Tips
1. HIGH NOON IS ONLY FOR COWBOYS
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE FOR BIG RESULTS
3. BE PREPARED AT ALL TIMES
4. SEE EYE TO EYE FOR HAPPY ENDINGS
5. PICK A PROP AND SCORE BIG POINTS
6. DON'T FORGET PHIL. Actually it's fill…FILL
FLASH TO BE PRECISE
7. BE CAREFUL WITH THAT EXPENSIVE CAMERA
8. UM-WHICH LENS? DID I DO THAT????
9. CHANGE THE WORLD - at least your view of it
10. TURN YOUR CAMERA - NO, NOT THE OTHER WAY
11. WHERE'S THE SUN? MUST BE PORTRAIT DAY
12. NEAR AND FAR…YES, YOU CAN HAVE IT
ALL
Browse all twelve tips or choose to click on a number to jump
directly to a particular tip.
 HIGH
NOON IS ONLY FOR COWBOYS….
Timing is everything when you're shooting and unless you're in
an Old Western, you'll avoid high noon…
But seriously, the time of day you take your pictures can make
a big difference in the results you get. For photos at the beach
or around water, the best time is early morning or late afternoon.
At these times the light is "warmer" (more orange) adding
a nice healthy glow to skin tones. (It's a science thing…)
Mid-day sun can be harsh and unflattering, but if you must shoot
at noon, find a shady spot under a tree, or maybe a porch or canopy.
Those "lazy hired hands" can stand to the side and hold
a piece of white board to a white pillowcase to reflect light
back to your subject and fill in hard shadows.
 KEEP
IT SIMPLE FOR BIG RESULTS
Clutter in the background of your photos detracts from the main
subject. Look for simple backdrops, away from other people when
possible (or move in closer to eliminate extra people). Watch
out for things "growing out" of your subject's head
from the background - such as lampposts, telephone poles, trees
or branches. A backdrop of a brick wall, the side of a barn, a
sand dune or a big leafy bush can make interesting but calm settings
for well composed portraits.
If you don't have a clean background try moving in close to fill
you view finder with your subject, leaving only a little of the
background to give a flavor of where the shot was taken.
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 BE
PREPARED AT ALL TIMES
Time after time the best shots of kids are taken when kids are
doing what they do best…being kids! With the compact size
of today's point-and-shoot cameras there's no excuse for leaving
your camera behind.
If you're off to the beach, a picnic or rafting, keep your camera
in a zip-lock style poly bag to help protect it form water or
sand damage or other hazards like pop spills, dribbly ice cream,
and snowballs…
For best all around photo results, use 200 or 400 speed color
print film to cover most situations and keep up with those "quick!
Snap that!" magical moments. If you're not sure which film
to use (or have any other questions), ask your Smart Image Plus
counter person for recommendations.
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 SEE
EYE TO EYE FOR HAPPY ENDINGS
We all have a tendency to "shoot form the hip" - that
is, stand up, put the camera to our eye and click. But all too
often we miss the best view, especially with scenic shots, because
we didn't experiment. Next time you're ready to shoot consider
kneeling, sitting or even lying down for a better perspective.
For people shots avoid the tendency to stand above your subjects
(especially with children). Get on eye level, even if it means
crouching way down - it'll make the photo feel more personal.
Standing above your subject will make them look less significant
while shooting form below will make them look more important.
Try both these effects but you'll find eye level consistently
works best.
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 PICK
A PROP AND SCORE BIG POINTS
It's not unusual for people to squirm then they're faced with
a camera lens, so give them something to do that makes them feel
more comfortable. Jest having something to hold or pose with can
make a bid difference. On the slopes, have your subjects hold
their boards or skis. At the beach give children a bucket and
shovel or a big beach ball to show off. You can have fun with
props such as hats, ice cream cones, flowers, whatever. The family
pet usually doesn't mind getting into the album too.
Remember, anything you can do to make your subjects more relaxed
will lead to more natural photographs. And don't always demand
a smile. A serious face sometimes tells a better story…
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 DON'T
FORGET PHIL
Actually it's fill…FILL FLASH TO BE PRECISE
A trick used by professionals to eliminate contrasty shadows
on sunny days. For instance, when strong sunlight is directly
above your subject you'll see dark shadows cast in the eye area
and under the nose, lips, chin, etc. When the sun is behind your
subject their whole face can be in shadow. Not very flattering,
but easily fixed….
