I’ve been asked by parents of children to photograph their birthday parties numerous occasions and each time it has been a lot of fun.
Photographing children isn’t always easy - and photographing ‘the birthday party’ presents it’s own unique opportunities and challenges as a photographer.
Birthday Parties present us with a lot of emotion, interaction, color and energy in a child’s party - the highs and a few lows of life are all present. On the challenging side of things - children’s parties can be chaotic places with moving subjects, lots of clutter and often little time for those organizing them to pick up a camera and take a shot.
Here are a few tips on Photographing Children’s Parties that come to mind:
1. Designate a Party Photographer
There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a party and realizing that while the camera was out that no one bothered (or had time) to pick it up and take some shots. Give someone the job and release that person from other party duties to just take photos. This way you’re guaranteed to get some shots and will have something to remember the day with. It is also good because it means others are able to relax and enjoy the party and that parents can rest assured that the photos will only be used responsibly.
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Backgrounds present both opportunities and challenges to photographers. On the one hand they can put a subjects in context and make it stand out in a way that highlights it wonderfully - but on the other hand backgrounds can overwhelm subjects and distract from them.
Some of the common problems that photographers have with backgrounds include:
- Distracting Focal Points - we’ve all seen this happen - we line up a shot of a friend to take as a portrait and just as we press the shutter someone else pops their head up over their shoulder with a silly face. The result is that the real focal point of the shot becomes the face pulling person. This is an extreme example of distracting focal points in the background but it’s something that happens quite a lot.
- Protruding Elements from Subjects Heads - I nearly didn’t include this one but it’s so common that I just had to mention it. When shooting a portrait one of the common mistakes is for some background element to look like it’s sticking up out of a person’s head - like a horn. It’s often trees (as in the photo to the left) but could be anything. These shots can be quite comical but can also really throw the composition of a shot off.
- Competing Lines - if your subject has lines in it and your background also has strong lines they can compete in such a way that the image becomes busy or so that the lines clash with one another.
Strategies for Dealing with Distracting Backgrounds
1. Check your Background Before Hitting the Shutter Release
Ok - this strategy isn’t rocket science, in fact you’d think it almost goes without saying - but unfortunately it doesn’t and many of the mistakes that I see in photographs could have been avoided simply by checking the background before taking the shot and taking some sort of evasive action.
Always scan the background of your shots before taking a shot. Look for colors that don’t fit with the rest of the image, bright patches that might distract the eye, lines that clash, people that don’t belong etc.
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In my last post I introduced you to the basic types of DSLR lenses that are on the market as a starting point for answering the question of ‘which DSLR lens to buy?’.
Today I want to turn to a number of other factors that you’ll want to keep in mind when making the decision. Each of the following lens features will differ from lens to lens.
Lens Speed - perhaps one of the first things a lens sales person will tell you when you’re looking at a new lens is it’s ’speed’. Lens speed, or how fast a lens is, really is describing the maximum aperture of the lens. Aperture is the size of the opening that the lens opens to when the shutter is depressed (or how much light gets through) - it is described as a number with the letter F next to it (an f-stop).
Without going into great detail, the smaller the number the larger the hole and the more light that can get in at a time. This means that the shutter speed can be quicker and means the lens is ‘faster’.
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Digital Camera manufacturers are increasingly adding ‘in camera editing’ features and modes to the cameras that they release that allow digital photographers to do all kinds of tasks that they would previously have done from their computer. These include in camera cropping, the addition of frames to shots and being able to shoot in different types of colors/filters including black and white and sepia.
The question that I’ve been asked a few times this week is:
’should I shoot in black and white mode or convert my colored shots later into black and white on my computer?’
My approach to this has always been to shoot in full color and to edit later if necessary.
The problem with shooting in these modes is that you are making all of your creative decisions about your shot at the time of shooting and that in most instances shooting in these modes means you cannot recover full colored shots.
Set your digital camera to black and white or sepia and the natural colors in the shot are lost. On the other hand if you shoot in color you can always convert to black and white later and keep your full colored version also.
You do not lose any quality in your image in doing this and keep your options open.
Of course some will argue that this approach means that you will need to spend a lot of time later on editing your shots to make the black and white. There is some truth in this and if you’re not used to using photo editing software it can be a put off.
However most photo editing packages have a very quick and simple way to convert your shots to black and white - often with just one click.
Plus - whether you shoot in black and white or color you’ll find that most pictures can do with a little editing, sharpening and cleaning up - so the conversion to black and white isn’t too much of a drama.
I love cities. While I enjoy getting out into the wide open spaces of the countryside I am also a big fan of the hustle and bustle of inner city life. It’s not for everyone but I find that such areas are so interesting to spend time in - both on a personal level but also photographically.
Some people might be a little depressed by the greyness of concrete, towering skyscrapers and graffiti covered walls - but I find them full of photographic potential.
Urban Landscape Photography looks for these photographic possibilities in the cities and and urban areas where we live and work.
Urban Landscape photography is a little slippery to define as it sits between a number of other genres. For the purposes of this article let me contrast it with a few related photographic genres:
- Cityscape Photography - urban landscapes go beyond the capturing of the big picture cityscape that is usually quote polished and clean.
- Architectural Photography - urban landscapes are less interested in the building and it’s architectural style and more interested in what happens in and around it.
- Candid Street Photography - urban photography focussed more upon the city itself (and it’s life) than the people who live in it.
Urban Landscape photography is often gritty, it’s not always pretty and it can be quite abstract.
Following are 11 tips to help you improve your urban landscape photography:
1. Take a Variety of Lenses
I find that taking two lenses with me is usually enough for urban photography. I prefer to take one wide angle lens and a zoom with a fair bit of length to it. Longer focal lengths are useful for capturing the details of building and street scenes (be aware that they also tend to flatten pictures) but wide angle lenses are great for capturing the big picture and they tend to give a bigger depth of field which can add interest and a nice feel to your shots.
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Flash photography is a wonderful thing as it allows you to take pictures in all manner of places but there are a few common problems that come along with it that many digital camera owners fall into the trap of including:
- harsh shadows cast on walls behind your subject
- over exposed subjects - harshly and unnaturally lit
Flash Diffusers
There are many techniques for overcoming these problems including using bounce flash techniques and controlling the flash output from your camera (we’ll cover these in the future) but one simple tip is to soften the light from your flash using a diffuser.
Diffusers help eliminate harsh light and shadows and can help leave your photos looking more natural.
Diffusers come in all shapes and sizes depending upon the type of flash you’re using.
Some external flash units come with one built in (see a picture of my Canon Speedlight’s sliding diffuser below - it is not in use in the one on the left and IS in use on the right).
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