Point and Shoot Artistry: Volume 3 - Don't Say Cheese!

I was on a walk yesterday at a local park and walked past a father taking pictures of his daughter playing with some ducks. I sort of slowed a bit and watched this man and how he sort of "posed" his kiddo. He did what I imagine most parents do in this situation...point the kid towards the camera, shout "SAY CHEESE" and take a picture of a forced and somewhat ingenuine (BUT CUTE!!) smile.

In my time working as a portrait photographer, a vast majority of parents would visit us and rant about their inability to get a real smile. "I don't understand...everytime I pull out our camera, he just stares at it with sad eyes and forces a smile. He does this everytime and it's making me crazy!" This can be traced back to the Cheese factor of photography. We're all creatures of habit, we humans, so once we have it ingrained in our systems to "CHEEEEEEESE!" at the sight of a camera...it's a hard habit to break.

Keeping this ranting story in mind...a big piece of advice I would like to impart on you is to leave the cheese in the fridge and take photos of children (or even adults!) doing what they naturally do. A vast majority of the time you will capture a photo that's much more real to your subjects personality than you would by plopping them on a picnic table and having them stare into the lens. If you're really going for a good smile...have them say something funny....."Pickle Nose" always worked for me...then play off that to get a silly conversation going....

Parent: "Say PICKLE NOSE!!!"
Kid: "PICKLE NOSSSSE!"
Parent: "YOU PICKLE YOUR NOSE!! EEWWWWW!!!"
Kid: (giggling)
Parent: (take photo)

That sort of thing...

Beyond the smile and cheese factor..some basic things to remember to get a great portrait...

1. If possible pose your subject at a 45 degree angle...it's much more flattering that square on or a side view....especially if you're photographing a teen or adult.

2. Watch chins! One is enough for most people...so remember to have your subject crane their neck forward a bit to reduce the unpleasantness that may appear under their chins. Another good way to reduce these issues is to have your subject tilt their head slightly away from the camera...but be careful not to shoot up their nose!!

3. Always..Always...ALWAYS be aware of your background. A great pose and a great grin can be ruined by what's happening behind your subject.

4. Don't be afraid to move...get down on one knee to shoot straight across your subject, don't be afraid to roll around on the ground with your kids to get the joy in their face as they play in the grass. The photos you have to work for, will always be the photos that look the best. Many parents have hundreds of photos taken of their children from an above perspective. That makes the subject look smaller and their body out of proportion. This technique gives them a giant head and tiny little feet, because remember what ever is closest to the lens will look bigger in the photo.

5. Just relax and have fun...if you're having fun...your subject will have fun.

It's hip to be square.

Ahh...Huey Lewis and the News had it right.....squares are cool.

So, for this weeks blog entry instead of giving you a bit of information on camera functions, or how to make sure your image is in focus, we're going to look at some fun pictures. I am going to show you some images I shot last week using my trusty TLR Yashica Mat 124 G camera.

For those who aren't hip to the jive of the vintage camera world...TLR stands for "Twin Lens Reflex" that means it has two lenses, one you see through, the other one actually takes the picture. These cameras generally require you to look down through a viewfinder located at the top of the camera to help you compose your image.

The particular camera I used takes photos on 120 film, that gives negatives that are 2 1/4 inches wide and
2 1/4 inches tall...well...officially they are 6 cm by 6 cm. The 120 format is generally referred to as Medium Format since it is larger than 35mm (small format) but smaller than 4x5 and larger field cameras (large format) The Medium format is a great way for film shooters to get more detail in their images in the form of larger negatives.

Really the only downside of the format is that you only get 12 images on a roll of film (or 18 if your camera shoots in a 6 cm x 4.5 cm format) instead of the 24-36 many are used to with their 35mm cameras. But y'know...having fewer shots makes us slow down, which if you've been reading my blog lately you know is a good thing.

So, without further ado, here are some of the highlights from my photo expedition through Portland last week.

Display Options - Let your Work Shine!

So now that you have created these amazing digital (or film) images...what do you do with them? I mean sure you have the files stored on your hard drive somewhere collecting digital dust, but what do you do with them to REALLY enjoy them?

A lot of photographers, freelance, professional, amateur, grandma with a point and shoot, tend to fall into this rut of being fine with just having the file. But doesn't photography need to be seen? It is my humble theory that photos were meant to be printed, something tangible, something you can hold in your hand and love forever. So, what are our options to make them that way?

