10 Tips to Boost Your Photography

TECHmunch Tampa April 21, 2012Presented by Susan Filson

Anyone can learn to make beautiful pictures. All it takesis the desire to learn and a willingness to invest your time. You don’t need to have a fancy, expensive DSLR or a lot of pricey equipment, either. If you know how to use it, you can get great shots using a pocket-sized Point & Shoot camera. I am not a formally trained photographer. But, with the help of some good resources and generous friends who are pros, I have learned a lot about how to make a picture pop. And, I’m still learning every day. My hope is that I can pass some helpful tips on to you!

Making Shortcake taken with a Canon S90

Whipped Butter taken with a Canon S90

Heirloom tomatoes at the Portland Farmers Market taken with a Panasonic GF1

Artichokes at the Portland Farmers Market taken with a Panasonic GF1

Tip # 1: Buttons! Buttons!What the heck are all of those BUTTONS? • Learn how to use your camera. • Read the instruction manual! • Find a good camera- specific “How To” book and read it too. • If you don’t know what your camera can do, you wont know how to make it do what you want! • Practice! Practice! Practice! It’s free!

Tip #2: A picture paints a thousandwords. Tell your story!• What mood do you want your pictures to convey? What feelings do you want them to evoke?• Use tools like Evernote & Pinterest to create an “Inspiration Board”.• Draw on your own memories & experiences when searching for ideas.• Tell your story!

 Always use natural light whenever possible. Play around with light by physically moving around your subject to see how the light plays off it from different angles. Use the “clock formula” to try out different ways to light your subject. Bounce your light to control shadows and create interesting effects.

 Use the number positions on the clock as a guide for setting up the light source for your photos. Practice directing the light flow from various positions, ie 3:00, 9:00 or 12:00. Note how changing the direction of the light flow can completely change the feel of your pictures.

Light coming in from 9:00

Light coming in from 3:00

Light coming in from 10:00 & 11:00

 White plates & bowls make food stand out. Avoid serving vessels with busy patterns. They compete with the food. A fork , spoon or knife placed casually in a shot gives the impression that the food is about to be, or has just been eaten. Layering linens and stacking plates adds texture and dimension.

 Scrapbooking paper Ceramic floor tiles Salvaged wood paneling and doors Fabric remnants Scenic posters mounted on foamboard Antique kitchen gadgets, bottles and jars Old baskets, buckets and fruit crates Human hands

 Homegoods (www.homegoods.com) Target (www.target.com) Shop Sweet Lulu (www.shopsweetlulu.com) Bake it Pretty (www.bakeitpretty.com) Classic Hostess (www.classichostess.com) Craft Stores Thrift Shops Garage Sales Architectural salvage yards

 When staging a shoot, try setting up a whole vignette or “scene” to set a mood & make your food more “real”. Add props like utensils, napkins, drinks & vases. Drips, spills & half-eaten plates make the viewer want to “dig in”. Place ingredients used in your recipe, like fruits or herbs in the shot. Don’t overdo it. Less is sometimes more.

 Keep a little food styling toolbox handy with tools to make your food “picture perfect”. Fill it with things like tweezers, toothpicks, q -tips and a small spray bottle filled with water.

 Compose your shots to bring your viewers’ eyes to what you want them to see first. Understand the Rule of Thirds, but don’t let it “rule” you. A sharp eye is the best composition tool. Cropping is your friend.

 Composition technique used by the pros Grid divides a photo evenly into thirds Place main elements of photo where “power points” are to create more balanced shots and engage the viewer Rules are made to broken

BEFORE AFTER

 Learn to shoot in manual mode. Learn to shoot in manual mode. Learn to shoot in manual mode. Learn to shoot in manual mode. Learn to shoot in manual mode.

PROS CONS RAW files are the  RAW files are huge! They complete (lossless) data can easily gobble up a ton from a camera’s sensor. of space on your memory What you see is what you card and hard drive. get. JPEG files are  Special software is needed partially processed in your to open RAW files on your camera. computer. You can make  RAW files must be endless, non-destructive converted to another file edits and tweaks to an format like JPEG before image. you can use them on your RAW gives you more blog. control.

 Unless you are a seasoned professional, most of your photos will need some kind of editing. There are many post-processing options available, at various price points and levels of difficulty. There are also several free applications on the web. Finding the right one for you and learning how to use it can take your photos from “OW” to “WOW”!

BEFORE AFTER

 Photoshop Photoshop Elements Lightroom Picassa Aviary PicMonkey Picfull Picnik

 Instagram Aviary Filterstorm (can process in RAW format) Photoshop Express Photo Pad Art Studio

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10 Tips to Boost Your Photography

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