More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Hendersonville, NC Photographer

So here we are with our 7th installment of our More Than A Snapshot series. Today I want to talk a little bit about catch lights. But first, if you have missed any of our other installments, you can check them all out here:


1. GET YOUR CAMERA OUT OF THE CLOSET!

2. Fill your frame.

3. Capture the scenery.

4. Remembering the details.

5. Composition

6. Be Weird

Catch lights are another thing that can take a good picture to a great picture. Just by adding a little light.

So what are catch lights? Catch lights are the little spots of lights that reflect in peoples eyes. That little dab of light that makes the eyes really sparkle. Makes your picture really come to life.

So how do you get a catch light? Sometimes it will be a happy accident. Sometimes you will have to work for it a little. Sometimes you will have to work for it a lot if the lighting isn’t good where you are shooting.

Let’s look at the difference between an image with catch lights and an image without the catch lights.

The first image is without catch lights. 
See how the eyes are sort of just a dark pits. 
Still a cute picture.  Just missing a little something.

This one is obviously with catch lights. 

See the reflection of light from the window in their eyes.

See how it makes their eyes sparkle. 

Do you see how much those little specks of light can do?

They take the eyes from dark pits to lively, sparkling awesomeness.

In order to get this catch light, your subject needs to have some light getting into the eyes. If you have had a session with me, you have probably heard me say something about finding good light. Good light to me is natural light. Generally speaking, the flash on your camera is not going to give you “good light”. I highly encourage you to learn to shoot without your flash as much as possible. Natural light is so much more beautiful in your images. All that being said, there are times when the flash is necessary. Times when there just isn’t enough light. But please do practice without it.

Sometimes if you are lucky you will get two catch lights in each eye.

Having your subject look up towards you is a great way to get some catch lights in their eyes.

If you are shooting outdoors, open shade is the best option if you can find it. Place your subject in that shade and then look into their eyes. If you can’t see the catch lights, turn them in a different direction. Keep doing this until you see that sparkle in their eye.

If indoors trying to take pictures of your kids playing or something, try to have them play near a window or door. Somewhere where the natural light is coming into your house. Then position yourself between your subject and the light source. You should see those sparkles shooting this way.

Go find that natural light, turn your subject so the light is catching in their eyes, and shoot gorgeous images.

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer

Wow! I can’t believe we are on our 6th entry in this series. I really hope that you are finding these little tips helpful when taking pictures.

1. GET YOUR CAMERA OUT OF THE CLOSET!

2. Fill your frame.

3. Capture the scenery.

4. Remembering the details.

5. Composition

Today I want to talk about looking weird when taking pictures!
Yes I want you, the photographer, to look weird when you are taking a picture.

What does this mean? I’m talking about taking pictures at different, unusual, and what I would call fun angles. You will often find me laying on the ground or standing on a chair taking pictures. I have even been known to stand on my bar to take a cool shot of a big family dinner. You will also always see my camera tilted at strange angles when I’m shooting. I don’t always shoot exactly straight up and down. In fact, I rarely shoot that way.

See how there is a slight tilt in this shot.  You do have to be careful with this though.  You can tilt too far and it can sometimes look strange and somewhat confusing.  So again, this is something to practice to see what you like.

Shooting in this way is especially successful when shooting your “Fill the Frame” shots and your “Detail” shots. Not always helpful when shooting the scenery though. But again, play with it and see how you like it.

When taking a picture, squat down and shoot at their level.

If this image would have been shot from a standing position, you wouldn't even see much of her face.  Just the top of her head.  It's important to get down on your subjects level when shooting kids.

Lay on the ground and shoot from there. Sometimes on your stomach, sometimes on your back.

Stand on a chair and shoot from above.

(Shooting from above is also a great way to alleviate double chins and will give a slimming affect.)

In this picture I was actually standing on the table where they were playing. 

Just to get a little different picture.  Just for fun!

Sometimes being weird means laying on the ground and taking pictures of someones feet.  I got very strange looks when I took this picture.  In fact, my sister even gave a disclaimer before we took these pictures.  "She may ask you to do some weird things, and she may look strange when she is shooting, but I bet you will like what she comes up with in the end."  LOL  And they did give me some strange looks!  =) 

BUT, if I remember correctly, this picture was one of her favs in the end.

