This week’s tips from Danielle Kama of DanielleKama.com cover the craft of a good family snapshot.
From last week’s post, you learned to 1) Commit to taking daily photos, 2) Shoot from the heart, and 3) get creative. Now Danielle explains in rules 4, 5 and 6 how to introduce the craft of creating a good shot by melding technique with your creativity.
4) Try an unusual angle. Sometimes it’s fun to take a picture from your own perspective. Sometimes it’s even better to take one from your child’s perspective. Even better yet, sometimes, it’s fun to take one from your cat’s perspective! Reposition yourself and try out different places to photograph from. I promise that you’ll be able to document the same situation in a multitude of ways if you just get your feet moving. Find a spot that makes sense for what you’re trying to relay in your image.
“On Top of the World”
(Shooting from below him communicated his pride over climbing up the slide all by himself.)
“Mom’s View”
(Shooting from above him while holding his hand relays just how small and innocent he often seems to me.)
“Independence Day”
(Shooting from the perspective of a fireworks spectator lying on the ground allowed me to fill the frame with the excitement of the scene while also capturing my family witnessing it.)
5) Learn the basic rules of photography: simplicity, rule of thirds, balance, framing, and lines. Using these guidelines will help you make the most of your photos. Give yourself 15 minutes one evening to surf the web and educate yourself about these rules.
“Miracle of lights”
(Demonstrates simplicity.)
“Proceed with caution”
(Demonstrates rule of thirds and leading lines.)
“Decisions Decisions” (Demonstrates balance and framing.)
6) Leave negative space in your images. (This is related to Tip #5) One of the biggest tips I share with beginner photographers is to stop trying to center everything. Try letting the space around or outside your subject tell a story.
“Rainy Day Blues”
(The subject is to the left of the frame and his hands on the wet window to the right explain the scene.)
“Overwhelmed”
(The subject is to the right of the frame and the left shows the dizzying myriads of paint chips we were trying to choose from.)