Prints:

Ahh...the time tested, most simple way to display your photos. Safe, in an album, on the wall in a frame you picked up from the local craft store...y'know...easy. Take a look at online services to see what sort of options they have for mounting prints, canvas printing, all those fun options. There are also fun ways to transfer your print to other surfaces...check out acrylic transfers (earlier post in the blog, or just google it) there are also sunprinting kits if you are so inclined to do it yourself with a historic alternative process. Moo.com also offers a series of photo cards (moocards...love it!) that come with a frame to display. They are little tiny things, but when put together can equal one major work of art! So don't settle for 4x6 prints anymore!

Books:

Now we're getting a little more interesting...iPhoto books are exceptionally cost effective. They have a WIDE range of sizes, bindings, templates/themes, and are fantastically easy to create. There are also other options for those living in PC'dom...zookbinder is a favorite, they too offer a wide selection of sizes, bindings, as well as other framing options. Regardless of where you go, or how you get them printed...photo books make awesome gifts and what could be better than having a whole library of your images?!

Or, if all else fails...there are a plethora of digital photo frame options on the market right now. They may set you back about $100.00 but will give you lots of options with regards to look, file resolution that they handle, or even movie playback. So if you find yourself with not a lot of wall space (like a lot of us do in real life) this may be a space economical idea for you. Perhaps get a set of 9, put them on the wall 3x3 and have a wall of slide shows? Could be fun!

The point is, get your files off your computer and start sharing your art. You took the photos you have there for a reason, so let your creativity shine and let others see it too.

Point and Shoot Artistry. Volume 2 - Framing your Subject -or- Why you might not want to center everything you shoot.

Welcome to volume 2 of my series of posts to help you become a better photographer using your point and shoot camera.

In the last post we covered how to make sure your subject is in focus by half way holding down your shutter release button. Hopefully you have employed this technique and come up with some good results!

Today we're going to take things a little bit further by talking about framing subjects in the viewfinder, rules of composition (and how to break them) and how to generally make your photos look more dynamic.

As with every post in this series, all technical instructions are based on general functions on MOST digital point and shoot cameras. If something I write in these blogs doesn't work for your camera...always consult your cameras owners manual.

And now...on with Volume 2 - Angles and Centering.

Framing your subject in the viewfinder is the first step in creating a photo that can be amazing, or a resounding flop. A vast majority of us are guilty of sticking something in front of the camera, centering it in the middle of the viewfinder (generally underneath that strategically placed box/dot/star/etc.) and snapping a shot. Then later on when we look at the image or print, we generally go back and wish we would have done something to make it look not so boring and stagnant.

To fix this problem the simplest and most effective thing to do is to move your subject around the frame, adjusting how closely you are zoomed in, and adding empty space around them. But...but...EMPTY SPACE?!?! Yes, leave some room around your subject to add some area for the eye to rest, plus if you have some negative/empty space around, your viewer will be much more likely to focus their attention on the true subject of your photo...what ever that may be.

For example....

In this image we have an hourglass stationed beautifully atop a concrete tie along side some rail road rails.

Sure, it's an interesting subject, the background (what you can see of it anyway) seems to be interesting. But since the hourglass is so centered and filling a majority of the frame it's a pretty stagnant, safe shot that doesn't really say much.

So, how do we adjust this photo so that it makes more of an impact? Let's move it around the frame for our next shot...

In this shot, I moved the hourglass further to the left of the frame. This leaves more of the railway tracks to be seen, gives more of an idea of where in space/time/the world this object is located, and it offsets the visual weight of the photo.

The visual weight of a photo, in it's most simplistic terms, is how much stuff is crammed into one side of an image. The balance between left and right, or top and bottom.

Moving your subject to one end of the frame or the other will instantly move the heaviest part of the visual weight of an image and create an entirely different feeling.

So, now that you're armed with a bit of new found or newly refreshed knowledge, go out and photograph something interesting. Give it some empty space and see what sort of effect and feeling you can elicit by moving in around. I would love to see some of your examples, so please feel free to drop me a line and attach an image in the comment section of this post!

Back to Basics

The best thing about digital cameras and the computer technology that goes along with them, is that you can cram hundreds maybe even thousands of images on a single media card. A wise man once told me of digital photography "Electrons are free man, shoot it till ya get it."

It's true...you can shoot and fill your card full of 300 images and hopefully capture 10 good ones in what I call the modified Rambo "shoot'em till ya hit 'em" sort of routine. The other option, you can slow down a bit in your shooting and get more good photos than bad. Really think about what you are shooting and make it count. Even though you have 4 gigs of memory to play with, maybe in any given day you only shoot 30 shots, but since you slowed down a bit and really looked at what you were shooting, 25 of your 30 came out well! It's a good thing!

