Basic Photography - Tip 3

Tip 3

As "Commander-In-Chief-of-the-Camera" ("CICOTC" for short), you are afforded certain privileges that mere mortals can never hope to attain.

One of the prime rules of etiquette tells us not to invade the personal space of others. However, when it comes to basic photography tips, you are encouraged to ignore this rule.

Depending upon how much of a telephoto lens you have (how much you can "zoom" your camera lens), you want to be close enough to your subject so that they fill at least 85% of the frame, while the background contributes no more than 15%.

The key assumption here is that the background in question is irrelevant. If, for example, you were posing your family for a multi-generational portrait, and it was taking place in front of a giant waterfall, you would probably want to bend the above rule.

The main challenge you will run into when following these particular basic photography tips is when you are taking flash photographs of subjects less than 6 feet away.

Moving from basic to intermediate photography tips for a second, controlling the intensity and type of light can make a huge difference in the final photograph. Some flashes create an unnatural-looking bright appearance. In that case, experiment with the following solutions:

• Use an external flash, attached to the hot shoe, and create a bounce flash off the ceiling or a wall
• Attach a diffuser over the flash head to create a softer, less intense light
• Bounce the flash off a white surface (a piece of white cardboard will do) rather than have it aimed directly at your subjects
• Use a "flash deflector" such as Lumiquest's Pocket Bouncer
• If you can increase the ISO setting without creating too much digital "noise," you may be able to avoid having to use a flash entirely
• If you don't have an external flash, it gets a little more difficult. If you have a Point And Shoot, you can experiment with different translucent materials and hold them over the flash; however, unless you can compensate the F-stop or shutter speed appropriately, your subject will likely be under-exposed
• The last option for Point And Shoots is to move the subject next to a window where there is enough external light coming into the room, in order to avoid having to use a flash. In this case, avoid the glare of the glass by shooting at an angle (that's a bonus basic photography tip)