Five ways to snapshoot a day out with the kids.

 

There’s probably nothing better – and just about nothing worse.

It’s March Break. You’ve packed up the brood for a day at the park/zoo/tutor (kidding) and you’re excited by the prospect of taking some great snaps of the day. Perfect for that shiny SLR you got on sale in January. You stuff a bag with a couple of lenses, memory cards, cleaner, maybe a flash (or two). Then you lug the thing to the park/zoo/tutor and spend the day cursing as you balance changing lenses with changing diapers.

Big cameras and multiple-lenses are great – for other days. When it’s time to get out and enjoy your family, you want to get out and enjoy your family.

So do that.

When I hit the park these days, it’s generally with a teeny-tiny iPhone in the hip pocket or a point-and-shoot – even a compact SLR with a small zoom lens does the trick. I don’t worry about the camera at all on days like these. I just head out and try to take interesting photos without worrying about the technology. And you know what? Mum, Nana and friends like that there’s a document of what’s happening, which is the real reason you’re taking photos in the first place.

How do you get the most out of that camera? Remember these (non-technical) details.

Tell a story.

Establishing shot - good to tell a story.

Balance the wide stuff against the portrait shots.

We went to the park the other day for a couple of hours of hanging off monkey bars and spinning in tire swings. To make sure we remembered the trip the right way, I started with an establishing shot of the park, the followed up with photos of each player – so we could remember each child’s day the right way. Create a story with lots of big wide shots and close ups to share with friends or family.

Shoot – a lot.

Shooting without regard for settings and other photo trickery means lots of overexposed images, blinking eyes and dirty faces. Work around that by loading up your camera with lots and lots of photos. Instead of snapping one picture at the top of the slide, snap four – you’re bound to get something you like.

Don’t get tripped up by the settings.

Stick the camera on “P” and maaaaaybe think about setting the white balance (not really necessary if you’re shooting RAW files). Let your camera or phone do the work today. You’ve got lots of chasing to do instead.

Outside? One word – shade.

Noonday will render just about every picture crazy bright and include squinty eyes from your subjects. Do your best to get them into a shady area (or hope for a nice cloudy day) to get photos that look evenly lit.

Inside? Look for nifty angles.

Put something in the foreground and focus on the background. Try getting down low to exaggerate the subject. Get in super close and crop out part of your subject. 

How to take a snapshot with your mobile phone – the problems (and solutions).

SLR quality? Nope -- but who cares. It's a snapshot.

You’re treating your mobile phone like you used to treat your point-and-shoot, aren’t you?

Something happens, You grab your phone. You fire up the camera. And you shoot. No time to think about this setting or that function. You just shoot. Later, you might touch up the photo and post it somewhere.

But if you could just have that one second back – so that your subject was just a little more sharp, or you didn’t obliterate the shot with your flash.

The thing is, you don’t have to pray yourself to a good snapshot – even when it comes to your mobile phone. Just do a little prep work. You could pick a program and use a few good point-and-shoot settings (the right white balance, “TV” or “S” mode, flash off) if you’re out for the day or arrive somewhere interesting.

Shot look boring? Try some perspective (stuff closer to the camera looks bigger).

You can also do this – think about the problems that show up in most mobile phone photos and compensate for ‘em. Here’s a few of the biggies:

Problem	Solution(s)
You autofocussed on the wrong thing	·      Most mobiles let you tap the screen to choose an autofocus location ·      Do this in thre steps. Pick the point of focus, turn yourself into a human tripod, then take the photo (try it in two and everything turns out blurry)
Mega shutter lag (you missed the shot!)	·      Mobile phone cams are slllllooooowwwww in taking a shot ·      Set up and anticipate your shot ·      If your software supports it, use the burst mode to get a bunch of shots in a row (some apps let you choose how many)
Things are blurry	·      Your camera is probably compensating for not enough light ·      Get more light into the camera with shutter speed, aperture or ISO ·      Use a table or sturdy object to hold that camera steady ·      Go with it! Figure out how to turn the blurry photo into something cool
The lighting is beyond awful	·      Not enough light? Use a tripod (or become one) and a long shutter speed ·      Ugly light? Move your subjects somewhere else ·      No choice? Use your on board flash (if you really, really have to)
Everything is a weird colour	·      Adjust your white balance ·      Edit your pic in black and white – you are now a clever artiste
Shot looks boring	·      Look for something cool to add to it (see light and perspective up above) ·      Turn the camera for a diagonal look ·      Turn your subject to get a little more “dimension” ·      Make your subjects laugh or wait for a natural shot

How to take a snapshot with your mobile phone.

shooting with a mobile phone. Zoom in and check your focus after the shot.

