Another family holiday is behind us and you may have one regret: Those pictures suck! As if it were not hard enough to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time, whatever other pictures you have are blurry, out-of-focus, or poorly composed.
So, before the next family holiday rolls by, you might want to BRUSH up on your photography skills with these pointers we are about to share with you.
First, some preparation tips:
Know how to use your camera and plan ahead.
You need to find the best travel camera that takes amazing landscapes and travel scenes but is also great at capturing those fast-moving and energetic children. Using a mobile phone with good megapixels is a great option. You may even have an old one stored away somewhere in your home that you could use solely for the purpose of taking photos, or you could click here to get some further inspiration as to how you might be able to give this old phone another lease of life.
If you don’t have a fancy smartphone camera like the Huawei P30 Pro, you can use a good third-party camera app with advanced features. This is good for editing purposes when you like to make colours pop out or highlight certain sections from your images.
Whatever you decide to use, the important thing is you know how to use it to your advantage. Get to know your device, study the manual, or watch YouTube videos to learn the basics.
Think ahead about what activities you will be doing, and take with you some additional gear like your favourite lens, charging cords, spare batteries, a camera bag or strap, or a tripod.
Now, how do you take those beautiful shots?
Be Alert and Snap Away
You don’t have to take perfect photographs. You just need to freeze those rare and unguarded moments with your camera. So always be ready by keeping it in an easy to reach a place where you can take a photo quickly. One tip is to wear your camera with an over the shoulder strap.
Most of the time, kids would run, move around, and pose without being told. They’re naturally active and camera-ready! Be watchful of these precious moments for that perfect candid shot.
Step away from the centre, please
Don’t put your subject right in the middle of your photograph. This is the rule of the thirds principle. The best place to put your point of interest–like your child’s eyes, is at the points where the grid lines intersect.
If your camera has a built-in rule of thirds lines, the better! Otherwise, make it a habit to put your subjects away from the centre of the frame.
Play with your shots
If you’re holding the camera, might as well experiment with different shots! By that we mean you can go for long, medium, and close images.
Close-up shots evoke emotions, while long shots provide scale while displaying the beauty of the scenery. (ie: Your two-year-old looks tiny against those Coliseum columns!)
Have you tried zooming in to highlight the innocence of your child’s face? DLSRs and some smartphones would allow you to zoom in seamlessly, without causing blurriness. Others might affect your photo’s quality. In this case, just get closer to your subject and be charmed with the little details you capture.
Shoot sharp images even with moving subjects
We’ve mentioned it before and we’ll say it again: Kids will always move around. This means you might be needing a higher shutter speed if you want to snap away while they are in motion. The trick? Switch to “sports mode.” Unlike the “auto mode,” this setting can capture every second of motion without sacrificing the sharpness of your images.
Timing is everything
Kids will more likely cooperate with you if it’s done while they’re in the middle of activity – not before or after, for a few simple reasons. When they’re about to start an activity, they’re too excited; and after the fun, they’re too exhausted!
Lower your field of vision
Shoot some photos from your child’s point of view to get less distortion. (Distortion happens when you make a body part look abnormally large or small). How to do this? Just simply align the camera with your child’s height or at the level of his face.
Surprise them!
You would normally hear people “say cheese” for a perfect smile on a group photo. This time around, change the mechanics and say something silly that they would burst into a big smile or even laughter. Or why not count “one to three” but click the shutter before “three?” This usually captures the most candid shots.
Lastly, make sure you’re in the photos – at least in one of them.
Here are some ideas on how to #GetInTheFrame:
- Ask a stranger to take your photo
- Set up your phone on something level and hit the timer
- Take a selfie
- Use a tripod and a timer or remote
With these tips, we hope that you’ll get better results with your photography on the next family holiday!
