How to take better holiday snaps

Holidays are over all too soon leaving only memories. Although the photographs capture some of the scenes and people present, their impact fades over time. Friends and family show little interest when shown your holiday photographs. This is a signal that it time to find a way to get better holiday photographs. To make the most of your holiday snaps, follow a few simple rules.

The most important rule for great photography is to carry a camera with you at all times! Opportunities for pictures occur when least expected. A good cell-phone camera is extremely mobile and can do the job. Keep the SLR for photo shoots of the landscape and for great portraits of your girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse and the children. Many cell phone cameras have a 5 mega pixel (some even have a 10 mega pixel) resolution that is good enough to produce excellent results for most purposes.

Look after your camera and remember to protect it from sand and sea water at all times! The last thing you want is to lose the camera and your precious pictures.

Ensure that you have enough memory (or film) to take as many pictures as you want, and don't forget to charge the batteries. An extra memory card may be the answer.

Before embarking on your journey take some time to get to know your camera. Get to know what it can do and its limitations. Many cameras have special settings for landscapes, portraits, close-ups and night scenes. These can help produce great results.

A common holiday-maker mistake is to try to capture people and landscapes in one shot - for instance the spouse or kids posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Both lose out! Although it tells you that "I was there," the people are way to small and the landmark is not really in focus. A good rule of thumb is that people photos should focus on people. Make the person the primary object, and take the photograph from a fairly close range. The pyramids make a great backdrop, but don't try to do both. Spontaneous people pictures are often the most memorable. Children caught at play, people admiring an unusual scene and people celebrating. If you have a zoom option, then keep your distance and zoom in on unsuspecting subjects and capture the moment!

While shooting everything that presents itself to you, pay some attention to the composition of the picture. Avoid symmetry and use the rule of thirds by placing the horizon on the upper or lower third of the frame. Placing interesting objects or people on the vertical thirds helps to produce interesting results. When photographing people remember that the people should almost fill the frame. People have a role in landscapes to provide perspective.

Children can be photographed in almost any lighting conditions, but older people benefit from indirect lighting. Back lighting only works if you adjust the exposure to suit the portrait or use a fill-in flash.

Holidays are often spent in beautiful and sometimes spectacular surroundings. Look through the camera to find interesting shots. Experiment with different angles. If your friends or family are with you let them explore the scene and capture them as part of the shot. A person near a pyramid provides a sense of perspective. The time of day can make a huge difference to the results. Look at the lighting, and try to avoid huge contrasts. Our eyes adjust easily from strong sunshine to a dark shadow. Cameras don't manage these that well. Your camera will respond differently to the same scene at different times of day.

Events and celebrations benefit from lots of photographs. Too many is better than too few. More is more! Most modern digital cameras perform well in at night with or without a flash.

Back at home, touch-up your pictures by using good photo editing software. Remove the red-eye from the people's faces and enhance the picture using the automatic or manual adjustments features in the software. Crop photos to focus on an interesting detail. Great holiday shots make calendars, key-holders or table mats. Print some enlargements and laminate them for stunning results!

Photography: tips for natural looking portraits

Portrait photography is an art that requires a number of skills. The photographer has to pay attention to the lighting and must be able to put the subject at ease. Portrait photography often takes place in the controlled environment of a studio. Yet some of the greatest and most natural looking portraits are achieved when the subject is photographed in a more natural setting.

Capturing a world leader addressing an audience, an actor playing a role or a pianist at the keyboard provide some of the most powerful and natural looking portraits.

A studio generally gives the photographer a choice of backgrounds and lighting options. Many photographers do not have access to this luxury and have to make do with more natural settings for their portrait photography. Selecting an appropriate background or setting may be the first step towards giving the portrait a natural look and feel. Photographing an artist in a art studio defines the artist in the resulting portrait. Capturing the picture while the artist is at work will produce the most telling results.

