Summer Photo Tips for Families

This article originally appeared in 24hrs Vancouver on June 18, 2008.

Summer vacation means kids running around and burning off some steam, and it also means a chance for you to grab your camera and get some pictures you wouldn’t normally get of your kids.

Wendy Rombough is a photographer specializing in babies and children, has 2 of her own, and knows what to look for to get a great shot.

HOW TO GET THE PERFECT SHOT

1. TURN OFF YOUR FLASH
If you love the way things look when you’re using your eyes, adding the flash will just wash things out. Instead of using the flash, bump up the ISO on your camera

2. LET THE KIDS BE KIDS
Get reactions from the kids, don’t pose them. If you want a big smile, have them goof off and make funny faces, then capture them laughing at themselves

3. GET TO THEIR LEVEL
They’ll be more comfortable (you may not be) when you’re on their level instead of shooting down on them

4. ZOOM YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR LENS
Your body can move a lot faster than your camera can, so follow the kids around and don’t worry so much how you frame the pictures, you can always tighten up or crop a shot afterwards

5. THE RULE OF THIRDS
When you’re managing your pictures afterwards, leave room in the frame for the subject to lead the shot. The rule of three divides the frame into thirds horizontally, and vertically. Try and get the main part of the image on one of the cross points.

NOW WHAT? HOW TO MAKE IT PRETTY

Don’t be afraid to try and adjust the photos a little once you’ve got them snapped and on your computer. Photoshop may be the standard you hear about in the magazine world, but there are simple online editors to help you crop down your photos, adjust the colour balance and crisp up the edges.

Picnik.com is a free photo editing site that doesn’t require any serious skills to use. Wendy says cropping out distractions in the background is one of the first things you should tackle.

“Use the rule of thirds and common sense to crop your images,” says Wendy. “For instance if your subject is looking to one side – leave them room to look into, or if they’re walking to one direction – leave some space in the image in that direction for them to walk into.”

Another easy fix is to bump up your contrast.

“Digital images are often lacking in contrast so this will give them some extra pop. Also a slight tweak in saturation can sometimes pop the colours.”

Perfect, now you’ve got some great shots. What’s next?

“It’s great that you have all these images sitting on your computer, but who’s seeing them there,” asks Wendy. “Print them up and hang them on your wall!”

DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR MASTERPIECE

Once you’ve got your pics, head off to Lougheed Mall to try the HP Photosmart Studio Kiosk. About the size of an ATM, these kiosks are popping up across Canada.

Just bring your photos on the camera’s memory card or USB key, and then work with the screen to make hard bound books, calendars, greeting cards, larger images, or just standard prints to get the pictures off your hard drive and into a frame.

If you scrapbook, you can bring your layouts to the kiosk and have them scanned and then printed into books.

My mom uses MyPublisher.com to make photobooks from her retirement vacations. She says it has just enough choices in the layout options to get creative without too many to make it confusing. You download the MyPublisher interface to your computer and then drag and drop the photos to make your book. Hit upload and the book is mailed to you for about $30 for 20 pages.

There are also ways to get this done online. Mac users can easily get their images printed into postcards, calendars, books and prints using their .Mac account in iPhoto.

One final photo tip – don’t forget to back up! Having the prints on your wall, and in books is a great step towards saving them from a nasty virus attack on your computer that could wipe out your drive.

You might also want to sign up at a free photosharing site and upload your photos there as well. Flickr.com will let you share your summer fun with friends and family around the world, and also provides a perfect digital back up – just in case.