Just a little trick...

It's probably been done 100's of times before, but I have a new trick for photographing kiddos. Stickers!  A sticker on the palm is hidden in basically every shot. Happy kiddos, happy mom, happy photographer! :)

Tuesday Tip #4-5

I've been a bad blogger over the last few weeks.  It's been a crazy month, and I can hardly believe that Christmas is only a few days away.  Here's a taste of what I've been up to: yesterday I did my hospital baby photography side-job, hit up Borders for their closing sale (at the Costa Mesa location), pleaded with Santa for this and that, went to my in-laws house, watched "New Moon," and picked up my sister-in-law from LAX.  LAX traffic, by the way, was ridiculous!  Now I know why I never travel during the holidays, well that and because all of our immediate family lives locally! :)  Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm Team Jakeward.  I used to be Team Edward, but partially defected during "New Moon," and am now on both teams (thanks to my cousin Cyndi for the new team name!).

Since Christmas is coming in a few days, I'm going to double up on tips this week:

Tuesday Tip #4: Photograph candid moments (or moment that look candid)

On Saturday, we were at a family Christmas party, and my mom made a suggestion for my next Tuesday Tip.  She suggested - and I agree - that you photograph people when they are doing something, or at least when they are pretending to do something.  Many adults freeze up in front of the camera and end up with a forced smile that does not look natural.  Kids, on the other hand, tend to give a GIANT smile when the camera comes out.  If you can photograph people without them knowing, or at least while they pretend to do something (stir cookie batter, read a book, whatever), it will look much more natural.

My mom is one of the 'freeze when you smile for the camera' people, and here is a picture I took of her pretending to listen to the UN translator earpiece during our trip to New York last June.

Tuesday Tip #5: Turn off your flash

Flash has it's purpose.  It can be important for illuminating people or objects in a dark room, or for illuminating a person against a bright sky.  The problem is that the flash on "point and shoot" cameras is small and shoots straight forward.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone try to photograph a person behind a bouquet of flowers, and the flowers look white because they've been blown out by the flash, while the person is still dark.  I often bounce my flash off the ceiling or walls, but since this isn't something you can do with a compact camera, I suggest learning how to turn your flash off. 

If you're turning your flash off, you'll probably want to lower your shutter speed or increase the ISO of your camera (if your camera offers that).  ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light; the larger the number, the more light it lets in, but also the grainier your picture gets.  The lower your shutter speed, the more light will get in, but the more blurry your picture can get from your or your subject's movement.  You'll want to make sure you you hold really still if you lower the shutter speed; sometimes you can brace yourself or your camera against a wall, tree, or table when you're taking pictures at slow shutter speeds.

Sometimes using flash is your best option, but your result can be much more natural and artistic without it. Without the flash, the picture can have more depth because the shadowing and natural/ambient light help to shape the person.  Turning the flash off also helps prevents that nasty red-eye effect!

Please please please don't try this for the first time on an important shot!  It will probably take a lot of practice and understanding of exposure to get good at this! :)

Here's an example from Sharon and Jake's wedding reception.  Using a flash would have absolutely ruined this picture.  It would have made the people standing closest to me be really bright.  The bright guests in the foreground would have distracting from the boys making shadow animals in front of the slideshow, if the slideshow was visible at all!

(This image was take at f/1.4, 1/40th of a second, ISO 800)

Happy Shooting! :)

Tuesday Tip #3

Boy does a week roll around quickly!  I hope you've been enjoying my tips so far.  While I think every family should be professional photographed, you should also be able to take the best possible pictures when you don't have a photographer with you! :)

Tracy's Tuesday Tip #3: Off-center is okay!

You don't have to center the subject of your picture.   In fact, your picture will probably be a lot more interesting if your subjects are off-center.  Imagine a grid of nine equal parts over your picture.  You generally want your objects of interest to lie on or near the cross points on the grid, because it creates more energy and interest.  Here's an example of what I'm talking about.  Notice that her body and the sand-line are along the lines of the grid, with her face falling near one of the grid intersections. 

Tuesday Tip #2

Tracy's Tuesday Tip: Find back-lighting

One way you can make your pictures look studio quality is by finding back-lighting.  Back-lighting gives a person dimension & helps separate them from the background.  You can create back-lighting by using the sun, an actual light, or light bouncing off a light object. 

I look this picture of my cousins on Thanksgiving.  The sun was bouncing of the second story of my parents' house, giving both girls a beautiful glow.  I was so surprised and impressed by how gorgeous it turned out ... my parents backyard just might be "Plan C" for photoshoots that get too dark! ;)

Tracy's Tuesday Tip

With the holidays coming up, I decided to start a new feature called Tracy's Tuesday Tip.  Each week's tip will feature a different suggestion for taking great pictures of your family.  You don't need to have a fancy SLR camera to take great pictures.  With a few tips, anyone can capture fun everyday images of their kids or family!

Tracy's Tuesday Tip #1: Get down to eye level

With children and pets, it is important to get down to their level.  When you are down at a child or pet's level, you capture greater detail than you would photographing them from above, and you get a more dynamic feel for the world they experience.  It is much more interactive to be at their level.  I've often been known to get down onto my knees, or even flat on my stomach to capture an image.  Ignore the curious looks you may get from the friends or family around you, because once they see the cute picture you took, they'll want a copy for themselves! ;)