I have more photos to share, including a few that prove I was actually on the trip, but it is late and I am exhausted from the endless tornado drills we experienced in Georgia today. I'll try to get more up tomorrow. In the meantime, I have received a few comments and e-mails with questions about photographing wild Indians, so I thought I'd share the 5 things I do to improve my chances of getting good shots.
1- I take a lot of pictures. For instance, I took about 200 pictures last week in order to get a dozen or so that I really like.
2- I have a great camera, a Nikon D70s, that was a hand-me-down from my father-in-law the year the kiddos were born. It is digital, but can accept fancy lenses and flashes. (I don't actually know how to use any of those things though.) Although it will allow for manual photography, I am an amateur and always use the auto focus. The downside of this camera is that it is really big. You cannot simply slip it in your purse...and I have, unfortunately, banged my children in the head with it accidentally in the chaos of our activities. Ouch!
3- I try to always be on the same level as the children's faces and take as many outdoor (natural light) photos as possible.
4- Don't laugh until you try it: I use the game Simon Says to get group shots. Simon Says, "Stand together." Simon Says, "Look at Mommy." I often throw silly commands in there just so they'll think it is fun. Another trick I learned from a professional children's photographer is to tell them someone is inside my lens winking at them. It works really well to get them to look right into the lens as you are clicking.
5. Finally, Photoshop makes a good picture great. I do not know any fancy tricks in Photoshop. (See The Pioneer Woman for that.) I simply crop and adjust the light on many pictures and it makes a huge difference in the overall quality.
Hope that helps someone. If any of you have other great tips, please share them in the comments!
3 comments:
I am right there with you on the big camera thing. Erik bought me a Canon Rebel two years ago for Christmas. I cannot tell you the improvement in my pictures!! It is so easy to get really good pics with a good camera. It makes all the difference, but it is bulky!!
I try not to take a lot of posed pics of my three wild indians. I heard it said once that photographing children is like photographing wildlife. You get the best shots by just sitting back quietly watching and stealing shots when you see them. And, my favorite pics are always the ones where I capture a moment and my children have no idea I'm taking their picture - it captures their personalities!!
I am definately gonna try the Simon Says thing.
You do get some awesome shots!
I feel you exhaustion dodging the storms here in Georgia over the weekend. We ended up in our basement Friday evening. We grabbed our cat, our flashlights and radios. We were down there about 30 minutes. It wasn't fun!!!!
Your photos are really good. My husband and I had a professional photo business for about 15 years. You do a really good job with your photos. Natural light is always best. If you want to eliminate shadows on faces when you are outside, use your on-camera flash. You will have to take the camera off automatic in order to use the flash. When you do that, you can use the natural light to back light your subjects (children), but their faces will not be dark. Look forward to seeing more photos. ;-)
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