How to Take Great Pictures of People - By: IC

In the last few years digital cameras have gone from being expensive and taking bad pictures to inexpensive and taking high quality pictures. Now we just need to learn how to take great pictures.

1. Move close to your subject.

Most people prefer to capture the entire person in the picture. While this may be great for taking a picture of a bridge or skyline, it makes for boring pictures of people. If you move close to your subject you get interesting pictures. Don't be afraid to crop part of the subject out of the picture for addded visual interest.

2. Get lower or higher than your subject.

Depending on the subject, getting lower or higher makes for a much better picture, especially with children. If you're looking down on someone and taking their picture, you're picture will lack depth of field. By getting down on a knee and looking them right in the eye your picture will direct the eye of the viewer toward the subject.

3. Don't be afraid to direct.

People naturally stand near each other for pictures. This is great for family portraits, but people need to be coached, or directed. Imagine yourself as a movie director and you need to get your subjects into interesting poses, near an interesting background, away from telephone poles, etc. Make sure that the car isn't in the background and the dog is pooping on the lawn. That last bit is from personal experience!

4. Use flash outside.

When taking pictures in bright sunlight, the flash on your camera can act as "fill flash". This will brighten the faces and shaded spots of your subject. This is especially important if you're subject is wearing a hat or standing in the shade.

5. Manage the light.

If you know that you're going to be taking pictures, try to schedule the photos to be taken during early morning or late afternoon. These times during the day don't have harsh overhead light that casts dark shadows. Also make sure your subjects are partially in the shade, wearing sunglasses or blocking the sun with a tree, hat, umbrella or building. If you're taking a picture in the sun it should not be directly overhead unless it's a cloudy or overcast day.

Once I finally learned how to take great pictures my friends and family started noticing and commenting on how great they look in the pictures. I didn't have the heart to tell them that a great setup and prepartion makes great pictures, no matter what you normally look like!

About the Author

If you're looking for a great company to buy your digital pictures from, I would recommend Snapfish. They're pictures are crisp and the quality is great.

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