthday party photos will be candids. Since most birthday photos are generally posed, candids take on a special uniqueness. Candid birthday party photos of sleeping children should always be a top priority. Why? On a purely emotional note, they are always cute, will typically produce a smile for the viewer, and sometimes even get a laugh. 11) Surplus Time If it's your child's birthday party, they will never look better than they do JUST BEFORE THE PARTY STARTS. If possible, locate a spot where natural light is entering a window and POSE them and the cake for some big smiling photos. (The younger the child, the less chance for smiles, so don't go crazy.) And, by the way, there will be plenty of opportunity later to take some birthday party pictures with cake and ice cream dribbling out of their mouth. To see sample photos and additional tips, check out http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/birthday-party-pictures.html. Article courtesy of http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com, where you can see numerous sample pictures & photography tips on many subjects and events. Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved. Robert Bezman is a professional photographer and owner of Custom Photographic Expressions. Robert has created http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com to help the digital photography users create better photographs. Robert has a blog at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/family-photography-news.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Photography - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Photographing Kids Kids grow up so quickly and while we are often left with countless memories, most parents have only a drawer packed with school photos, blurry holiday snaps and the forced grin of the inevitable yearly birthday picture to account for the years gone by. It's time to stop bemoaning the latest photograph of your thumb obscuring your adorable baby and get on with improving your skills as a photographer. Online Photo Sharing: Not Just for Family and Vacation Photos You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your family vacation photos, but have you thought about other uses for photo sharing?Here are just a few ideas:Scrapbooking: Show off your creative projects. You can design scrapbook pages and enhance them with clipart using software like Paint Shop Photo Album or FotoFinish and then upload them to a photo sharing site for everyone to enjoy. Digital Photography: The RAW vs JPG Debate If you use a digital camera (I use a Canon EOS Digital Rebel/300D myself) and that camera is an SLR, then it most likely can record images in RAW format. In general, you should record your images at the highest resolution possible. Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods Portrait is defined as, "A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example." In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take photos of people. Making Money With Digital Photography And Live Events A few years ago I became interested in digital photography, mainly for web publishing and personal reasons. You know, how nice is it now to NOT have to deal with film, scanning pictures, and the costs of developing all of those "not great" photos that you didn't know were so bad until you paid to have them developed!So, at the time I got my first digital camera a friend of mine was playing in a rock band, and needed pictures for their web pages and promotional printings and ads. Photography 101 Part 3 ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind of photography you like to do, it's always a good idea to try your talent at different aspects of photography.Pictorial, this is a general term but it applies to any photographer who's goal is simply to create beautiful photos. Freelance Photography: How to Begin Your Career Photography is a vast world. There are many different types of photography and many different kinds of people that enjoy it. Take Spectacular Nighttime Photos with your Digital Camera - Part I Night photographs express a special something that cannot be seen in normal daytime photography. Whether it is a photograph of a moon and starlit sky over a windy deserted beach, the excitement of a downtown cityscape when the lights go on, or just a picture of you and some friends in front of a favorite hangout, nighttime photos, when done right, are sure to attract attention. Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or wrinkles, red eyes and wrong color balance - you can fix it all without having to learn or pay for Adobe Photoshop. Light and Depth of Field With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for the recreation of magic in arts, a lot of care needs to be taken so as to maintain the perfection of the end product. This perfection is not only obtained by the artistic feeling of the photographer but also with the intricate knowledge of every minute aspect of the medium of creation of art (in this case the digital camera). Selecting Good Stock Photography in the Age of Digital The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the last few years. Ten years ago, selecting photographs for your brochure or newsletter meant spending hours pouring over stock photography catalogs and ordering photo research to find the exact image. Getting Rid of Red Eye The photos you took of the party are really great - except for one thing: "red eye" makes everyone look like extras from a low budget horror movie! Red eye can be a real problem if you're taking photos with a flash. It's caused by the reaction of light from the flash on the inner workings of your eye. Digital Camera Memory - An Introduction The digital camera is essentially a computer-based device, whose core is controlled by the computer. And as a result the photographs are stored in a location called memory. Help! My Old Colour Photo has Turned Pink - 5 Minute Digital Fix Almost all of us will have seen this particular photographic problem, namely, your old colour photographs appear to have taken on an overall pink or blue tint.This is primarily due to the chemicals within the various layers of the photographic paper starting to breakdown, often due to age, and the way that the photographs have been stored. The Truth About Pixels - Part I: Digital Cameras Most digital cameras today boast of greater resolution and picture quality. What does that mean to the amateur or occasional photographer? You hear of cameras with 3 megapixals up to 6 or 7 megapixals. Types of Digital Cameras If you are in the market to purchase a digital camera, you have surely seen several different types of cameras. It isnt exactly clear what the differences between the types are, and it can be confusing trying to choose the digital camera thats right for you. Candid Photography Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than technique. Your subject's focus is not on the camera, but on their current task. 9 Tips For Taking Great Digital Photos IntroductionModern cameras are highly automatic in operation. They have auto focus and auto exposure. Light Meter Readings for Film and Digital Reflected Light Readings for Film and Digital ImagesIn order to correctly expose your film or digital CCD there are two variables that must be identified: average reflectance and average light. Unless you have some good reason to meter for other than these two averages, stick meticulously to the method outlined below. History of the Camera Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able to project images onto paper or glass but the study of capturing, processing and printing the images took many more years. Up until the 17th century, scientists believed that light was composed basically of the 'white' that is perceived by the human eye.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
