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Top 10 Tips for Great Pictures
Do you wish you were a better photographer? All it takes is a little know-how and experience. Keep reading for some
important picture-taking tips. Then grab your camera and start shooting your way to great pictures.
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1. Look your subject in the eye
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Direct eye contact can be as engaging in a picture as it is in real life. When taking a picture of someone, hold
the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles. For
children, that means stooping to their level. And your subject need not always stare at the camera. All by itself
that eye level angle will create a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture.
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Too high |
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2. Use a plain background
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A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the camera viewfinder,
force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make sure no poles grow from the head of your favorite
niece and that no cars seem to dangle from her ears.
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Distracting background |
Better |
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3. Use flash outdoors
Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the
face. When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash on. You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or
full-flash mode. If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode; beyond five feet, the full-power
mode may be required. With a digital camera, use the picture display panel to review the results.
On cloudy days, use the camera's fill-flash mode if it has one. The flash will brighten up people's faces and
make them stand out. Also take a picture without the flash, because the soft light of overcast days sometimes
gives quite pleasing results by itself.
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Subject is dark |
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After |
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4. Move in close
If your subject is smaller than a car, take a step or two closer before taking the picture and zoom in on your
subject. Your goal is to fill the picture area with the subject you are photographing. Up close you can reveal
telling details, like a sprinkle of freckles or an arched eyebrow.
But don't get too close or your pictures will be blurry. The closest focusing distance for most cameras is
about three feet, or about one step away from your camera. If you get closer than the closest focusing distance
of your camera (see your manual to be sure), your pictures will be blurry.
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Good |
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Better |
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5. Move it from the middle
Center-stage is a great place for a performer to be. However, the middle of your picture is not the best place
for your subject. Bring your picture to life by simply moving your subject away from the middle of your picture.
Start by playing tick-tack-toe with subject position. Imagine a tick-tack-toe grid in your viewfinder. Now place
your important subject at one of the intersections of lines.
You'll need to lock the focus if you have an auto-focus camera because most of them focus on whatever is in
the center of the viewfinder.
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Boring |
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Better |
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6. Lock the focus
If your subject is not in the center of the picture, you need to lock the focus to create a sharp picture. Most
auto-focus cameras focus on whatever is in the center of the picture. But to improve pictures, you will often
want to move the subject away from the center of the picture. If you don't want a blurred picture, you'll need to
first lock the focus with the subject in the middle and then recompose the picture so the subject is away from
the middle.
Usually you can lock the focus in three steps. First, center the subject and press and hold the shutter button
halfway down. Second, reposition your camera (while still holding the shutter button) so the subject is away from
the center. And third, finish by pressing the shutter button all the way down to take the picture.
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Subject not in focus |
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Better |
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7. Know your flash's range
The number one flash mistake is taking pictures beyond the flash's range. Why is this a mistake? Because pictures
taken beyond the maximum flash range will be too dark. For many cameras, the maximum flash range is less than
fifteen feet—about five steps away.
What is your camera's flash range? Look it up in your camera manual. Can't find it? Then don't take a chance.
Position yourself so subjects are no farther than ten feet away. Film users can extend the flash range by using
Kodak Max versatility or versatility plus film.
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Without flash |
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With Flash |
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8. Watch the light
Next to the subject, the most important part of every picture is the light. It affects the appearance of
everything you photograph. On a great-grandmother, bright sunlight from the side can enhance wrinkles. But the
soft light of a cloudy day can subdue those same wrinkles.
Don't like the light on your subject? Then move yourself or your subject. For landscapes, try to take pictures
early or late in the day when the light is orangish and rakes across the land.
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Good |
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Also Good |
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9. Take some vertical pictures
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Is your camera vertically challenged? It is if you never turn it sideways to take a vertical picture. All sorts
of things look better in a vertical picture. From a lighthouse near a cliff to the Eiffel Tower to your
four-year-old niece jumping in a puddle. So next time out, make a conscious effort to turn your camera sideways
and take some vertical pictures.
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Good |
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Better |
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10. Be a picture director
Take control of your picture-taking and watch your pictures dramatically improve. Become a picture director, not
just a passive picture-taker. A picture director takes charge. A picture director picks the location: "Everybody
go outside to the backyard." A picture director adds props: "Girls, put on your pink sunglasses." A picture
director arranges people: "Now move in close, and lean toward the camera."
Most pictures won't be that involved, but you get the idea: Take charge of your pictures and win your own best
picture awards.
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Boring |
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Better |
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Orders |
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If
you are interested in this product, please contact C-Direct
Pty Ltd
by phoning Head Office or the office within your state
or via emailing us. |
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Phone:
03 9499 7771
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