Birthday Party Photo Tips

How many birthday party pictures have you seen that are kept just because they are of someone's birthday, not because it is inherently a terrific photograph?

When was the last time you heard anyone exclaim: THIS IS REALLY A GREAT BIRTHDAY PHOTO? Can you say NEVER?

And yet, birthday parties are happening ALL THE TIME. You would think that "practice makes perfect," wouldnt you; but in this case... uh-uh, it apparently doesnt.

So, here we are, with another important birthday party looming on the horizon and not knowing how to improve on past how hum photographs. NOT THIS TIME! Follow the following 11 tips and you will desire to start getting used to being asked to photograph OTHER PEOPLES birthday parties.


Cant-Miss Birthday Party Photo Tips
1) Prepare For the Party
Abraham Lincoln once remarked that if you are going to cut down a tree, spend 90% of your time sharpening the axe. Preparation makes any activity go better. And for birthday parties, you do not want to have to wait until next year to make up for lack of preparation, do you?
So, what should you prepare for?

KNOW THE LOCATION. Whether the party takes place in a home, party room, or amusement park; realize that each location has its own photographic "blueprint." Based on the locations blueprint, prepare beforehand for the correct digital camera settings for white balance, metering mode, and exposure compensation.


2) Know The Obstacles
What is going to be in your way at the birthday party (excluding your drunken brother-in-law)? Are there any fixed columns, hanging plants or lights that desire to be planned around? For example, if there is a fixed object right where the optimal photos should be taken from, consider setting up the main table someplace else. Its much easier to figure this out before the event than getting to the party and realizing that you need to move the room a bit to the left.

3) The Main Table
If using rectangular tables, take the birthday party pictures FACING THE WIDE END OF THE RECTANGLE. When doing this, use the wide angle setting on your camera. If you shoot any birthday photos from the narrow end, use as massive an F-stop number as possible (optimally F-22 or higher). However, even if you do, some of the guests will possibly still be out of focus (hence, the "shoot from the wide end" suggestion).

4) Flash Decisions
Dont automatically assume you should use the cameras flash all the time. If the camera has a hot shoe (this and many other useful terms are defined at http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/compare-digital-camera-features.html ). If it does, consider using a bounce flash or a diffuser.
As a real eye-opener, find out how high your ISO setting can go and see if the resulting photos are not too noisy (digital noise = film grain)


5) Better Safe than Sorry
Take multiple shots of the critical photographs. Consider flash/no flash; different metering modes, and different F-stops. Also, regardless of what you say or do, folks will blink. And, by the way, don't count on spotting mini problems on the tiny camera LCD screen (even on full magnification).

6) The Background
What does the background look like? If it's neutral - use it. If it's ugly, minimize your depth of field (smallest possible F-stop) to blur the background. If you do not write this one down, I can guarantee that you wont remember it for more than 10 seconds once you start taking photos.

7) The LCD Display
AVOID USING THE DISPLAY TO CHECK ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU CUT OFF ANYONE'S HEAD. LCD displays should NOT be used to confirm contrast, color, exposure, or any other critical factors. This is why the computer is needed to evaluate test shots prior to the party. If you are very experienced, you can tell certain things from the histogram, but to be safe - take test shots and examine the results on a computer (or, ideally a printer) way before the actual date of the party.

8) Equipment
Have fully-charged batteries, memory cards, chargers, external flash, lens accessories, and tripod ready.

9) Construct a Birthday Party Pictures List
Jot down MUST HAVE pictures, as well as the ones you would like to capture, if possible. And, whats the good of putting together a list unless you remember to take it to the party AND TO REFER TO IT.

10) Candids
If you are putting together a list, may I suggest including Candids on it. Very often the best birthday party photos will be candids. Since most birthday photos are usually posed, candids take on a top uniqueness.
Candid birthday party photos of sleeping children should always be a top priority. Why? On a purely emotional note, they are always cute, will typically produce a smile for the viewer, and sometimes even get a laugh.


11) Surplus Time
If it's your child's birthday party, they will never look better than they do JUST BEFORE THE PARTY STARTS. If possible, locate a spot where natural light is entering a window and POSE them and the cake for some big smiling photos. (The younger the child, the less chance for smiles, so don't go crazy.)
And, by the way, there will be plenty of opportunity later to take some birthday party pictures with cake and ice cream dribbling out of their mouth.