So go ahead.  Be brave and be weird.  Practice being weird at home first with your own family!  Then when you see what type of imagines you come up with shooting in this way, I bet you will be brave enough to be weird in other places too.  =)

Next time we are going to talk about catch lights.  Any idea what that is?

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer


Installment number 5 of our little series is all about composition.

You can check out our first 4 installments here:

1. GET YOUR CAMERA OUT OF THE CLOSET!

2. Fill your frame.

3. Capture the scenery.

4. Remembering the details.

This little tidbit will help make a big difference in your photos instantly. When you pair this with all of the other tips I have given you, you will create some great stuff!

When I talk about composition, I’m talking about where you place your subject in the frame of your camera. So many of us have always been told to make sure we center our subject right in the middle of the photograph. How many pictures have we had hanging around our house of people dead center in the picture? I for one have had lots over the years.

That is until I learned about the Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds is simply dividing your frame in thirds horizontally and vertically. So imagine a grid over the picture. Kind of like a Tic Tac Toe board.  Then put something of interest at the intersection of two of those lines.  For example, see how her eye is right near the intersection at the top left corner.  Her other eye also ended up being near the other intersection as well.

There is something about using this Rule of Thirds principle that just

 makes the picture a little more pleasing to the eye.

And here is an example of the same picture cropped to put the subject dead center in the frame.

Just not as pleasing for some reason. 

The other thing that I do sometimes is line my subject up along one of the lines.

See how his body is along what would be the left vertical line of the Rule of Thirds grid?  His eyes are also aligned with the upper horizontal line of the grid.

Makes the picture tell a little story. 

 Gives him somewhere to look through those binoculars. 

Might make you wonder what he is looking at?

If shooting a landscape picture, put the horizon either on the upper 1/3 line or along the lower 1/3 line. So you will need to decide if you want more of the foreground in the picture, or more of the sky in the picture. It will depend on what you want the focus to be. You could even take a picture both ways and then decide which one you like better. But do not divide the picture in half with the horizon line. Your landscapes will be much more interesting when using the Rule of Thirds.

NOW, after saying all that, there is a time and place for the perfectly centered picture. It just depends on what your subject is doing. Sometimes the centered approach really works.

So my suggestion would be to shoot the picture in a number of ways compositionally(is that even a word???) speaking. Take the picture off centered, then in the upper or lower part of frame, and then centered. See which one you like better. With digital photography you can really take endless pictures while practicing.  You will eventually figure out what your favorite way is without having to try all of the ways.  (Does that make since?)

Are you familiar with this way of shooting?  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer

I’m back with another tip on helping to make your pictures tell a complete story.  I hope you are finding this information useful.  I have a few more posts in this series to round everything out. 

For now, let's get on with tip #4!

Let’s review. Shall we?

1. GET YOUR CAMERA OUT OF THE CLOSET!

2. Fill your frame.

3. Capture the scenery.

Now I want to talk about the third type of shot I always try to remember to take. These are probably my fav shots. These are the detail shots.

In this picture I am trying to show how she wears a cute little dress and likes to be girly.  But then puts on a ball hat and her brother's flip flops and goes out and plays in the mud.

As for the details of this little get up she is wearing, I also got up close and personal and shot this image.  I love the mud on her leg and dress and the way she is wearing the flip flops.  And don't forget the toe nail polish!

Detail shots are the ones that melt your heart sometimes.
Pictures of babies little toes. Long beautiful eyelashes.

Or pictures of a preschooler practicing writing his numbers.

Or a little toddler feeding herself spaghetti-o's.

The other type of detail shots are the actual details of your event.  For example, taking pictures at Christmas time.  We always take pictures of the tree, but next time think about taking pictures of the other details. 

Like the stockings looking golden from the glow of the Christmas tree.

Or some details about Christmas breakfast.



When I say event, it doesn’t always have to be an “event” like a party or something. It can also be the details of the activity that you are capturing. If you are photographing a sporting event, take a picture of the dugout with bats hanging from the fence and Gatorade bottles all over. If you child is playing with matchbox cars, take a shot of his little hand pushing the car around.

Some of my most favorite detail shots of my own children were taken when they were asleep. That’s a great time to capture those beautiful pouty lips and those long eyelashes. (Can you tell I have a thing for eyelashes?  How many times have I mentioned them?  Sorry!)  They aren’t wiggling around and driving you mad. I even do this with my older boys. If they happen to fall asleep on the couch, I will sometimes grab my camera and snap a couple of pictures.

