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Five Tips For Taking Better Photos

At PosterBrain we've seen a lot of photos of all types. From landscapes to portraits, from sports team posters to the *ahem* more risqué. Within all the different categories of pictures, we've also seen a range of quality in the photos. We know our printing process can take even sub par images and make them look their best (hey, we even took a shot at the airport with our iPhone and it came out great), but it never hurts to try to help our users improve their photos at the source: the second the picture is taken.

To that end, we've combed around the various information sources available to offer the top 5 tips on how to take better photos. So here they are:

Subjective Subjects

Have you ever been looking at a friend's photos (or been forced to sit through an overly-long slideshow of their vacation slides) and found it difficult to tell what you're supposed to be focused on? Are we meant to be looking at the funny pose of Aunt Mabel pretending to jump into the Grand Canyon, or at the canyon itself?

Amateur photographers often try to combine too many elements into one photo. Or, if there are only a couple elements in the photo (like Aunt Mabel and the Grand Canyon) they often don't focus on their subject. In the Aunt Mabel example, it would make sense to focus on her, make sure the focus field of your camera is clearly trained on her and not somewhere in the middle distance.

Most new digital cameras will show you a series of lights or boxes to tell you what you are focused on. You can generally cycle through possible targets using a half-press on the "shoot" button to select the one you want.

Close the Gap

Really good photographers know that closing in on your subject is a terrific way to really make your photos stand out. Why else would tele-photo lenses be so popular? By getting in close your pictures will capture more facial expressions, more of the scales on that striped bass you caught, a better reflection of the sky in the car's glossy paint, or more of the chocolate sprinkles on your child's face.

When your subject is a wild animal or even a pet, it can sometimes be tough to get in close without ruining the photo, but in most cases your photos will be better for it.

A quick note on digital zoom: Most new point and shoot cameras come with a "digital zoom" feature. This is not the same as optical zoom (which is done with lenses). Digital zoom is effectively blowing up the photo (via software) and concentrating on a specific portion. While sometimes useful, it is overall not recommended to use digital zoom because it degrades quality and is very easy to blur.

Simplify to Amplify

Simplifying your photos goes along with getting closer to your subject, but presents its own challenges. Look at the work of great photographers: when Ansel Adams took the photo of a grizzled old cowboy, did he also include a tractor, a barn, a few cows, some chickens, a spool of fence and the man's birth certificate? Of course not, everything you need to know about that photo is right there in the man's face (and a little in his hat).

Likewise, your photo of the fish you just caught doesn't need to include the boat you used, the cooler that held your beer, the lawn chairs you sat in, and a nice stretch of beach. You want to capture the color and size of the fish, and the proud fishermen who landed her. Your subject is the majesty of nature and the exuberance of a hunter's triumph, not a guidebook to the method of catching a fish.

Declutter your camera's field of view and get better pictures right away.

Find a New Angle

If you're like most people, when the camera is in-hand you hold it up to your face and in the horizontal/landscape position to take pictures. No offense, but... BORING! Imagine what pictures of your kids would look like from age 2 to 20, lined up next to each other, if you took them all that way. They'd start out with the tops of their heads, then slowly they would reach eye level, and then you'd be looking at their chins with a cap and gown in the background.

Have you ever seen a photo from an uncommon angle and thought "Wow!" Of course, we see it all the time although it's not always obvious. Think about taking a photo of your dog from his level, or slightly below. You'd probably see things you never saw before.

Even turning your camera 90-degrees to the vertical (or portrait) style can provide some amazing changes in perspective. Get creative, try holding your camera over your head and shooting downward, paparazzi-style. Most of us have digital cameras these days, so why not experiment with all that "free" film?

Lights On!

Think about lighting. I know, you're suddenly paralyzed with visions of flashbulbs, stand-lights, and those crazy black umbrellas that the pros use (where do they get those anyway?). Don't worry, all we want you to remember are some simple rules of thumb for better pictures.

First, if you're outside the sun should be at your back 90% of the time. Now, you may have to adjust a few steps left or right if your shadow is interfering or if your subject can't stop squinting, but for the most part you want light on your subject.

Second, if you have to take a photo looking into the sun or other light source, make sure to use the "half-press" trick above to force your camera to focus on the subject, not the sun. The tendency of these cameras is to focus on bright objects, so it may take some time to get it right.