Professional models are usually quite comfortable posing in front of the camera, but other subjects do not feel the same way. They tend to feel and look quite self conscious when posing for a picture. It is up to the photographer to engage the subject in conversation in a way that will make her feel relaxed and at home. Young children make excellent subjects for portrait photography. They respond to objects such as balloons and to rewards of sweets at the end of the shoot. A photographer that has a little of the comedian inside may be able to break the ice more easily, but taking an interest in the subject and listening to what they have to say could produce the right atmosphere.

A good portrait can be achieved either outdoors or indoors. Outdoor photography means relinquishing some control of the lighting, but natural lighting and shade can be very effective in producing good results. Using a medium telephoto lens and blurring the background by using a wide aperture is very effective way to create an effective portrait. Couple this with a little back lighting produces a soft effect.

Children can be photographed under almost any lighting conditions. For adults, softer lighting options are more flattering. A diffuser should be used to break up the light. Alternatively, bounce the flash against a white ceiling or screen to produce produce a soft and balanced effect.

The effective use of light is one of the keys to produce natural looking results. A light or flash should never be pointed directly into the subject's face. A diffused light slightly to the one side is effective, but it may be necessary to provide additional fill-in light and possibly even some back lighting. Good use of lighting will help to avoid flat portraits with dark shadows on the face. Harsh shadows from a flash or a direct light are always to be avoided.

Using a medium telephoto lens is generally my preferred option. It allows for a close-up without over-emphasising the features. It is also simpler for a subject to feel relaxed and at home when the photographer is at a greater distance.

When the photographer devotes some time to engage with the subject can help to achieve a more relaxed and natural looking portrait. This coupled with the right lighting should produce good results.

Photography: how to take beautiful maternity portraits

The glowing beauty of a pregnant woman is a rare and wonderful sight. Most doctors confirm that the most wonderful part of their work is delivering a new baby, and an expectant mother has that air of expectancy and serenity surrounding her.

A typical woman experiences a pregnancy only a few times in her life, and it is usually during the first pregnancy that the opportunities for taking beautiful maternity portraits abound. When there are already other children, the opportunities somehow diminish! Seize the moment and capture this wonderful event while it is taking place. Taking maternity portraits is a great pleasure for the photographer and the portraits will be treasured forever.

The best maternity portraits can be shot with the mother either nude or wearing a light see through night dress. Pictures may be repeated at various times through the pregnancy documenting the growth of the baby and the ever changing curves of the woman's body.

Lighting is important in creating the right effect. Evening or night shots by candle-light without a flash are very effective. A single flash bounced off a white ceiling or wall or a diffused reflected light will produce the desired soft effect. Back lighting with a little fill in light to the front is very effective, highlighting the pregnant curves. Avoid harsh direct lighting as this hardens the picture.

Photographing in colour using pastel shades with some drapes as a background can be very effective. Black and white or sepia adds a very romantic feel to the pictures.

Pay some attention to the composition of the picture. Arrange furniture and other items in the background to suggest a feminine bedroom. Try to avoid her standing and facing the camera directly in the centre of the screen. Side views, or with the subject facing slightly towards your right or left are very effective. Leave more space in the frame to the front of the woman than behind her - try to follow the rule of thirds.

Make the subject feel at ease by engaging her in conversation, and complimenting her beauty. All women respond well to compliments and this will help to make her feel more comfortable. She may feel more at ease if she knows that the pictures are to remain private.

Arrange the photos with the subject in advance. She will want to look at her best and have time to prepare. Take a variety of shots from various angles using a variety of lighting conditions.
These beautiful maternity pictures will be yours and hers to treasure for many years into the future.

Daisy

South Africa, scenes, wildlife ...

Improve Your Photography with these Easy Tips

What makes a great photograph into a "work of art" and a snapshot into nothing more than a memory?

The secret is generally in the photographer's knowledge. Knowledge and understanding of composition and light. A feel for colour and choice of subject and shooting scenes that pass most of us by.

