|
|
You are here: Family Magazine >
Parenting Tips > Just
Happy Snapping
Just Happy Snapping
By Rob Moorman
As a professional photographer and instructor I always cringe when I see a photo
enthusiast with their point and shoot camera just firing away at everything
without thought or planning. I have heard more than once from my students and
clients, that their theory is to shoot as many images as possible then pray that
they get a few good ones. If you are the “Happy Snapper” in the family I would
like to help you change from creating a quantity of mediocre images to creating
a good collection of quality images that tell your life’s adventures. Consider
that these images are the ones that your children’s family will be blessed to
have and share well after you are gone.
Let’s start with the negative side of capturing too many images. The number one
down fall is the postproduction. A massive amount of editing has to take place
to weed out all the bad images and that can usually take several hours.
Over-shooting is the main reason that vacation images stay on the hard drive and
never get printed, not to mention that they may not even get shared on Social
Media sites. Another downside is the wasted space it uses on your camera’s flash
card or computer hard drive. Inevitably you go to capture that
once-in-a-lifetime shot only to discover that your camera won’t fire because the
card is completely full. Sadly, only 10 to 20 percent of those images will ever
be used.
The problem of over-shooting is also very annoying to the non-photographers in
the family. When the whole group has to stop every few minutes to wait for the
photographer, eventually this will create some animosity. You can just hear them
saying, “Hurry up” and “Not another photo op!” Keep in mind they rarely get the
benefit of enjoying those images because they remain on the hard drive.
If all the things mentioned above sound like you then let’s look at the positive
side of changing our machine gun approach to photography. I like to teach in my
classes that “We do not take pictures, we make them”. The first step is to slow
down. Think about each image before you push the shutter button. There are
several things to consider. Is this the best angle to represent my subject?
Check your background. Is it clear of objects that are ugly or just simply
distracting? Maybe the colors behind your subject are brighter than the main
subject. This lessens the visual impact of your creative objective.
Let’s talk about subject choice and placement. Remember to leave enough space in
the image to gain a sense of the place you are, especially for travel images.
Take care not to shoot too wide such that the main subject gets lost in the
image. A great tip is to remember to not always place the subject in the center
of the cameras frame. This is called “bulls eye” composition. I recommend
looking up the definition of the Rule of Thirds. You will see this guideline
used in the most famous of Old Master’s oil paintings because it creates
interest. A simple subject in a familiar setting can be much more appealing and
interesting when you arrange it in a more unique way.
The biggest distraction I see in “Happy snap” photos is the lighting. The best
time of day to shoot outdoors is just before sunset or during sunrise. The light
is soft and angled from the side. This creates shape and texture in your images
and will greatly reduce the bright distracting hot spots from the contrast
between light and shadow in your images. This is much more flattering light for
photographing people as it doesn’t create harsh shadows under the eyes and it
doesn’t cause people to squint.
There is so much more to creating great images. Most professional photographers
go to school for at least two years to get the basics and then continue their
education in the craft for the lifetime of their career. A local camera club for
the photo enthusiast is always a fun place to go and learn from others. As a
pro, I go to professional association meeting every month and listen to speakers
from around the state to keep up with the latest trends and technical changes in
our industry.
Welcome to the world of photography. Whether you are a professional or the
family’s vacation photographer, the journey is awesome. Have fun with it!
If you have any photo questions you can contact Rob Moorman through his web site
www.moormanphoto.com
|
|