Lastly, if you are inside, consider how the internal lights will affect the colors in your picture. I often find it's better to shoot with less light than with the light given off by low-wattage incandescent, which makes everything a little yellow. Open the curtains for natural light, or turn off the ugly lights and use a flash.

The bottom line here is to think about the final product before you shoot the picture. No one has ever looked back on photos of loved ones and said to themselves, "Wow, I wish I hadn't spent that extra second focusing and just got a blurry picture instead."

About the Author

Although the phrase "
blow up photos
" belies the complex nature of the technology employed at PosterBrain (who has provided this article) it perfectly sums up the easy ordering process. Check it out at http://www.PosterBrain.com

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Dating Personals: Photo Tips

You're ready to try online dating. You've polished your profile, and your best friend has concluded that you are so attractive that even they would like to date you. It's come to that time! Somebody online who posted a dating personal wants to see what you look like. What picture of yourself will you paint when you display a photo along with your profile?

There are a few guidelines that apply to online dating photos that you should observe which will improve your profile. These are as follows:

1. Do add at least one photo of yourself to your profile! If you don't, you're seriously putting yourself at a disadvantage. Many people search only for people who have uploaded photos. Still others don't like the idea of a "blind date," and won't go through with a meeting if they haven't seen what you look like.

2. Remember that you are trying to be a salesperson here; you're trying to sell yourself. Look at the photographs of other people on the online dating site. Is yours similar? If so, you will not stand out from the crowd! The photo you post should be good quality.

Do yourself a favour and forget the shot that someone took of you when you were at a nightclub last month, cut off just to one side where your ex was still in the photo. There are tons of photos like this, and they don't make people want to find out more! Your profile will be more attractive than if you hadn't posted a photo, probably, but you're still not going to stand out from the crowd and do yourself justice. Ask yourself what you would want to see if you were a member of the target audience (usually the opposite sex), looking at your profile for the first time, and be critical.

At the very least, have a photo taken of yourself for the express purpose of using with your dating profile. You don't need to have had it done professionally, although it certainly wouldn't hurt! I suggest you find yourself someone who has a Digital Camera (or have them borrow yours) and can take photos well, and offer them a pint or three to take several photos of you. Get them to take a fair number of photos (20 or so), perhaps on different settings, because not all of them may work well, and because you then have a good selection to choose from.

Choose your backdrop carefully! A nice simple approach is to go to a field or a beach when it's near sunset, and have photos taken of yourself against this background. The background you choose should show yourself in a romantic or fun setting, and your clothes should be appropriate to that setting.

How about an interesting alternative? If you know somebody who is good with art packages such as Paint Shop Pro, have them paint out the background, and change the photo so that it looks like a spotlight is shining on you!

3. It may be a good idea to try and improve the photo, as is often done of photos of models in advertising. If you have any obvious, but small, disfigurements, these could be airbrushed out with a painting package. If you can't do it yourself, you probably know someone who can do it for you. Don't go overboard with this; make sure the photo still looks like you!

4. Don't be tempted to lie by posting a photo of George Clooney or Catherine Zeta Jones, unless of course you really are one of those people! The photo must be one of yourself, otherwise when it comes to a face-to-face meeting, the relationship could be over before it's even begun!

5. This tip is not well-known. Add a border to your photo, coloured the same as the hyperlinks on the target site. The reason for this is partly to make your photo stand out, but also because most photos shown on online dating agency sites are also links to your profile. Your photo will then look like a link, and it increases the chance of it being clicked on. If there is any "outside" to your photo, this should then have the exact same colour as the background of the site. This can be found by using Alt-Print Screen to grab an image of your web browser when on the dating site, then pasting it into an art package, and identifying the colour from there. (Note that some online dating agency sites already supply borders around images; the trick will not work on these.)

6. If you have several photos of you doing interesting activities and the site permits it, post one photo of you doing each activity in addition to your head-and-shoulders shot. For example, photos of you skiing while on holiday; photos showing you braving the rapids in white-water rafting; photos of you doing your favourite sport. They help to prove that you do the things you say you do in your profile, and they make your profile more interesting!

About the Author

David Thomas is a web publisher with a wide range of interests, including psychology and dating. He runs a web site that gives free flirting tips, and you can even add your own comments to the articles. It's a great place to learn!

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