Of course, I love photographing your families and children, but since I can’t be there all the time – I would love to help you take better photographs of those daily moments that we all love and cherish! With this in mind, I have decided to try and add some photo tips to the blog. I get asked alot of questions about photography, gear, lighting, editing, etc. so I decided I would try to do some posts to answer some of these questions, give you some ideas, or maybe just tell you some things that have helped me in the past! I would love for you all to comment and let me know if these will be helpful to you, and what kinds of things you would like to see. I’m going to start with some composition tips, because even if you aren’t familiar with the technical aspects of your camera, you can still get some great looking shots just by how you decide to compose your picture.
So without further ado…here’s my first tip: MOVE THOSE FEET – Yours (the photographer) I mean!
Yep – that’s right. Move. That’s it. That’s my tip. Mind-boggling, right? It seems like a no-brainer, but think about it. How often do we pick a place to stand, have our subject stand a little distance away, and we start clicking. If we want a closer shot, we’ll use that zoom. Farther away, no problem – zoom out. I used to keep my feet firmly planted and my eyes focused (literally) straight ahead! It wasn’t until I got my first fixed (non-zooming) lens that I realized I had been doing this. When I took the zoom functionality away, my photos started getting much more creative. I had to actually walk to get closer, I had to back up to get farther away, and then I realized there was a whole world of angles and altitudes in which to shoot! I could climb on something to get higher, I could lay on the ground, I could stand on my head. Ok, maybe not that last one… But you get the idea. The point is – zoom lens or not – don’t just always go for that straight on shot. Move all around your subject, look for different angles, get creative in your positioning.
Here’s an example of a picture I took, where I was actually sitting on the ground looking up at my little subject as she ran by. I think the angle of the picture gives the image a different and more fun feel than if I had been standing looking at her straight on. To me, it feels like I am part of the action, instead of just a witness to the fun.
So my challenge to you is to think about moving your feet as you photograph your children (or anyone/anything!) this week. Think about how just moving around and shooting from a different angle will give a different look to your images. Try it out and see if it makes a difference! Hope this little tip helps! I’ll be posting more soon – so if you have a question, or topic you would like to see, let me know!!!
