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Secret No. 1: Stop blinding your subjects.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
3 simple secrets to taking better photographs


March 12, 2006


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, The Post-Standard

   Ever wonder how the pros are able to take such great pictures with their digital cameras? If you suspect there must be a secret to it, you'd be right.
   In fact, there are many secrets to taking good photos. I'll share three of them with you this week. Most of my secrets are in the "Why didn't I think of that myself?" category, so settle down and join me on a journey through some common sense tips and tricks.
   1. Stop shining a bright light right into your subjects' eyes.
   In other words, don't use flash. I realize this seems like heresy, but flash pictures are anachronisms these days. They were necessary when cameras weren't very sensitive to light. But most modern digital cameras can take reasonably clear color photos with the light of a couple of candles (try it and you'll see). For superbly lit photos, all a modern camera needs is a few 100-watt bulbs in a normal room. Outdoors, even the cloudiest day is bright enough for your camera.
   When you fire a blindingly bright light into someone's eyes, you temporarily blind your subject. Our eyes and brains are smart enough to ignore most of the effects of a very brief flash of light, but we can't help but be annoyed in one way or another.
   But the worst thing about flash pictures is what it does to the scene. It makes everything look like a police lab photo from "CSI." There are no normal shadows; there is glare everywhere.
   I've talked to many amateur photographers about why they use flash and most of them tell me they do it because their camera automatically takes flash pictures when they're indoors, or when light levels are low outside. It's time to take charge of your camera. If you're a "flasher," turn off the automatic flash. Use it manually if you think you have to, but never let the camera decide for you.
   2. Hold everything. Your camera can't take a picture at the very instant you press the shutter. It waits a fraction of a second while its automatic circuitry is adjusting the focus, the exposure and the shutter speed.
   Think back to the old admonition about holding the camera steady while you take the picture and alter the wording a bit: Hold the camera steady while IT takes the picture. My technique works like this: I hold the camera in a relaxed position, arms at my side, elbows in, while I slowly press and hold the shutter button. I've found that my previous technique of pressing and immediately letting go of the shutter button shakes the camera right at the time that it's taking the picture.
   3. Lower yourself. Get down where the action is. Bend over if your subjects are sitting down, for example. Or get down on the floor (no, I'm not kidding) if you're taking pictures of kids. There's something engaging about photos of children taken at their level, not yours.
   Or try this: Hold your camera at waist level and take all your pictures from that viewpoint if you can swivel the viewfinder so it points up. (My Sony DSC F707 does this, and others might do it also.) If you can't swivel it, try shooting blind, from the hip, letting the camera set all the parameters for you.