A great way to practice this new outlook on photography is to bust out the old 35mm film camera and run some film through it. When you only have 36 frames to work with, you will tend to slow it down a bit and use them much more wisely. Plus if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a big fan of film.

 

So get out and shoot, take your time, and make 'em count. I would love to see what you all come up with so feel free to drop me a link in the comment section of any of the posts on the blog.

Point and Shoot Artistry. Volume 1 - Focus

While a vast majority of my blog entries revolve around photographic history, antique cameras, and general shenanigans...I would also like to add a series of posts that will help everyone become better technical photographers. That being said, I am starting a new series entitled "Point and Shoot Artistry". These posts will give you ideas and technical information that will help you become better photographers.

Please note that the information I provide in these blog entries is sort of "all encompassing." Each camera has it's own particular sets of quirks and may require different techniques. So, if what I write here isn't working for you...go back and check your camera's manual...it generally has all the answers.

Today I bring to you...Volume 1 - Focus.

Many point-and-shooters run into this problem every now and then. Let's say you are trying to photograph your child (Nephew, Niece, Brother, Sister, or who ever happens to be closest to your camera at the time) you are trying to get a picture of the new outfit that a grandma just sent to them. A full body shot of your lil' one...shouldn't be to tough right? But everytime you push the shutter release their face is out of focus but the graphic on the shirt is super clear.

It happens to all of us (even us professional types, even though we tend not to admit it). The best way to avoid this sort of issue is to center up the most important part of your subject in the viewfinder, usually there is a dot/square or something to denote the center. Generally speaking most cameras are set to "center focus"...that means that the center dot/square will be the point that is in focus...the rest of the photo may fall out around it if you aren't shooting a super flat subject.

So, to use this feature for evil instead of good (or vise-versa) center up the child's face in the viewfinder. Make sure the center dot is on their little nose. Then comes the important part, Hold your shutter release button HALF WAY DOWN...NOT all the way. That is going to tell the camera to focus on the plane of the kiddo's face. Then, with the button still held down, recenter your photo to capture the kiddo's full body and the cute outfit that nana sent. 

This may take some practice and some getting used to. So keep working on it on stationary objects first before charging after a rogue two year old.

Some super new cameras may have face detection, smile capture, and other fun and interesting things to help keep faces in focus...so again, check your manual for any camera specific fuctions and features that may also help you.

I hope you find this information valuable and helpful. Keep an eye peeled for future installments including:

Color Balance - Why is my Baby Blue?

Shooting Modes - How to use your Panorama setting for Evil instead of Good. 

Capturing Moving Subjects - Lead your Target!

Macro Photography - How to capture a ladybug with your camera without squishing it.

Geek Hardware: The Toy Cameras

If any of my college professors are reading this post, please return to my webpage and enjoy the pretty pictures...you will not like what you are about to see.

Everyone ready?

Here goes...

I like blur...

There, I said it. I can't take it back now..it's out there. Everyone knows. Even though it flies in the face of everything I learned as an undergrad...that everything must be razor sharp, so sharp in fact that to run your hand down the front of the print would cause it to bleed. It's true...I have developed a love affair with blur. I feel better now.

Of course you can create blur with Photoshop or any other decent post processing software when it comes to your digital files. But I have found that blur looks the best when it comes from film...just like everything else in life. *coughGOFILMcoughcough*

With that in mind there are a whole slew of cameras out there whose lives are built around the blur...many of which are coupled with my other love...the vignette. The darkening of edges to create a dark and ominous mood....mmm...vignette. These cameras are generally plastic in nature and tend to leak light like a sieve. The time tested favorite of these cameras is the wonderfully dynamic Holga.

Holgas are easy to find and super easy to use. The cameras can be found online at Amazon.com and B&H Photovideo. Many local stores also carry them as they have become a big part of what I would like to think is a film revival. I know that digital has become the way of the photographic world,  but I think that there are a large group of photographers that still enjoy the look and feel of film and will be hard pressed to give it up for some applications.

They take 120 film which can be purchased at any decent photography shop. They also generally require copious amounts of taping with duct tape to cover all the loose seams and light leaks.

Focusing the Holga (as well as many of it's sister and simlar cameras..the Diana, the Woca, etc.) is notoriously simple and requires some guess work. They are also a fixed f/8 ('ish) aperture. So that gives you a good amount of sharpness with a good fall off to the blur.

Everyone, go out and get a Holga, a Woca, a Diana Camera, or any sort of cheap 20.00 plastic camera and get out shooting. The results are awesome and everyone will KNOW that you're cool when they see you shoot one of these monsters.