There are so many wonderful things about scrapbooking, but to me the photos, which represent our memories, are the absolute best! To celebrate, let’s go through a few quick photo tips to make your everyday pictures a little better.
1. Avoid harsh light for faces
Harsh light on faces often translates to dark face shadows in pictures. Sometimes shadows can be beautiful, but face shadows don’t have the same effect and can be very difficult to remove.
When snapping pictures outside, avoid the bright, harsh, mid-day sunlight. Instead, try taking pictures at the beginning and end of the day. Or, if that’s not an option (such as when you are traveling), try taking the pictures in the shade.
A picture taken in the shade may be darker overall, but brightness can be edited easily in almost all photo-editing programs. When snapping pictures indoors, avoid lamps, and try to find natural sunlight near a window. This natural light will give people a beautiful glow that you can’t get directly in the mid-day sunlight.
2. Don’t use flash
This piece of advice comes up again and again. Unless you’re trying to take a picture of someone who is standing in front of lights or is in the dark, let the natural lights provide the glow. Almost all editing programs have a way to correct semi-dark lighting, so most of the time there is no need to worry about the flash.
3. Take pictures of children from below for a big impact
This approach might feel weird when you’re on the floor, angling your camera of phone up at your child, but taking pictures from below gives children a “larger than life” feel. It shows the story of them growing up. It is especially effective for toddlers when they are walking or running, but it can work for any age. (Think sports and dance!)
4. Move around
Much like the advice to take pictures from below, the advice to move around is meant to encourage you to try new angles for a new perspective. Often pictures from the side of objects like statues, cupcakes, flowers, and food tell more of the story than a straight-on picture from the top can. Some of my best pictures come from me moving around to some awkward positions to take unique angles. It’s totally worth it!
5. Notice beautiful photography
I am not a professional photographer, but I find beauty in other people’s work. Noticing what they do helps me to be a better photographer. I mentally record any tips or ideas, and the next time I have my camera in hand, I’ll try something new. Often these inspirational pictures are from other scrapbookers. They also come from Pinterest and websites for photographers such as iheartfaces.com.
For further reading, try out some creative challenges based on these tips at my blog, theimaginant.blogspot.com.
Great post, Julie! Thanks for the tips!