People photography is what cameras were made for. I know that there are photographers out there who only shoot landscapes but most folks love to photograph people. Here are a few simple tips to make better photos. First some categories:

1.  Kids – Usually, there’s no problem documenting any child, anywhere and anytime. Even if they are shy, wait a few minutes and the shy child will be begging you to take another picture. Kids have the, “watch me,” gene. Watch me do this, watch me do that. So, capturing them is hardly ever a problem. Just have a tiny bit of patience and they will come around.

2.  Teenagers – Again with a little patience and smarts you can wear down the most petulant teen. Talk to them and tell them what you are trying to do. Sometimes they are just looking for a sympathetic ear and then you can snap away. So, be smart, wait and listen and you will probably be rewarded.

3.  Adults – These folks still have the, “watch me gene,” going strong. It might be disguised so you need to give them a good reason for the shoot. Like, “It’s for the birthday boy,” etc. Then they probably grumble a bit and then you can’t stop them.

4.  Adults – Shy. This is a bad category for photographers. This consists of adult women who will hunt you down and rip your SD card right out of your camera if you dare to take even one photo of them. This category also consists of those with a sixth sense right before you trip the shutter they will turn or hide their face. You cannot win with this group. Offer money, threaten them or even offer PhotoShop work, nothing will sway their will. Move on!

5.  Adults – Protestors. This is a group of people that you can work to move into the goood category. They can be outsmarted by waiting them out just like small children, they will forget about you and start acting normally. Don’t believe me? Check out any reality show on television. They forget about the cameras and start doing crazy, real-life wacky things. Use this to your advantage and you will start getting great images.

Now a few tips:

1.  Look for soft and complimentary lighting. Nothing makes a person madder than an unflattering photo. Ambient lighting or Open shade makes the best portrait lights. Look under an overhang or in front of a window.

2.  Try to use a shallow depth of field. On a DSLR use the smallest number on your lens possible (2.8 – 4.5). This will cause your viewers eyes to stay on your subject and not the background.

3.  Focus on the nearest eye. Yes it does matter. We are subconsciously looking at the eyes of a person (the window of the soul). So, focus on the nearest one to your lens and you will grab and keep the attention of your viewer.

4.  Lastly, concentrate on your background. Aunt Mabel will not look kindly on a tree branch sprouting from the back of her head like a moose’s antler. After composing your fantastic portrait, look around the border of your viewfinder/LCD before tripping the shutter. Your portraits will be cleaner and less cluttered by just being aware of the entire frame and not just the subject.

Educate yourself and your people photography will be taken to the next level.

One of the main digital photography tips that elude most photographers is the direction of light.

Where is the light coming from and how will it affect my subject?

This is a question that most photographers never even consider. Light always has a direction. Sometimes you have to study the image very closely, but there will always be a direction to the light.

Consider the photo above.

I took this a few years back for a story on this young lady who ran a youth program in the inner city. There were great bold colors in her office space and it was near the Day of the Dead celebration.

Look closely and identify where the light is coming from.  Do you see it?

The light is coming from the right side of the photo (actually from a large window just out of view). It is lighting the left side of our subject’s face (we call this camera right).

I have placed her head in the upper right convergence areas of the right vertical line and the upper horizontal line and the head of the skeleton is in the upper left area of convergence. The viewer’s eyes are lead to the two heads.

The quality of the light is soft and diffused. This type of lighting is called open shade or ambient. Light that isn’t directly hitting the subject can be referred to this way. Ambient lighting is very complimentary for photographing people, but remember it has a direction to it.

So, we have ambient light that is lighting our subject from the side. We have a subject that is resting in one of our main areas of convergence and we have a nice moment for our subject.

Practice identifying the direction of light as much as possible.

It will help you as you progress as a photographer, so your photographs will begin to be crafted with a purpose, not just random snapshots.

I will be posting more digital photography tips about seeing light soon. Enjoy!

Digital photography tip on lighting and our angle or point of view.

This entry talks about light and how often we don’t really recognize it and how our angle or point of view makes all the difference.

In the first image we have a typical crib in a nursery. There’s a window that is on the left side with non-direct light coming into the room.

In the second photo we have our baby. Most people are happy with this type of an image. We can see the baby in the photo and that is about all. The angle is from a normal adults view, high above and looking down on the baby.

But in our last image, we have an image that will last.

Why?

Because it combines composition (I’ve placed the baby’s face in the upper area of convergence), great lighting (the window provides  soft even lighting) and a nice moment as the baby smiles.

My angle or point of view helps to draw the viewer into the image by shooting through the slats of the crib to bring some visual complexity into the photo, too.

Instead of a boring image of a baby lying in their crib, we have a memorable photo of a really cute baby seen from their point of view of the world. The slats do give more complexity to the photo, too.

To review:

Window light where the light is not directly shining on the subject is normally very soft and beautiful.

The angle/point of view of our photo is highly important to give a different perspective to your photographs.

Hope you enjoyed another digital photography tip!

Have a great day.