Photographing Your New Baby
Everyone is interested in taking better images of their children regardless of the type of camera that they own. Did you know that you can get some great pictures with a point-and-shoot camera just by knowing some special tricks? While point-and-shoot cameras have some limitations, they are very affordable, lightweight, and take some high quality images. Taking great images of your children is all about using the light that’s around you to your advantage, and knowing where to stand. The following are some tips that will help you to get some amazing images.
Indoor Shots
Window light is one of the most gorgeous sources of light. If you are taking indoor shots, place your child by a window to take advantage of this beautifully diffused light. Taking pictures by a window also eliminates the use of the camera flash, which can create a hard unflattering light and can sometimes overexpose the image.
Shade
When taking pictures outside, try to take images of your children in the shade, under some trees or up against the house. When anyone looks towards the sun they can’t help but squint their eyes and look uncomfortable. Direct sunlight also causes harsh shadows that aren’t particularly flattering. Also, when kids stand with their back to the sun, the camera underexposes their face and makes it look too dark. The ideal outdoor lighting situation is in the shade (or anywhere outside when it’s cloudy because the light wonderfully diffuses).
Perspective
You almost always want to hold your camera at the same level as your subject. This is especially true with children. When taking pictures of your child, be sure to kneel down so you’re shooting at their eye level. This prevents the distortion of the image and the people in it. It also helps to maintain a natural perspective. If you change only one thing about how you shoot images of people, make this change.
Step back
Don’t take pictures of people when you are standing physically close to them. Most point-and-shoot lenses are wide angle, so the closer you get to people the more distorted they look. Their nose will look like the country Greenland on a flat map – too big for comfort, and some people will have huge cone heads. Instead, stand back a bit and zoom in. You’ll love the results!
Flash Distance
Always keep in mind that your flash will probably only work well if you’re between five and ten feet from your subject. If you stand further away, the flash won’t light your subject very well because it’s just not powerful enough.
Flash Off
Natural light is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Wide angle lenses on point-and-shoot cameras let in a lot of light to make use of natural light, only the camera doesn’t know it. There is often enough natural light when you’re outside in the shade or when the sun is going down at dusk, however the automatic flash on the camera still fires. Try turning the flash off manually and just holding still for your shot. Lean up against a wall, or set your camera down and put it on timer. Natural light is so beautiful, it’s worth the experimentation. When you are in a low-light situation and the flash isn’t working for you, turn it off and hold still.
Zoom Zoom Baby
Try not to use your digital zoom, and concentrate on just using your optical zoom. Optical zooming uses the camera’s lens to bring the subject closer, whereas digital zooming just crops the image in-camera and you lose image quality. The natural eye sees about a 50mm focal length. Your point-and-shoot camera is probably in the range of 35mm to 70mm. Mix up the focal lengths by using your zoom button. It will add additional interest to your pictures by adding a different perspective.
Climb
It’s time to get some more creative images. It’s time to get to a higher vantage point. Do you know that song that goes ‘Gotta get up to get down! Gotta get up to get down!’? Well, get up there. Stand on a chair or step stool to get a different vantage point. This adds a lot of interest to some shots.
Take your camera with you everywhere. Take it out of your house! Leave it in your car, purse, or diaper bag. How many times do you say, ‘Wow, if I only had my camera with me right now…’? Start shooting and don’t miss those important moments!