 Do you love the detail shots as much as I do?  Which details are your favs?

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer



So we have talked about having your camera out and ready to shoot at all times. You can see that post here. And then we talked about filling the frame. Check that post out here. Now I’m going to kind of contradict myself at first thought. But stay with me and I’ll explain what I mean.

My tip for today is to set the scene. What do I mean by that? Remember when I talked about using photographs to tell a story. Well, taking only one type of picture is not going to tell the complete story. So part of the story is taking those nice tight shots of your subject. Now we have to show our subjects surroundings. Whether it be a baseball field, playing with play doh, or the guests at a birthday party.

So the second type of photo I take to tell my story is the photo that you have to step back and take in the whole scene. I told you before to get up in people’s personal space, now I’m telling you to give them their space.

The next time you are taking pictures of something, remember to shoot both kinds of shots. Some of the photos where you fill your frame with your subject. And some photos where you take a step back and shoot the scenery.

Next time I will tell you about the third type of shot that I always try to remember to take. Any guesses on what that might be?

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer

My second tip for you in our More Than A Snapshot series is very simple, but can make a big impact on your photos. All you have to do is fill your frame.
 And when I say fill the frame,
I mean FILL THE FRAME.

Really zoom in and focus on the subject.

When I say focus, I don’t mean “not blurry”. I mean focus, as in give complete attention to.

Leave all the clutter behind them out of the picture. Sometimes you can do that with the zoom on your camera. But sometimes you will have to actually walk up very close to your subject and take the picture. . Get all up in their personal space and take a nice tight shot.

When shooting this week, pay attention to the surroundings. If the surroundings don’t help tell the story, eliminate them.

Try it. You might like it! 

More Than A Snapshot: Photography Tips | Sunbury Photographer

I have people ask me all the time to teach them how to use their cameras. Or how to make their pictures more interesting. I am always an open book when it comes to teaching people how to do these two things. My desire in having a photography business is not to just take beautiful pictures of other people. My desire is to help others realize how important it is to document their lives with photographs. After they realize how important it is, I want them to know how to create great photos that truly tell their story. After all, isn’t that what photography is all about? It’s about capturing all of our memories as a family.

(Picture taken this weekend.  No one is looking at the camera which is part of what tells the story.  Every one is looking at Dad while he gives strict instructions about riding in the wagon and driving the tractor.  Dad giving strict instructions is a daily thing in our lives! LOL )

For me, my photography business is about capturing images of your families as well. Photos that will help tell your story. But there is more to your life then the photos that I take of you and your kids on a Saturday afternoon in the park. So many things that happen every single day in your homes that are photo worthy. Things, that I for one, want to be able to remember. And since I have a horrible memory, I have to capture that memory with my camera!

(Playing in the pool on a hot Saturday afternoon.  I want to remember those pretty long eyelashes, cute little nose, and perfectly pink squishy lips.  Not to mention the wispy, perfectly highlighted by God, hair falling around her face.)

All that being said, I thought it might be nice to do a few posts to give you a few tips on how to take pictures that will really tell a story. Pictures that will someday bring you right back to their newborn days. Or their first day of school. Or when they were obsessed with Thomas the Train. Or when they went to Senior Prom. AND, my second goal is to take pictures that will help my kids better know themselves when they look back at all the photos that we have taken over the years.

(I also want them to remember their relationships with their siblings.)

So my first tip for you is very simple!  And you have probably heard me say it before.

Get your camera out of the closet
and get in the habit of using it daily!

So go on….

 

Go get your camera out of your closet, out of the camera bag, and charge the batteries.

I’ll wait for you to get back…

OK good. That is a huge first step!

My camera sits on my kitchen counter, charged and ready to go, every single day. That way when something cute is going on, the camera is at my finger tips.

My future tips aren’t going to do you any good if your camera is packed away in the closet!

Taking interesting pictures is not all about knowing all the technical aspects of our camera. There are lots of things that you can do with your camera in auto mode that will still make your photos more interesting. Maybe someday we will get in to the technical stuff. But for now, let’s focus on simpler things. Things I can tell you in a brief blog post.

So that’s it. That’s my first tip. Get your camera out and use it every day. Try to take at least one picture every single day. There is almost always something going on each day that is picture worthy. If there is not, create something to take a picture of!