| Print-your-own
birth announcements, designed by Chouette Design Group,
are a great way to introduce your new addition to friends
and family. Keep in mind that it may take a few tries
to get the perfect photo, but don't worry too much about
it. As long as your photo is clear, well-lit and taken
at the best quality level, we will make your photo look
like you hired a professional photographer...even if
you didn't! |
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| Tip#1:
Crop! Meet my niece, Bekah. Her mom took a cute snapshot
of her to send a birthday message to "nana"
(great idea!) --- but see how much more impact the printed
image will have when you crop the image before printing? |
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| Tip#2:
Try different angles. This is even more important in
digital photography than it is in film photography,
because any picture of ordinary technical quality can
look stunning if it was taken from an angle (or viewpoint)
that gives the picture a fresh, new look. Hold the camera
at the same level as your subjects and turn it sideways
for vertical shots. |
| Tip#3:
Include other people in pictures. Capture others with
the baby -- siblings, friends and family members can
help bring out your baby's personality! Or introduce
two babies to each other and catch that instant bonding
in their eyes. |
| Tip#4:
Use a simple background. An uncluttered background focuses
attention on the subject, resulting in a stronger picture
(seen in Bekah's photo, above). Place your subject against
a plain, non-distracting background. Alternatively,
sometimes just moving yourself (and the camera) a few
feet one way or the other can eliminate distractions
from view. |
| Tip#5:
Frame each picture before you press the button. Create
the best possible composition before taking the picture.
Low-resolution digital images won't forgive you when
you start cropping out things you should have left out
of the picture to start with. Cropping is easy to do
with the software provided with your camera, but you
end up with less resolution than you had before unless
you don't mind a smaller image size. |
| Tip#6:
Hold the camera steady. It's amazing what you can do
with a sharp low-resolution image. It's just as amazing
how many pictures end up blurry! Don't have a tripod?
Hold the camera with two hands. Hold your elbows in,
against your sides. |
| Tip#7:
Read your camera's manual. Find out: What
is your camera's closest focusing distance? Zoom control
is a great feature, but when you move closer, you have
more control of the composition. |
| Tip#8:
Take pictures often - As a designer, I know that the
best way to improve my skills and expand as an artist
is to keep designing. As an avid photographer who started
taking pictures when I was 10 years old, I know that
taking more pictures is the best way to improve my skills.
You'll find this true for you, too. |
| Tip#9:
Watch the lighting! Unless you have a professional camera,
or your "low-light" setting works incredibly
well, gigital cameras are TERRIBLE when it comes to
dim or low lighting. Photos get grainy. Modern film
handles dimly lit areas well, but the sensors in digital
cameras don't. They go crazy. Why? The pixels (the dots
that make up your picture) in a dim scene (or in the
dim part of an otherwise brightly lit scene) have to
strain to pick up dim light, and when they do that they
do a terrible job. So make sure there is PLENTY of light.
Or use the flash! |
| Tip#10:
Resolution. Ah, resolution. Believe me when I tell you
that you don't need a 5.0 megapixel camera to get great
pictures! In fact, unless you're a professional photographer,
a 2.0 or 3.0 is more than sufficient for, I'd guess,
about 99.9% of families out there! So that's good news
because these cameras are extremely affordable nowadays.
Do get rechargeable batteries! Two sets, in fact, so
when you're charging one set, you have one ready to
go. And take your photos in a resolution high enough
for enlargement printing. That way, when you do capture
the snapshot of the century, it has enough pixels to
print a size suitable for framing. |
Depth
Perception: Disappointed with your landscape photography?
Ponder this!
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Have you ever taken a photograph of an amazing
landscape, only to get back a photo that seems
flat compared to the reality of your memory?
The reason is simple -- when you take a photo,
you're reducing a 3-dimensional object into
a 2-dimensional one. You see with two eyes,
your camera sees with one. This photo I took
in France one summer is a great example. In
person, this vista was mind-blowing, really!
But on film, it's just "nice", because
my camera can't show the depth of what I saw
that day. Sometimes these shots are best left
to memory because a memory card just can't
capture what we see. To get an idea of what
your photo will turn out like before you snap
your photo -- just shut one eye, giving you
that 2-dimensional perspective. If the shot
loses its flavor with one eye shut, your photo
will too!
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| This
is a "nice" photo. But it doesn't even
come close to capturing what I saw that day! |
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