Use the manual flash mode on your camera to make the flash fire
even in bright sunlight, and you'll get rid of those distracting
shadows. By staying ten fee or closer to your subject your slash
will be strong enough to overcome or "fill" in thos
high contrast shadows and y our subject's face will positively
light up! Hey, just ask Phil.
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 BE
CAREFUL WITH THAT EXPENSIVE CAMERA
There are places and events to which you may not want to take
your camera for fear of subjecting it to harmful elements. Snow
skiing, slat water locations, any water (like the first 10 rows
at a Shamu-the-killer-whale show) hot deserts or extreme cold.
Or social events where others may want to borrow your camera to
grab some rare moments.
Arm yourself with a single use camera. No fuss, no risk, no worry.
Make a great wedding gift of a six-pack of these cameras to distribute
at the reception. The guests will happily record their version
of the celebration! Also great for birthdays, charity events,
school outings-you name it. Please ask about prices and types of
single use cameras available.
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 UM-WHICH
LENS? DID I DO THAT????
If your camera has a zoom lens, watch how you use the wide-angle
setting, avoiding it for close-in people shots as it will make
foregrounds appear larger. No one will thank you for supersizing
their nose.
If you only have a wide-angle lens (less than 50mm) available,
you can still do a portrait if you back up and then have the lab
crop the image to a portrait when it's time to print.
The lens rule: Wide-angle (less than 50mm) is great for landscape
and architecture. Short telephoto (70-135mm) is best for portraits.
Long telephoto (200mm and up) perfect for sports, wildlife, etc.
Photography is as much an art as it is science -you should experiment
to find which lend suits your style.
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 CHANGE
THE WORLD - at least your view of it.
Color filters are used to enhance and change the mood of you
photographs. Today's single reflex lens camera's (SLR's) calculate
exposure settings automatically so you can just choose a filter,
screw it onto the filter holder and you're ready to shoot.
If you're using a point-and-shoot camera that does not have a
filter attachment you can simply hold a filter in front of the
lens while taking your photo to get results (like our sample photo).
No filters? Try holding sunglasses in front of the lens! Just
make sure you don't have your fingers or sunglasses frame over
the camera lens area (oops!) and for best results use print film.
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 TURN
YOUR CAMERA - NO, NOT THE OTHER WAY
Now listen up! The idea is to fill as much of your viewfinder
with your subject as possible. Extra stuff in the background doesn't
add much to the story so size up the situation and if you don't
need a wind (or landscape) frame, turn your camera on its side
to get a vertical (or portrait) frame.
An easy rule is to use landscape (horizontal) for groups of people,
and use portrait (vertical) for a single person or two people
close together. Always remember that closer in is better and keep
your subject's head(s) just below the top of the viewfinder. It
doesn't hurt to give a little direction, such as "closer
together" or "on the count of three, say…."
Just make sure you're ready for the shot.
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 WHERE'S
THE SUN? MUST BE PORTRAIT DAY
We tend to think more about grabbing the on a sunny day. But
did you know that overcast or foggy days are great for shooting
outdoor portraits? Contrary to popular belief, overcast days provide
excellent lighting for this type of photography because it is
soft (no hot spots or glare) and does not create hard shadows.
Best file to use is 100-200 ISO film or "portrait"
film and a shallow depth of field. For automatic cameras select
the "person" or "portrait" setting. Remember
to get in close to the subject so that their head and shoulders
fill the frame. And when you've snapped that perfect shot you
might want to consider wallet size extra prints or enlargement
for framing.
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 NEAR
AND FAR…YES, YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL
For landscape photography, depth of field (the distance between
foreground and background) is an important consideration. Most
photographers want their landscape photos to be sharp and in focus
from the foreground to the distance.
To achieve this type of sharpness the automatic mode selected
on your camera would be "aperture priority" (often denoted
as the flower symbol). In this mode you shutter speed will be
slower than normal allowing your film more time to grab all that
information. Long exposures can be blurred by camera shake, so
place your camera on a tripod and use the self-timer to trip the
shutter. Beautiful!
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