A Guest post by Melissa Ashenhurst from Ashenhurst Photography.
Parties are a great time for family and friends to come together and have some fun. Here are 8 simple tips to help with taking the party shots that last.
Image by Dustin Diaz
1. Break the camera out early
Depending on the type of party you may need to start taking pictures early. Arrive early to take pictures of the decorations, food, the cake, etc before any people show up.
2. Get the group
Typically people don’t stay in a large group at parties; they are all spread out in smaller groups. While having everyone in the same room at the same time, get that group shot so you can treasure it afterwards.
3. Capture the emotion
Keep your camera handy and turned on so you’ll be ready for those spontaneous expressions.
4. Be Candid
You can get some great shots of your family and friends when they don’t even know they are getting their picture taken. This is great for capturing emotion at the party
5. Don’t be afraid to zoom in or out
Don’t be afraid of zooming in so your subject fits into your camera frame. This way you can capture the expression of the subject. Also make sure you get pictures of the party as a whole, don’t be afraid to zoom out to capture the entire room.
6. Avoid Red Eye
One of the most common occurrences when taking pictures of people at parties is red eye. To make sure your friends and family don’t look evil eyed have them look just over your shoulder rather than directly at camera. This should help reduce the chances of red eye in your pictures therefore saving you time having to take it out before printing them.
7. Know the schedule of events
Make sure you get a copy of the time of the events so you can have your camera ready and specific shots are not missed.
8. Try different perspectives
Don’t be afraid to try different perspectives throughout the party: get at eye level with the kids to get their perspective of the party or take pictures standing on a chair or staircase to get a shot of everyone at the party.
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