For the past few years, I have only taken pictures of my kids with my iphone. I have some decent ones and I probably took thousands of pictures, but no really good ones. I had a really old Canon power shot that took really bad pics - worse than my phone - so I just didn't use it. My aunt and uncle gave me a new Nikon point and shoot and I've been having lots of fun with it! And also I saved up for several months and finally ordered a Nikon d3200. I'm hoping to get it this week or next and I can't wait to practice! Luckily I have a very cute, non moving baby to practice on ;)
Here's my favorite picture from our photo shoot today....
Any tips from my photographer friends out there?
11 comments:
Beautiful! My only tip is to stand with your back to an open window with lots of light coming in!
Oooh! You are going to love your new camera! My advice is to READ THE MANUAL and a basic photography book so that you can get out of auto mode and into aperture priority mode.
I actually have the D3200, so you can email me if you've got specific questions on that one!
Back-lighting is good, as Kaitlin suggested. But if you use the point metering option on your Nikon, you can also get beautifully front-lit pictures as well. Outdoors is always going to give nicer light than indoors, and never, ever, ever use the built-in flash!!!
That should say front lighting is good, but with point metering you can get beautifully back-lit photos. I switched the names. :-) I just woke up...
Just take lots of photos and look up any thing you want to understand through youtube (lots of instructional videos there). Sarah is just beautiful!
teach me what you learn! I just point and shoot with my canon. LOL
I've been reading lots of books! But I think I actually have to see it and experience it to really get it!
First advice! NEVER use the built in flash. Use natural light, get a real flash or real lighting.
Next advice...have fun!
I am a Canon girl...
It's easy to take great pics when you have such adorable subjects.
Best thing I've learned in recent months - focus on the eyes. And check your manual for how to focus, or google it. I thought I had been focusing for years when, in fact, I had been doing it all wrong.
You have GREAT natural lighting in that shot! Love it!
I have almost the identical camera (the Nikon d3000) but quickly discovered that a small investment in a 35mm lens and an external flash was well worth the money, especially for indoor, portrait, low-light shots. I'm currently taking an online photography course so I'll share a few tips I've learned from there:
1) As others have said, take advantage of whatever natural light you can. Avoid direct sunlight. I avoid my flash at all costs...even in low light. I just adjust my manual settings and hold real still. If you must you use flash, consider a diffuser or if you wanna get real wild and crazy, consider an external flash that you can use to bounce light off a wall or ceiling.
2) Composition! Google "Rule of Thirds". Avoid cropping out body parts (hands, fingers, legs, feet) whenever possible. Get physically low...especially with kids. Lay down on the ground if you have to and shoot them at eye-level or below rather than down at them.
3) Don't necessarily have your kids look at the camera. My kids don't know how to NOT make cheesy grins. And they hate being interrupted to look my way. The best smiles are the natural, spontaneous ones. Take advantage of the natural setting and action shots throughout the day. Be an photographic observer of their play, not an intruder.
4) Make the investment and learn the manual settings. It's really not hard. I pretty much taught myself using http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/category/basic-photography
http://www.michaelthementor.com
http://digital-photography-school.com
http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/snapshops-tulsa-photography-workshop/
5) Have fun! For every 100 shots you take you may only want to keep one. But keep shooting. The more you take, the more you learn. And keep your camera handy and easily accesible. Mine is in the kitchen away from food and from little hands but within quick and easy reach when I need it.
I could go on and on but I'll stop! I love love love photography!
Awesome!!!! Thank you so much!! Keep going!
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