Photography for Scrapping
We went on vacation last week and I approached the photography a bit differently this time. Usually, I snap pictures like crazy, worried that I will miss something. This time - thanks to a beginners photography class with Ed Morris - I took the time to set my camera and thought about the composition of the photos before I snapped the shot. Of course, some pictures were just for fun - I was more worried about the content than the composition. But others I took with specific scrapbook pages in mind or with the intention to have them blown up.
If you're going on vacation, here are my tips to end up with good photos to scrap (in no particular order):
1. Consider the layouts you want to do and take pictures accordingly. Sounds simple, I know, but in reality - how often do you do that? For instance, we stopped at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois and I knew I wanted to scrap a page about rubbing his nose for luck, so I took a profile pic of the statue and a pic of my daughter rubbing his nose, then had someone taking a pic of me rubbing his nose. Three pictures were all I needed.
2. Be aware of tunnel vision. When you take your pics, take a moment to look at the background, too. Nothing ruins a cool beach shot like a 300 pound man in a speedo behind your adorable kids.
3. Consider the timing. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of photography. Don't take photos at high noon if your only shots are going to have your subjects squinting at you. A good time to take photos is in the morning or late afternoon. I recently got some great sunset shots of Lake Michigan, using the "sunset" setting on my Fujifilm P&S camera.
4. Think about your subject. Plan ahead. You may have an idea in your mind of what you want your shot to look like. Think about the shot, then choose the location to photograph. Great photos do sometimes happen, but sometimes great photos require planning. Don't tell my family this - but I purposefully chose a vacation location on the east side of Lake Michigan so I could get cool sunset shots of the sun sinking into the water.
5. Keep a travel journal . There are things that you will forget, no matter how memorable you think they are at the time. Pick a small notebook that you can carry with you and jot notes in it. Remember to keep track of the bad stuff and the good stuff. If you didn't get a picture of something that you KNOW you want to scrapbook, make a note of why you didn't get the shot. Maybe even take a photo of something related. You can scrap that - I've done entire layouts without photos on them. The journal will help you keep track of dates and locations, too. Simple concept, but one that I didn't follow until recently.
6. Take a simple photography course. I took a class with Ed Morris (check out his website here ) and was blown away by how much better my photos were.
7. Play with your camera. Take the time to read the manual. Check out the settings. See what your camera can do. Once I started playing with mine (thanks to Ed's tips), I discovered all sorts of things that mine did that I had no idea it was capable of!
OK, now go out there and take some photographs!
If you're going on vacation, here are my tips to end up with good photos to scrap (in no particular order):
1. Consider the layouts you want to do and take pictures accordingly. Sounds simple, I know, but in reality - how often do you do that? For instance, we stopped at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois and I knew I wanted to scrap a page about rubbing his nose for luck, so I took a profile pic of the statue and a pic of my daughter rubbing his nose, then had someone taking a pic of me rubbing his nose. Three pictures were all I needed.
2. Be aware of tunnel vision. When you take your pics, take a moment to look at the background, too. Nothing ruins a cool beach shot like a 300 pound man in a speedo behind your adorable kids.
3. Consider the timing. Lighting is one of the most important aspects of photography. Don't take photos at high noon if your only shots are going to have your subjects squinting at you. A good time to take photos is in the morning or late afternoon. I recently got some great sunset shots of Lake Michigan, using the "sunset" setting on my Fujifilm P&S camera.
4. Think about your subject. Plan ahead. You may have an idea in your mind of what you want your shot to look like. Think about the shot, then choose the location to photograph. Great photos do sometimes happen, but sometimes great photos require planning. Don't tell my family this - but I purposefully chose a vacation location on the east side of Lake Michigan so I could get cool sunset shots of the sun sinking into the water.
5. Keep a travel journal . There are things that you will forget, no matter how memorable you think they are at the time. Pick a small notebook that you can carry with you and jot notes in it. Remember to keep track of the bad stuff and the good stuff. If you didn't get a picture of something that you KNOW you want to scrapbook, make a note of why you didn't get the shot. Maybe even take a photo of something related. You can scrap that - I've done entire layouts without photos on them. The journal will help you keep track of dates and locations, too. Simple concept, but one that I didn't follow until recently.
6. Take a simple photography course. I took a class with Ed Morris (check out his website here ) and was blown away by how much better my photos were.
7. Play with your camera. Take the time to read the manual. Check out the settings. See what your camera can do. Once I started playing with mine (thanks to Ed's tips), I discovered all sorts of things that mine did that I had no idea it was capable of!
OK, now go out there and take some photographs!
Posted by Elle Robb at 7/29/2010 12:00 AM 
Categories: scrapbooking
Tags: scrapbooking photography vacation taking pictures for scrapbooking
Categories: scrapbooking
Tags: scrapbooking photography vacation taking pictures for scrapbooking
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