What's your best photo tip?

I am going to get it started.

Pick one item as your main focus and get close!

[This message was edited by Nikos on 17 December 2003 at 02:33.]

Use trees, ancient ruins, anything to frame your photo.

Be mindful of the frame, when composing a shot. Most amateurs, just point and shoot without making the composition first...

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

F8 and be there!

Nick took a course on Photography bout 4 years ago and told me this tip:

When you are taking pictures of people...if you have to cut off part of there body(s) - cut it off between joints...ie 1/2 way between the knees and hips etc.

Erik, is that true? I think it works...

BootsnAll is Blogging all over the place:
http://www.BootBlog.org

Yeah, you are never supposed to cut off someone right AT the joint. So, never at the feet, knees, hips, or neck. (In between is ok, as Sean said) Always include a little of the shoulders if you have the neck and head showing in your shot.

Also, if you are taking a picture of an object lower than yourself, get down to the objects level when you snap it. Don't take it from up at your head height, unless of course your artsy ways require it.

I've never heard that tip before, but now I have! Thanks.

Personally, when I do take photos of people, I use humans to give a sense of scale in a landscape shot.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

Get the right light

Hate it when the sun is always in the wrong position e.g. burning right behind what you want a pic of and no other angle to take the pic from. OR when the sun is at it's brightest and washes a brilliant scene out

Make the time to go back when the light is right if possible.

Somethings just can't wait, like an event, so try and make the best of a bad situation

jenz has to learn up on this

I hear that Jenz! The right lighting really seperates the amateurs from the pros, but I am too impatient too do that!

0. Before and above everything else: LOOK AROUND YOU. Think. Spot the interesting details of life.

1. The first and last hour of the day are the best times to shoot. Look for golden-coloured light and string shadows that define form.

2. Move about, climb up, crouch down. Just standing there with your zoom lens only gives you the boring angles.

3. Think about composition. "What does this picture show? Are all elements in the frame necessary to show it? Is your subject clear an conceptually evident from the image?" If you can't answer positively to these questions, something is probably wrong. Photography is all about leaving stuff out of reality using your viewfinder. (as opposed to painting which is about putting stuff in a frame)

4. Don't amputate your subject unless you know what you're doing. Include full body, or clip at bust level.

5. With people don't shoot them with the light in their eyes. They frown and they look ugly.

6. Use props or shoot people occupied with something. It takes a professional model to just pose there and not look awkward.

7. Don't shoot in harsh mid-day light. It casts ugly shadows under the eyes, nose and chin. If you must, have your subject turn their head at an oblique angle to the light, so that the face is lighted well, but still avoiding direct eye contact with the light source (see above)

8. It might sound strange, but overcast days are great for photography. Clouds diffuse the light and spread it out evenly. Less shadow, so less form, but easier to get overall good lighting. After the rain it's usually even better, with a clearer atmosphere.

9. The sky is always much brighter than anything else. Unless you use a filter, expect it to be washed white.

10. In most cases, avoid centering things. Think of an imaginary tic-tac-toe grid in the frame and try to separate areas in thirds (tic-tac-toe lines) and put subjects off-center (tic-tac-toe squares) One third from right, one third from top is the location that gets the most immediate attention - this is a psychological thing (think about where the face of the newscaster is in the evening news on tv)

.. I could go on forever and there's probably tons of ideas and tips I left out, but this is enough to get someone started I think

madnomad photography

Don't be afraid to take multiple pictures at different settings. Usually people make fun of me for spending so much time on a shot, but in the end, it's all worth it.

Face it, out of a roll of film - at least from my experience - only a handful become great shots... it's always the pictures of not-so-great shots that lead up to them.

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

I totally agree with eeyartee. Last time I was out in San Fran a lot of my pictures came out over exposed. The water in the bay really screwed with my camera's metering system.

So now if I really like a shot I will always bracket the shot!

If your photos are important to you don't be afraid to get them done at a good developer. It may cost a little more, but the results are worth it. I work at a photography store in Canada, and I see people bring their travel pictures in and ask us to reprint them, since the developer really means a lot. Look for one with a digital lab and make sure you ask how the staff develops the photos. Where I work, we look at each and every photo individually and we play with the colour to make sure that it looks as realistic as possible. At places like Walmart or in most grocery stores, the lab attendants just put the negatives in and do it automatically so they don't help you get the best images possible.

So - I'm not trying to advertise for my store, but the developer makes a huge difference!

Another tip? If you're shooting in a cold environment, either keep the entire camera or just the batteries against your body so that they don't drain. When the batteries in a camera get cold, they lose their charge so the camera won't work. This holds true for any battery operated device.

Great tip about the batteries in the cold, meagicano. (I learned that the hard way in Antarctica.)

Another tip about developers: this may be my personal preference, but getting prints done with a border makes loads of difference, and at no additional cost (at least where I go.)

e.

http://www.theglobaltrip.com

So many great tips here!!

Only thing I can think of that hasn't been covered is: Try really hard to keep your horizons level, especially if you are including water in your photo....

Not a technical photo tip but I think it is still important. Don't be shy or embarrassed to take out your camera in public and take your time. In my travels I tend to be a little timid of taking street life photos. Most of my photos from India are all the tourist stops: the forts, tombs, and temples. I really regretted not having more pictures of the people, the vehicles, the animals, the local homes, the villages, the life of India. I still find it hard a lot of times to over come that shyness but it's worth it when you get the shot of the local children giggling outside the church or lovers kissing in the plaza. Be careful not to be too forward and offend anyone though I've found in most my travels people love getting their photos taken.