How Light Affects Your Picture
Light is one of the main components of taking a good photograph. As soon as that button clicks, light filters into the camera and records the image. In this case, you might think that the more light the better, and so place your subjects in full sun. This does not always work as you can see by the washed-out color and squinting eyes or shadows in the finished product. Many otherwise good photographs have been spoiled by a dark shadow thrown across the face so it cannot be seen clearly at all. You would think a hat will take care of the squinting, but it will also cast a shadow over the subject’s face, so it won’t be very clear in the photograph. Sometimes a shadow is thrown across the lower part of the face by the nose, totally spoiling the shot. So how do we utilize available light for the best effects?
First, a dull day will give excellent quality photos. There are no shadows cast in unexpected places and no squinting needed. But all days are not dull, so what can we do to eliminate those shadows? One way is to pose your subject on the shady side of a building or tree. Make sure their face is in total shade, but it is best if the shade is not too dark. Bright or light shade is best.
Another trick is to use a flash. This will eliminate or reduce the shadows that fall across the face. You may need to manually adjust your camera to achieve this. Those cameras on automatic flash will not be likely to flash if the sun is beaming down. Keeping your back to the sun will take the glare out of an exposure, but there is a problem. If your back is to the sun, your subject will then have to face it – and squint. That’s why it’s important to keep a shady spot reserved for the face. But the back to sun rule is good to remember when you are taking scenery.
Of course if you are shooting indoors, you’ll need the flash for sure. Usually the automatic feature will see that it comes on when needed, but sometimes, extra lighting will enhance your photographs. Good artificial light is usually enough, but if you are taking special photos, another strong source of light might be useful to give a highlight effect. One thing to be aware of is sunlight coming through windows or doors onto the subject. Get rid of it by closing the blind or door. Otherwise your flash will come on and the result will be an over-exposure, leaving the subject looking faded or washed out.
Tips for Taking Indoor Photos
Once you become a shutterbug, you’ll find opportunities to take as many indoor photographs as outdoor ones. The basic difference of indoor and outdoor photos is the lighting. Outdoors lighting is generally good, so long as you watch for shadow in inappropriate places. Indoors, you’ll probably need the artificial lighting provided by the flash. But there are still some things that could go wrong.
One thing that can spoil your picture is reflected light. This is light that reflects off a shiny surface and causes bright, white patches in the wrong place. Let’s face it; anywhere is the wrong place. If you’re lucky it won’t be right in Aunty Ella’s face. So beware of posing your subject close to a window. Even the shiny surface of a wall or refrigerator can cause reflected light to show up.
Red eyes are another horrible addition to your photo. These days, most cameras have a red-eye reduction feature. If yours doesn’t, console yourself with the thought that red eyes means your eyesight is good. One neat little trick to reduce red-eye is to take two photographs quickly, one after the other. Red-eye is caused by the flash reflecting on the iris of the eye – which is wider inside due to the dimmer light. Once your flash has gone off, the bright light will cause the iris to close so the second photograph should have a greatly reduced red-eye, or none at all. Just watch that the subject is not still blinking from the first flash when you take the second photo. If you increase the light in the room it will have the same effect of helping the iris to close. Another tip is to have the subject avert their eyes from the camera.
When you take an indoor photo with just the flash it tends to bleach out the front people while dimming out those in the back. To avoid this problem, try opening your aperture to as big as it will go. This will let lots of light in. The best shutter speed is about 1/60. If your camera does not allow manual adjustment, make sure there is plenty of light from other sources. If you have lamps, try and have them overhead if possible to mimic the position of the sun. Your flash should prevent any unwanted shadows from forming.
Indoors, people are more likely to sit on the sofa to have their photo taken. This can be a problem if the sofa is under a window, or the wall behind it is shiny. But another problem is that their legs are closer to the camera than their faces. It might be advisable to take the photo from the waist up. That way no one will be able to complain that you gave them fat legs or knobby knees.
Tips for Taking Outside Photos
There are three important factors in taking outside photos: location, lighting and composition. Most photos are of people. Even when you are on vacation and want to take a photo of where you’ve been, you usually have a person in it too. That way it proves you’ve been there! However, you must decide which one is the most important to get a good photo. If the scene is more important than the person, make sure there is enough light and that you are not too far away. Sometimes we think that castle would be a great photo, but find it’s not much more than a blur in the background, or the person has taken up so much of the photo the castle is obliterated.
If the person is to be the most important – say, it’s an outdoor wedding photo, then don’t have too much in the background. A single tree would enhance the picture, rather than distract the eye into looking at something else. A large, gnarled tree-trunk often forms a wonderful background for an outside snapshot of a person or group. The thing is not to make the background too busy.
If you are taking a photo of a scene, it can add appeal to have one side at the top framed in some close vegetation like branches. Or there may be a tree or rock that could feature to one side. Look through some geographical magazines for shots like these. Some of them are beauties, and you can do that too. If you photograph a building, try moving it from the center of focus to the side for greater appeal.
Lighting is another point of outdoor pictures. Mostly the light is great outdoors, but just watch the play of light and shade, particularly on your subject’s face. If you have your back to the sun and it’s late, watch that your own shadow is not featured in the snapshot. An easy tip to get the shadow off your subject’s face is to use a light colored cardboard or T-shirt to reflect light onto it. Someone who is not going to be in the photo should hold this – and you must be careful you don’t accidentally get them in.
Composition consists of who and what is in the photo and what they are doing. A straight line of cheesy grins may be okay, but you can make it so much more interesting with a few props. When taking children at play, you still need them to look at the camera; otherwise their faces will be half hidden. To do this, quietly focus the camera on them, then call their name or just say, Hey! Click as soon as their heads jerk up, but before they have a chance to get out of play position.
Tips for Taking Portrait Shots
Sooner or later you’ll want to take a portrait shot. Unless you are practicing to become a professional photographer, this will probably be fairly informal, but there are some tips that will make your portrait taking easier and give you better results than you might otherwise get. Many amateur portrait shots end up in the bin due to over-exposure or being out of focus. Don’t let this happen to yours.
When you take a portrait shot, you need to focus on your subject’s eyes. Character is in the eyes and you want to express the character of the person. Use an aperture of f8 and be about three feet away. Make sure your subject is relaxed and in a happy frame of mind. Any anger or tension will show up in the photo. Chat to them, crack jokes if they are that type of person or play music. Make sure the music is something they like; otherwise you could get a scowl rather than a smile.
Make sure your subject is comfortable. Provide a chair or other seating with good back support so they don’t slump. Make sure they are not too hot, too cold or thirsty. If the subject is a child, offer an appropriate toy to hold. If they are very small, they may not want to give the toy up easily so it could well be in the photo. In this case, make sure it is not dirty or tattered. You could also have interesting pi