Tips for Purchasing a Digital Camera Lens

Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It's not just your camera. People spend thousands of dollars on a good camera and neglect the lens.
Change that around! Make sure you buy a good camera lens when purchasing a camera. Buy a good camera as well, but don't neglect a good camera lens.
Why? Your camera is just the 'holder' for the photograph. The lens is what your camera sees all your shots through. A good lens is essential to clear and sharp photos.
With most compact digital cameras, you can't change the lens. So in that case, don't just buy a good camera, ensure it also has a good lens.

Avoid a plastic digital camera lens because it doesn't have the clarity of a glass lens.
What model of lens?Stick with camera lenses from well known manufacturers like Nikon, Canon and Pentax. Ensure you purchase a lens that works with your camera too. A Nikon camera lens usually won't work well with a Canon camera.
There are specialty lens manufacturers like Carl Zeiss, Leica and Leupold. If you're a beginner, don't worry about these lenses until you are more advanced as they come with very high prices and it's hard to justify the price for the small increase in quality.

Types of Camera Lens
The most common lenses are : Wide Angle, Normal and Telephoto. The type of lens is determined by the Focal Length of the lens. See below.
A Zoom Lens is simply a lens that can change Focal Length from a Wide Angle to a Telephoto (or somewhere inbetween).
There are a number of things to look for when purchasing a camera lens.
Lens Focal Length
The Focal Length of a lens determines the amount of magnification and angle of vuew the lens can see. The Focal Length is measured in mm. It's the Focal Length that determines if the lens is a:
Wide Angle; small magnification, wide angle of view. 20mm to 35mm
Traditional, or Normal; 50mm
Telephoto; high magnification, narrow angle of view; 105mm to 300mm.
Zoom; A Zoom lens can change it's focal length to zoom in. A Zoom lens might have a Focal Length of between 50mm and 150mm.

Some lenses are interchangeable between film cameras and digital cameras, but you need to be aware that the effective focal length CHANGES between film and digital. The focal lengths I describe above are for FILM cameras and need to be multiplied by 1.6 to get the effective focal length on a digital camera. So using a film 35mm lens on a digital camera has an effective focal length of 56mm.

What does this mean for you? It means that you won't get as wide angle on a digital camera as you would on a film camera using the same lens. A 35mm lens which gives a medium wide angle on a film camera acts as a traditional lens on a digital camera
This is a complex subject, so I can't go into too much detail here. If you need more help, the best person to speak to would be your local camera store's resident expert.

Lens Speed
The 'speed' of a digital camera lens also defines a lens. The speed is determined in f-stops and is similar to the f-stop aperture setting on your camera. Faster lenses are more expensive and usually heavier.

Focusing Distance
This is the minimum distance from the camera lens that a subject must be to be in focus. Don't worry about getting a camera with a close focusing distance. Concentrate on a telephoto instead.

More Advanced Features
More expensive lenses have more advanced features.
Vibration Reduction. A feature called 'vibration reduction' keeps images sharper when shooting in low light. They help to counter any vibration in the camera. Try to find a digital camera lens with this feature.

USM
USM stands for Ultrasonic Motor. This feature of Canon lenses gives you a high speed auto focus but the main benefit is the 'motor' is almost silent, so you don't disturb people around you when your camera is focussing.

Filter Thread.
When purchasing a half-decent lens, it should have a filter thread. This is a thread that allows you to screw on a filter (such as a polariser) to help when photographing difficult situations. Even if you don't need filters right now. it's handy to purchase a lens with a thread so you can add a filter later.
You get what you pay for
Generally the more expensive the lens, the better it is. More expensive lenses usually have a higher number of glass elements in the lens, which also makes them heavier.

Final Notes
While it is important to choose good quality camera lens, for beginners it isn't as important as good composition. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you can only take a great picture with an expensive top-of-the-line lens. A badly composed picture won't look great with a great camera lens.
I don't mean to discount the importance of a good quality lens. A good rule is to only add to your lens collection only when you have a specific need for a particular digital camera lens.
Do your research and your homework first, and find the lens that suits both you and your camera.

