We spent last weekend in the biggest little city, seeing friends, my son and daughter-in-law,and those two precious grand babes! My daughter-in-law had the great idea to have me take some pictures of the family at a nearby park that has an old historic one room schoolhouse. That old schoolhouse turned out to be a perfect backdrop for our photo shoot.
Now, I do not claim to be any sort of expert on photographing people, but I think I do okay with posed shots. I have a Mac, and I use iPhoto to edit my pictures sometimes, or I use PicMonkey, which is a very easy to use free photo editing site.
Simple backgrounds are always best, I think. (see this simple stained door?)
If the backgound is too busy, it seems to take away from the main focus of the picture. The simple lines of the old doors on the schoolhouse and the white siding make for a perfect, calm backdrop, and my makes my subjects really stand out.
If I am not thrilled witht the backdrop, I can always crop the photo in really tight, and just get the subject, with virtually no bacground showing.
Speaking of cropping, the first thing I do with posed-people-pictures is crop them. I typically crop them to be 8 by 10 constraints, so if I want to get them printed (I always use Walgreens, because I can send them online and they are done in an hour, but you can use a home printer, or whatever...) they will fit nicely in a frame.
Once I crop the photo, I usually sharpen it up. Then, sometimes I change the finish. Here is the same photo from up top there, but in an antique finish.
I am putting this version in my new home office. (oh yes! I am in the midst of creating a wonderful space to work on all of my crafty-computer-y things...my bliss.)
Anyway.
Back to what I was talking about...photographing posed people.
Sometimes in a group shot, one person stands out, and you can crop the photo to now be a single....
How can you not love that face?! (Ooooh! I just wanna hug the stuffins out of him!)
Black and white is another nice way to go. I have ony black and white photos in my cubical at work, and I love the artsy look of them.
Lastly, I take a ton of photos when I am trying to capture something. More is more in this case. The beauty of digital cameras is that you can take 300 pictures, and while you may only end up with five good shots, you aren't out a dime. Just delete the bad shots and move on.
So, there you have it. Photo tips from someone that isn't a pro, but still manages to snag a few great shots.
Great ideas! I'm always snapping pics of my granddaughter, but I have yet to make one of those cute photo books online.. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Http:ohtheplaceswesee.com
Posted by: Rusha | February 19, 2013 at 03:55 AM
Ive only made one photo book, a long time ago. They are actually pretty easy to do.....just round up your photos (in chronological order if they span a length of time) and put them in. Some cute stories about the grands would be a darling addition, as well as some wonderful quotations, maybe. Hmmmm, youve got me thinking i might need to do a book!
Posted by: Tracey Buxton | February 19, 2013 at 06:52 AM
I'm always so impressed with your grandbaby photos, Tracey! The ones with them all in one bed at Christmas were my favorite-so fun! My first (YAY!) grandchild is on his/her way and I can't wait to get clicking!
Posted by: Bettsi | February 19, 2013 at 02:58 PM
Thanks for all the great tips. I have always admired your photography (remembering back to the days when someone uh...borrowed your camera out of your car) but seriously Tracey all of your grandbabies are so cute I don't think there could ever not be a great picture of any of them. Also agree with the above...the pic you took of all your grandbabies in the bed at Christmas was award worthy!!! Jeni
Posted by: Jeni | February 19, 2013 at 07:27 PM
Oh, these pictures just melt my heart. Thanks for sharing them!
Posted by: Gayla | February 24, 2013 at 05:44 PM