A great picture is worth a thousand words… and so is that one mistake you didn’t spot in the camera lens when you shot the photo! As a professional photographer and college photography instructor, I know a few good hints that can help your work immensely, and I’d like to share them with you. There are four mistakes that are most common when shooting a photograph, and knowing how to get around these problems will help you get more great shots out of a roll of film… or a memory card!
The first problem is blurring, which can happen when your hands are moving as you “push the button.” If the entire shot is out of focus, your hands were moving. When just the subject or one part of the photo is blurred, your subject was moving. To avoid camera blur, steady your hands on something solid. Invest in a nice little twenty dollar tripod at your local department store, or easier still, grab the nearest chair and lean your elbows or wrists on the steady surface. For more advanced photographers, adjust your camera to a faster shutter speed.
The second problem is back-lighting, which occurs when your subject is between the sun (or other bright light) and your camera. Your camera will automatically compensate for the bright light in the shot, plunging your subject into darkness. Back-lighting is especially prevalent in pictures of an indoor subject standing in front of an outdoor window, or when shooting outside. Make sure the light is behind you. In fact, try shooting on slightly overcast days or in the early morning or late afternoon, which will avoid the extremely high contrast between light and shadows of a bright, sunny noon.
Another common problem is blurring your subject through incorrect “depth of field,” which is the area in front of your camera lens that will be clear and in focus in your shot. If the subject looks blurry in your viewfinder, it will look blurry in your final photograph. Try zooming in or out a bit until your subject is in nice, crisp focus.
The fourth most common problem with digital photography is an incorrect white balance. When you look at your indoor pictures, do they look too orange? Do your outdoor photos look too blue? Your camera needs to compensate for these different lighting conditions, unlike the human eye which does it automatically. Take a look product manual to find the light settings and how to set your color balances. Your camera probably has a particular setting for indoors, outdoors, fluorescent lighting, and more. Watch the colors change in your viewfinder to find the best fit for your situation.
Remember, the only problem www.PhotoArtPeople.com can’t fix on your photos to canvas is blur. Light dust, small tears, red-eye, and other small problems can be fixed by the PhotoArt People’s talented digital artists, so even if your photo is imperfect, it can make a beautiful piece of art. You won’t believe the transformation!
Brooke P.