Potrait Photography

The most important rule to remember is that it is a portrait, not necessarily of just the head, but the person, or group is the focal part of the picture, so it is important to take the photograph without any extraneous clutter. Because you will always be dealing with people you have to maintain control, not as a tyrant, but you have to guide your subjects.
Therefore a certain degree of self-confidence is necessary. If you are taking a formal portrait of a group of children it is necessary for you as the photographer to ensure that none of the children are making faces.
When you have signed up a person for a photographic portrait take a few extra shots, and offer them as wallet or purse photographs at a smaller fee. You already have the start business capitalise on it, few people can resist the feeling that they have got .something for nothing.. This may seem a waste of time; they can be important additives for your portfolio.

Portrait photography has undergone many changes of style since the introduction of the formal portrait. The modern emphasis is to bring out each individual.s personality. Top glamour models are paid enormous fees to express a distinctive personality, but to bring that aspect forward in your subject is as much about people skills as camera techniques. It is imperative to be able to create a rapport with your subject to bring out the expressions that display their personality. Anyone over the age of two can pose for the camera, with a vacuous expression, but the secret of saleable portrait photography is capturing more than the pose. To be a really good portrait photographer you have to be able to connect with people, if you have not got these skills, then it is better that you concentrate on some other types of photography

If you want to flatter your subject, you'll probably want to minimize their nose. Stand about twelve feet from your subject, so that their nose isn't significantly closer to you than the rest of the face. However, at such a large distance from the camera, if you want to fill the frame with just your subject's face, then you need a high magnification lens. Typical "portrait" lenses are therefore between 90 and 135 millimeters long when you are using a 35mm camera.

Whilst a lot of portrait photography is completed inside a studio, the prospect of natural light can be very flattering. This can be achieved inside by positioning your subject in front of a window. Environmental portraiture presents different challenges. These portraits are best enlarges, otherwise the subjects face gets lost in the background. Slow film and the use of a tripod; help to keep your images sharp. There are a number of professional photographers who argue that a portrait is not shown to it.s best advantage when it is clinically sharp and they use a filter, but with modern digital cameras, you can make an adjustment in Photoshop at a later time. However if you are using a digital camera you will achieve the best results with a camera with a true single reflex lens.

Natural light or umbrella lighting can achieve soft lighting; both of these reduce shadows and show the face in a .better more attractive light.. However there is another type of portrait photography, which is high impact photography. This is a very dramatic type of portrait photography, which uses very strong light with a high contrast of tonal color. This technique is more effective indoors, as it is achieved by controlling light, and their is too much light to control out of doors. Position your subject at different angles to the light, from one side, or from underneath. This lengthens the shadows, rather than muting them, and gives a distinctly dramatic effect. You can achieve this in varying degrees, but if the light source is placed at 90 degrees to the face, it will throw the whole of the opposite side of the face in shadow. If you are using a digital camera you can also manipulate the contrast later to achieve a more dramatic effect.

You can also improve your photographs if you include some motion shots, as well as the traditional stills. Just make sure that you use the correct film speeds.

Printing Your Images

Photos are memories and unfortunately it seems we are losing them at a rate of knots. With the number of digital cameras being sold increasing every year, millions of precious pictures taken with them will never be printed!

There are a few very good reasons to print your photos:
We are a tactile species and enjoy looking at prints in our hands. The family album is definitely not a thing of the past.

Image longevity: Hard drives fail; CDs with images may become corrupted, or the technology may change and you may no longer be able to read them. Computers are not the best way to store data for a long time.

So making prints is a good idea.
Digital Printing OptionsThere are a number of options available for printing your digital images. Including:
Inkjet or Color Laser Printers
Photo Kiosks
Photo Store
Online Printing Services
Prolabs

General Tips for printing

Ensure you don't reduce the size or resolution of your images before printing unless you know your image is too large. Because your computer's screen resolution is relatively small, an image that looks fine on a computer screen after a resolution change may look blurry in print.
If you're not sure if an image is good enough quality to print, look at the file size for a guide. A size of 100 kilobytes is on the small size. 400 kilobytes is better and will normally allow a photo at 8"x10" dimensions.
Before you start each print job, check the printer settings (or preferences) and make sure you have selected the proper print size and type of paper (eg glossy, matte, plain).

