Photo tips

Now for a photo-related blog. Here are some photo tips.

Everyone thinks they are a photographer. If they can pick up a point-and-shoot digital camera they think they know everything there is to know about photography. Unfortunately most people end up with the same kind of photos they used to get with film cameras. Crummy. The only advantage in a digital is you can just delete the ones that don't turn out. So, here are some tips to take better digital photos, ones you might just want to print and hang on a wall. Here goes:

1. Take your time! Don't be in a rush to snap that photo. Stop and think about what the end result is going to look like. Even if you are a whiz at Photoshop there are still some things that are hard to fix, even in a great photoshop program like CS5. So stop, really look at the LCD screen and what the outcome is going to be.

2. Think about aesthetics. Maybe you don't know what this word means. It is defined as "Dealing with the nature of beauty, art and taste." Look at the LCD screen. Does your potential photo "look" beautiful? Or is there something about it that makes it "off?" Someone's arm is cut off right at a joint so they look deformed. Someone is squinting or has their eyes completely shut. Don't snap the shutter until you are satisfied that all is as it should be aesthetically.

3. Lighting. This is key. How many times have you taken a photo only to find your subject is so dark you can't even tell who it is? If you have a great deal of light all around and the subject is standing in dark shade, the camera is "reading" all the light and will not adjust automatically for that. Zoom in on just the person or object so that lighter background is less prominant and the cameras exposure is on the object or person rather than so much of the background.

4. Think about unique qualities you can incorporate into your photo. Maybe zooming in on only part of someone's face or part of a tree trunk rather than taking a photo of the whole scene will make something stand out. This is a relatively new concept in photography. For years photographers have taken shots the same old way. Now they are beginning to look at taking a photo from a different perspective.

5. Finally, if you are taking a photo to preserve history, go to the professional. If you want something to be high-quality, and last a lifetime, get someone who really knows what they are doing, has been trained and will give you a memory forever. Don't count on a friend who has a camera to get that special shot. Many times it will be completely missed or the quality won't be what you want and you will be disappointed.

See you next time!