A great photograph is the result of a photographer's vision - the ability to see. Being able to visualise what will be captured through the lens and looking for different angles and fresh views.

Technical aspects help. Creative use of the F stops, shutter speeds and exposure all contribute towards the effectiveness of the picture. But with today's range of digital cameras, automatic exposure and auto-focus makes this technical knowledge much less important if not totally redundant.

Using a high-end cell phone today is enough to produce great photographs.

These elements combine to make for a photograph that other people want to see.

The rules of photographic composition work very much in the same way as the rules for painting. Look at the great masters of the romantic, classical, impressionistic and modern eras in painting. What rules can you decipher from these?

Breaking the rules is often a way to get attention. An unexpected view of a scene. An object captured from an unusual angle. The rules should be regarded only as guidelines. If a picture breaks all the rules but is effective, then go ahead!

The focus of the picture or the focal point is the first consideration. What is the theme of the picture? Other elements are arranged accordingly. The picture should lead the eye from the focal point through the other features of the picture.

The rule of thirds is one most often applied. This involves dividing the scene into thirds horizontally and vertically. The line of the horizon may lie along the bottom or top third. An item of interest may be on the left or right third. Placing objects of interest at or near the intersections of the horizontal and vertical thirds works well in drawing attention to them and making them look interesting. Photograph the sun setting over the sea. Place the horizon on the bottom third with the sun a third from the left or the right. It is effective and works.

Simplicity is often regarded as key. The focal point has all the attention and there are few distractions. Using the F stops effectively can help to achieve this. A small F stop will keep the focal point in focus - the background appears fuzzy and blurred.

Movement can be depicted in a number of ways. Horizontal lines are used to depict tranquil peaceful scenes. Diagonal lines provide a more dynamic look creating a sense of movement. A moving object before a static background is very effective. Using a slow shutter speed can help achieve this. The moving object appears blurred showing a "tail". A crisp moving object with a blurred background is achieved by panning. Both are effective.

The inclusion of people in a picture helps to create the final effect and to provide perspective. The inclusion of human figures next to the Great Pyramids needs at least one person to give an indication of their size and grandeur. The same is true of a landscape or natural scene.

A common tourist error is to photograph the girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse in front of the Eiffel Tower. This does no justice to either. Of course these pictures provide the "I was there" view, but that is where their value ends. A person or people next to the Eiffel Tower is incidental - providing perspective. Photograph your lover separately!

You can use interesting backgrounds for portraits. These are best achieved if you can show some relationship between the two. A child viewing a monkey at the zoo - especially of the monkey is looking back. An artist at an easel with paintbrush in hand. But remember where the focal point lies. Is it the person or the scene? Never try to achieve both in the same picture. Quite effective is a portrait with a blurred sea-scape as the background.

An important rule is to avoid symmetry and even numbers. Odd numbers are always more interesting! This is known as the rule of odds. Odd numbers avoid symmetry which makes for a more interesting composition. Photographing a couple is different. A man and a woman are very different so there is no risk of symmetry.

A technique that helps to create a sense of interest is that of a line meandering and disappearing into the distance. A long road or pathway curving and disappearing behind a hill. A river disappearing into the distance. These help to create a sense of mystery.

Use back-lighting to produce soft photos of people, but make sure to adjust the exposure to the subject rather than the background. If using lighting remember that a diffuser softens the effect. Bounce the flash off a white wall or ceiling. Strong lighting from the front tends to flatten a face and may produce harsh shadows.

With today's digital photography, composition can be improved after the event using a photo editing package. Cropping can be used to achieve the rule of thirds. Additional light may be added, contrast, brightness and colour saturation can be changed. You can even blur (or remove) the background.

As a photographer with a digital camera you are free to shoot many shots to get the one you want. Try shooting from all angles. Experiment with exposure and light.

Perhaps the key is the same as for all visual arts. Learn to see. Look at scenes in different ways. Think photographically.

All photographs on this page by Barry Marcus