To save money, print a few different images on each sheet. The print wizard should give you a chance to select a particular page layout (eg two 5x7's, four 3.5x5's etc).
Keep photo paper stored in a dark and cool place. Don't leave it sitting in the printer tray. Exposure to sunlight and humidity will degrade this paper (as well as the prints you produce with it).

Ink cartridges are expensive, so conserve ink wherever possible. If the image you are printing is, 400K in file size (or has a picture resolution of 300 dpi), and your print size is a small size (5x7 or smaller), select "normal" or "standard" print quality. If you select "high" or "best" or "maximum dpi" the printer will pump out more ink than is necessary without any real improvement in print quality. On the other hand, if you are printing large 8x10s, or if you have zoomed in, choose the top-quality print setting.

Photography Business

Are you interested in starting a photography business, or want to make some extra cash from the wonderful photos you're able to create? Today's tip will help you with just that.
There's a large number of niche industries you can sell your photos to - and they want all kinds of photos from Travel Photos through Baby Photos and even Nude Photos. But how do you create the images they want, and what are the obstacles you need to overcome to sell to these markets? I recently came across a set of articles that answers these questions and more.

The author, Roy Barker, has been a professional photographer for years and the articles contain lots of good information about starting your own photo business and are very well written.

Roy has kindly allowed me to post his articles for you to read, and learn from. Choose the subject (or subjects) that you're interested in below and take a look

How To Start A Travel Photo Business
How To Start A Portrait Photo Business
How To Start A Wedding Photo Business
How To Start A Landscape Photo Business
How To Start A Fine Art Photo Business
How To Start A Nature Photo Business
How To Start A Baby Photo Business
How To Start A Nude Photo Business
You can learn much more by visiting Roy Barker's website.

About Digital Camera Bags

Some compact cameras are small enough to fit in your handbag or pocket, but I still recommend purchasing a camera case. It will save your camera from unnecessary wear and tear.

What do you put in your camera bag? I place my camera, spare batteries and memory cards, a cleaning kit and any extra lenses or filters I want to take on the day into my camera bag.

Don't pack everything in your camera bag every time you go out to take photos. Travel as light as possible. Maybe purchase two camera bags - a large camera case and a smaller camera bag for those 'pack light' times. Clean your camera bag occasionally. Dust can accumulate and could cause problems with your camera and equipment by accumulating on your lens.

Keep your camera away from luggage handlers! Most airlines allow one carry-on PLUS a personal item. A camera bag usually qualifies as your personal item.

What kinds of camera bags are there?
A weatherproof top loading shoulder camera bag is the best and most versatile option, because you can place the camera case on the ground and open the lid to retrieve your equipment.
The size of camera bag you purchase will depend on the size of your digital camera. If you have a larger camera with lots of accessories, consider purchasing a larger camera bag that has wheels. The wheels allow you to take your bag with you easily rather than lugging it around over your shoulder. Some bags with wheels can double as backpacks for when you're hiking.

If your digital camera is a small pocket model, a fanny pack for just your camera will work really well. Keep the pack over your stomach (rather than your lower back) if you're concerned about theft.

Purchasing a camera bag
When purchasing a new camera case, it's important to note the following:
Avoid brand name camera bags. If you have a more expensive camera, try to purchase a camera bag that does not LOOK like a camera bag. Thieves are always on the lookout for bags that look like they contain valuable equipment and nothing says 'valuable inside' more than a camera case with a camera maker's brand plastered all around the outside. Purchase a camera case that's a little less conspicuous - they're usually less expensive as well.

Think of the accessories you'll place in a camera bag before purchasing. Do you have any other equipment (such as a card reader) you might want to take with your camera? What about accessories you are thinking about purchasing in the near future?

A camera bag with moveable padded inserts will be more versatile than one without because you can customize the inside of the camera bag to your particular camera and accessories.
Buy a camera case with lots of pockets and zippered compartments. This way, you can store used digital camera batteries in one pocket and unused batteries in another. The same with your memory cards... I label my pockets with labels like "Batteries - Used" so I can quickly find the correct pocket while out and about.

Watch out for the prices of camera cases (and other accessories) when purchasing a camera case at the same time as your camera. Many retailers lower the price of their cameras to compete, and increase their accessory prices to compensate