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[H1671]How To Take Better Photos

by Tom Ambrozewicz, Tom

It's true-you can make a beautiful scrapbook with less than perfect pictures. However, if you learn to make the most of your photography, you will find that you spend less time working on embellishing a page because the pictures will speak for themselves. Digital cameras make it easy to delete blurry or otherwise bad shots, but you may not get the second chance to capture your infant's precious smile or your pet's latest antic. Be armed with your camera at all times, and keep a few tried and true rules in your head to take shots that will stun.

This is the most talked about photography technique, and once the mystery is taken away, you will find that it is also one of the simplest ways to separate good shots from breath-taking ones. The initial concept is simple. Imagine you have drawn a tic-tac-toe board in the frame. Therefore, you have two lines running vertically and two lines running horizontally, intersecting at four points. Your initial urge is probably to center an image-and this sometimes proves to be the best option-but the four points of intersection are what professional photographers refer to as "sweet spots." Our eyes are naturally drawn to these places on a page, so when the main points of a subject matter, such as your cat's face, fall on one of these spots, the picture looks more appealing and balanced. If you cannot capture this perfectly, you can always crop your photograph when you scrapbook to help your picture adhere to the rule of thirds. Remember that you don't always have to stick to this rule, but it may help you find your shot.

The rule of thirds is not the only composition trick that photographers use to create beautiful photographs. A lot has to do with subject matter. Every picture has a background and foreground, but if you cut most of that out and fill the frame with your subject matter you will usually have a much better picture. Also, look at the lines in a picture. This is especially helpful with a landscape shot, because by placing the horizon on one of the lines you created with the rule of thirds, you will have a much more effective shot. Diagonal lines should be used to create interest. For example, railway tracks cutting across the frame and leading your eye through the sweet spots will give you a better shot.

Lastly look at color. This is important even in black and white photographs. Make sure that the light and dark colors are balanced. By doing this when you take the picture, you will be able to create better pages that are coordinated to match your photographs, and by following the other tips your will be able to create better pages in general.

Taking better photographs can make a huge difference in how you are able to promote and sell your work. It is well worth practicing to improve, and worth getting feedback on your photography from experienced photographers. Fortunately, common mistakes are easy to avoid if you learn how to look for them.

Perhaps the most common mistake photographers make is not filling the frame. Your art or craft should appear large in the photograph, with little wasted space. Usually all you have to do is get closer to take the photo, or to zoom in. Along with this, sometimes people will hold a camera horizontally even when they are photographing something that is more tall than wide. For shooting tall items, turn your camera on it's side into portrait position, before taking the photo. This will reduce the amount of wasted space.

Some areas may be too dark to show any detail. When this happens you need more lighting. Sometimes this is called a fill light. You can use a large white board out of view to reflect light into the darkened area.

Many three dimensional objects are better shown with the main light coming across the front at an angle, rather than straight on. This is especially true of objects where texture is important, such as knitting.

Setting up a permanent area to photograph your work will make it more convenient to shoot. Choose a wall or table in an area with good lighting conditions, often near a window. You can attach a large sheet of white paper or a bed sheet to the wall above where you will be photographing, and then bring the bottom of the sheet over the front of the table to drape in a curve. This will make a simple background on which to display your work.

Avoid any distracting elements in the background or to the side of your main subject.

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Both Tom Ambrozewicz & Cdmohatta are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Tom Ambrozewicz has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Gym and Hypnotherapy. Tom Ambrozewicz is one of the pioneers in using breakthrough audio technology on his web sites. You can , you can. Tom Ambrozewicz's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.

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