Take a look around at the massive (and growing) world of mobile phone photography, and you’ll see some astonishing work. There’s the stuff Chase Jarvis is shooting. There’s the moody work of David Koslowski.

And then there’s, uh, this.

Great photographers already know how to make great photos, whether it’s the latest D3, a plastic Lomo camera or a Galaxy S. The last one in that list is particularly important because when it comes to the average snapshooter (likely you and me), mobile phone cameras are changing the way we take pictures.

Shoot ‘em faster, share ‘em faster. That’s the beauty of taking your iPhone out on an adventure. Of course, if you spend any time with your phone as a camera, you quickly realize that most flashes are suspect, low light performance is grainy and it’s easy to go nutty with a few too many filters (anybody else remember typeface-happy “designers” from the early ‘90s?). These aren’t really problems, they’re aspects of the medium, things to accept and tweak.

That said, you’re probably wondering what you need to do to take better photos. Here’s five things worth considering:

Rules of photography still apply

Good composition is good composition – no matter what kind of photos you’re shooting. Start by understanding “Rules of Thirds” and get in close to your subjects for more effective portraits.

Find enough light or get comfortable with grain.

Shooting your friends without a flash at the birthday party is a dodgy prospect – the photo isn’t going to look great. But maybe that’s ok. Maybe that’s part of the look you’re going for. Want something a little more like the results you get form a point-and-shoot camera? Be somewhere where there’s light (near a window works for people) or get a tripod (for landscapes).

  

Don’t get nutty with filters.

So many choices, why not use them all? Because they don’t look good, that’s why! Remember when desktop publishing and web design became all the rage and everyone was using the garish and the blinking? Don’t be that guy. Pick a filter or two at a time and see if you can get them to work in some interesting ways.

Get better at holding your camera, er, phone.

Most people hold their cameraphone the wrong way when it comes to taking photos. An extended arm two feet in front of you means your hand is probably shaking. If you’re shooting in low light, the camera compensates by giving you a longer shutter speed, which means – ta da – that your shot is blurry (see above). Become a human tripod and your photos will be sharper.

How to shoot a baby – the problems (and the solutions).

Want to earn your gold star in photography?

Learn to take a great snapshot of a baby.

Babies are tricky. They move. They cry. They don’t care that you’re trying to take the photo. Overcome these common problems and your baby photos will look a whole lot better. Gold star – for you.

Problem	Solution(s)
Baby moves – making the photo blurry	·      This will happen all the time ·      Make sure you have enough light ·      Increase your shutter speed ·      Too dark? Increase your ISO ·      Still too dark? Try a bigger aperture (smaller number) ·      Cheat: Take the picture when the baby is sleeping and she doesn’t move so much (awwww)
Baby moves – can’t autofocus	·      Focus on an “area” and wait for the baby to enter that area ·      Use your camera’s advanced autofocus features for moving objects (some cameras only) ·      Cheat: Take a deliberately out of focus picture for an artistic look
Baby has drool/tomato sauce/something on its face	·      Look at the baby before you lift the camera ·      Keep handy wipes around for quick touch ups ·      Learn to use the right tools in Photoshop or Lightroom ·      Cheat: Tell everyone you meant to do that – it’s cute!
Baby is sad/mad/Hulk-like	·      Put the camera down and play with the baby ·      Get your shot ready and distract the baby with sound, light, etc. ·      Cheat: angry baby shots look cool and can be used to blackmail the baby when he’s a teenager
Light is too harsh	·      Using flash? Turn off flash ·      Outside? Turn baby out of the sun or get into the shade away from the sun
Baby looks green	·      Check your “white balance” ·      Match white balance for the kind of light you’re using
Baby looks small	·      Get closer (before you zoom in) ·      Zoom in – but turn off the “digital zoom,” you can do the same thing in software