How to take better holiday snaps

Tips from Monica Tan of Kappokababy



 How to shoot a sunrise or sunset
"Be prepared and arrive early," Andrew Mace says. "The best colours often last for less than a few minutes and are typically a few minutes before the sun rises over the horizon or a few minutes after the sun sets below it. The light during the course of a sunrise or sunset changes dramatically and very quickly, so take lots of shots and later see which ones you like.

"Don't just shoot into the sky. Find silhouettes or compositional elements that will give your photos a sense of place and make them more unique and compelling."

How to shoot landscapes
"Good landscape photography should contain foreground (most often forgotten), middle ground and long-distance interest," Anders Paaskesen says. "Don't put the horizon in the middle, it's too static. Place it in bottom third (when the sky is the main subject), or in the top third (when the land is the subject).

"When taking landscape shots, try focusing the shot on a specific subject, eg: a house, a winding road, a beach chair, etc. The shot of a farmhouse in a landscape, for example, is more interesting than the landscape on its own. A subject focuses and captures the eye.

"And whenever possible use leading lines, eg: hedge, footpath, creek etc. They help lead the eye from the foreground into the photograph to a point of interest. Lastly, the sky is often at its most dramatic shortly after a shower!"

How to avoid postcard clichés
"When you're in a new place," Marco Dian says, "you don't know it too well and often risk making classic postcard photographs. So don't shoot immediately: walk around the subject, explore it, and find alternate points of view. If you're using a D-SLR you may want to try changing lens, or for digital compact users changing the focal length by zooming in or out. Try to capture the essence of the place you visit and put your emotions in the photos. Remember that photographers make photos, not cameras!"

How to shoot at night
"A tripod is essential," Francisco Diez says. "Because the camera's lens will need to be open for a larger period of time, it's likely pictures will come out blurry if you don't have a tripod. Any camera movement, even minuscule, will blur the picture.

"If you have a more advanced camera, try to set the ISO higher. This is especially important if you don't have a tripod. A higher ISO will give you a higher shutter speed, thus diminishing the possibility of blurred pictures. A higher ISO will also introduce more noise (grainier picture), but newer cameras can still give you great pictures."

While all our photographers stressed the importance of a tripod, we know that for many of you this simply isn't convenient. In this case Peter Pomelov-Zhilinsky suggests experimentation. "Improvise and see if you can put the camera on something," he says. "Most cameras also have the 'auto-portrait' or timer feature that allows for a delay between the time when the button is pressed and when the picture is taken.

"If you absolutely have to hold the camera, it's vital you move as little as possible while the picture is taken. What works for me is this: I hold the camera in front of me, stick elbows to my sides and don't breathe!"

Randy Le'Moine recommends purchasing a remote cable release to help get rid of "camera shake".

"There is a certain time of the day that most photographers refer to as the golden hours," Le'Moine says. "These specific windows of time — sunrise and sunset — present the most opportune lighting situations for scenic shooting of cityscapes or vistas. Early evening usually creates a warm glow in the sky that highlights the bulbous shapes of clouds and illuminates the fine details of skyscrapers."

Paul Dex says, "A flash is not useful if the subject is dark and more than 5m away. In fact contrary to common sense, I'd only use the flash during the day, in order to eliminate the strong shadows that bright sunlight often casts on people's faces."

How to shoot delicious dishes
"Get a seat by the window, when possible," Casey Fox says. "Soft, natural light is best when photographing food. If you must shoot indoors at night, don't use a direct flash. If you absolutely have to, use a bounce flash (reflected light), but be respectful of your surroundings. Flash photography is not appropriate in many restaurants.

"Composition is important. Unless you're doing something unconventional like shooting straight down from above, you rarely want to get the entire plate in the picture. Cutting off a side or two of the dish adds a surprising amount of visual interest. That doesn't mean that you should only photograph the food, however. A well-placed glass or other object in the background can enhance your photo as well. Just remember that props are complementary, they shouldn't steal focus from the food.

"It usually works best to get lower and closer than you will when you actually eat the food. And most importantly no picture is important enough to let your food get cold!"

How to shoot people, and get their permission to do so
"Establishing trust and rapport with a subject is the most important aspect of portrait photography," Eva Chan says. "An image might be exposed perfectly, shot with gear that breaks the bank, but it won't be any use to you if the subject is obviously uncomfortable or hiding their face from your camera.

"When you're shooting travel portraits, you may only have a few moments to approach your subject. Make those moments count. Put your subject at ease with small talk and smile like crazy. Your smile might be your biggest asset especially if you're travelling in a place where you don't speak the local language.

"Permission isn't always spoken, so how do you know when you have it? Chances are if you can make your subject smile or open up to you in conversation, you've got their permission. Make sure you are respectful of their decision, whatever it is.

"As for shooting the picture itself, anyone who's ever been in a long-distance relationship knows this: physical distance is one of the biggest obstacles in relationships. The same principle applies in photography. Zoom lenses are great, but the reactions you get are often much more intimate if you are a few steps closer to your subject. This is especially true for shooting images of children. A powerful zoom cannot create the warmth and expressions you can draw out by being closer to your subject.

"Secondly, don't just get closer — get to eye level. If you are shooting a child, the perspective in looking down at them is completely different than when you're eye level. At eye level, you are engaging the child in their world, looking at things as they see it. Don't be afraid to squat down or even lie down on the ground to get the shot.

"In a portrait, the subject's eyes are what speak. Direct eye contact is visually engaging and can create tension. We are inevitably drawn to a subject's eyes, whether in conversation or in static images. It seems visually unnatural to us if say the mouth is in focus but the eyes are blurry. In a close-up shot, don't just focus on any eye; pick the one closest to the camera. The result is closer to how our eyes naturally focus."

How to best use your phone's camera
There are some unique challenges when using the camera on your phone. "It is very important to hold your camera phone firm and steady," Badr Naseem says. "And if you are shooting a fast action related photo, snap ahead of the action. This is very important and requires a lot of guessing so you have to be quick on making the decision.

"Also, here's a list of wonderful apps to enhance your smart-phone photography."

For examples visit Ninemsn.com.au for further details

by Monica Tan