The crisp air and dropping leaves of fall are finally starting to fill the air. Are you as excited about this change of season as I am?! With the holidays fast approaching it is also the season of making memories and making sure you capture them by filling up your camera roll with a bazillion pictures! While you'll want to schedule a professional photographer for your official family portraits, wall art and Christmas cards, there are so many everyday moments that you will want to capture yourself as they happen. Unless you're going to hire a live-in paparazzo I would recommend learning some basics that will help you improve your diy photography skills and capture those moments as they happen.
1. Be in the photos!
I know, you’re never in the pictures because you’re always the one taking them. You might even have all the excuses in the world to not be in the pictures (I don’t like pictures of myself, I’m bigger than I want to be, my hair isn’t done… sound familiar? They’re excuses I’ve used!) Enough of all that! Your friends, family, loved ones and even you one day will be so very glad you decided to move to the other side of the lens.
So, how do you make the move to being in front of the camera? There are so many fun solutions to this dilemma. You can take a picture in a reflective surface like a window or mirror, use a tripod, even a makeshift one out of what’s available will do, set the timer and get in that shot! A friend or even a nearby stranger is usually more than willing to help you capture memories. This can be a little rough on the quality of the results you get, not all last minute photogs have the artful eye we do, so don’t be shy about giving them a bit of instruction.
2. Take the safe shot then go for art.
When you see a moment in the making capture it quickly. Using live mode can help you grab that safe shot since you can go back into the image and edit it later to choose from multiple frames. Live images can also be converted to make adorable gifs and mini-videos and even compiled at the end of the year for an epic video of memories.
Once you have the quick capture, play around and try for some artistic pics with fun angels: go high, go super low, shoot through objects or lights, get the super close up or the way back landscape shot, have everyone jump or dance or be silly. My family’s favorite snaps are ALWAYS the silly pictures!
3. Use portrait mode for better cell phone portraits.
This won’t be the way you want to take a professional headshot but for quick portraits and cute pictures of your holiday drinks with less background distraction this is the way to go. Don’t worry about which lighting setting you choose, you can change that in editing later. And if you don’t end up liking the effect at all, that can be removed in editing as well so it’s a can’t lose camera setting!
4. Light is everything.
Photography, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (such as film or an optical sensor).” In other words, photography is captured light. You may not be able to visualize the image you want to end up with and get it from the camera you have in your hands, but you can absolutely use the camera in your hands to get a great shot, you just have to play by its rules. Get to know your camera settings, what your camera is capable of, or not, and work within those parameters. A lot can be remedied in post, even on a phone, but you will still want to be working within the bounds of how your equipment captures light as much as possible.
Have a phone camera that is great in low light? Awesome! Or is it? What if you want to capture some contrast of light and darkness or how colored lights illuminate the dark? No worries, just drag down the exposure. Is the light behind your subject drowning them in darkness? Try placing your subject so the light is beside or in front of them instead or change the exposure setting by touching the bright background on the screen and dragging down the exposure.
One of my favorite easy ways to find good light is to put my phone on selfie mode and do a slow turn to see how the light affects the shadows on my face. Then I have the best light for where I am.
5. Have fun!
Nothing teaches you how to take good pictures like taking a bazillion bad ones. Have fun with your photos and try different things. Playing and experimenting will quickly show you what works for you and you’ll be taking the best snap shots in no time!
If you are searching for a modern portrait photographer located in Northwest Arkansas I hope you find we’re a good match. If you would like to book a session with Sunny Skaggs Photography or find out more information please fill out the contact form accessible through the menu.