The Scrap Booking Club

In this age of digital cameras, you have probably thought that you can just point and shoot and out will appear a great shot.Hold on, don’t go so fast.The honest truth is, you may have a great digital camera, but if you are clueless in what to do, you will take ugly shots.

Well, I’d love to share with you some great advice in photography to help improve your skills.  These tips are coming from years of experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.  These tips all involve lighting and they are going to be some of the biggest keys to your success in taking your photos.

First tip you will use in regards to lighting.  Now if you are taking shots outdoors during the day, natural sunlight provides some of the best lighting possible.  Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows.  Or it can wash out the details in faces if the sun is overhead.

Overall, what you will want to do is to have the sun behind you when you take most of the shots.  This prevents the harsh shadows that can be caused by the sun.But there will be those times and instances when you want different angles to get those shadows into the shots.

Now that we have tackled the day shots, what if you are taking shots at night? 

The key technique for night photos is actually turning off your flash.Now if it is pictch black, of course you will need it, but if there are some lighting, use it, but make sure the shutter speeds are slower to let the light in.Another thing, make sure you keep a steady hand when you take your shot or you can blur the photos.  Doing these couple of tricks can make a dramatic difference when taking night shots. 

The final piece of advice to use for lighting is using the golden hour to capture great shots.  There is something photographers call the “golden hour” or magic hour, and that time is sunrise and sunset.

It is during this time of day when you will capture great shots that capture more warmer colors.  You will be able to capture that golden lighting you won’t catch any other time of day.

There you have it.Probably the biggest tip in taking beautiful photos is to make use of the natural lighting around you.  Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

Filed under: 01-Articles on July 1st, 2009