Taking Better Snapshots:  Part 1:  Learn to Shoot in Manual

Part 1: Take the camera off auto, put it in manual and learn to read the in-camera meter (or buy a separate meter or get very very good at eyeballing it).   Otherwise, you have a very expensive point and shoot.

When you look in the view finder you’ll see a grid thus:

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The one in the middle is “correct” exposure, but for close ups of pale skin you actually want the slider a bit towards overexposure because some people are just whiter than the percentage of grey that the camera uses to determine “right”.

Part 2: Once you are in Manual get a stuffed animal or an apple or anything less mobile and more patient than a child and start taking lots of pictures, changing the ISO, f-stop and shutter speed settings for each one to see how the triangle of exposure changes the final picture.

ISO is how fast the film will record the picture. The higher the number, the faster the film. The lower the number, the crisper the picture will look.

F-stop is how wide your aperture is.  The wider the aperture, the smaller the number.  f/1.8 is a wider aperture than f/5.6.  The wider the aperture the more light will be let in, the shallower the in focus area will be, and the more the background will be out of focus.  It’s hard to nail your focus with anything smaller than 4.0 until you practice rather a lot.

Shutter speed is how long the camera lets in light. My hand is too shaky to handle anything below 1/125 th of a second.  The loose rule of thumb is take the size of your lens (say, 50mm), double it (to 100) and make sure your shutter speed has that number as the lowest denominator (1/100).

Part 3: Practice with your kids on an easy lighting day.  What’s easy?  Overcast.  When the sun is behind the clouds you won’t have to worry about shadows in their faces, bright sun patches behind them or backlighting.

Of course, my kids never actually cooperate like this. Mine aim more for the “running away from the camera as fast as my legs with shoes on the wrong feet will go” look. Since if they consistently gave me portraits like THESE my house would be wall-papered with photos perhaps I should be grateful.

We are part of their lives.

Women always say to me “Oh, I don’t want to be in any. I didn’t do my hair. I’m not wearing any makeup. I need to lose 10 pounds. Or 20.” No, you probably don’t need to lose 20 pounds and I’m sure you look gorgeous without makeup and, more to the point, you are in your kids lives looking just the way you look, right now. You need to be in the pictures. You are creating the photographic story of your child’s life, from the snapshots to the portraits, and when you look back you will see a narrative connecting them that you didn’t even realize was there at the time.

I know the odds are good that you are the family photographer and can claim “well, I’m not in them because no one else can take a picture.” I know this because this is my excuse. Or maybe you duck behind a tree when the family photographer comes out waving his or her camera claiming those 20 pounds or lack of lipstick as the excuse. I know that you feel uncomfortable in front of a camera. It’s hard to have your picture taken. But if you don’t get in front of that camera that photographic narrative won’t include you. There will be no photo you can show your adult children of you loving on them at 5 days old. No photo of you laughing with your 2-year-old. No photo of you with all of your children smiling at you because they adore you. Hand your partner the camera and get some snapshots with you in them. Next time you have a portrait session tell the photographer to make sure you are in some of the images. Because you ARE part of the story of your children’s lives. You need to be in the pictures.

No. Really. Jen Snyder, who is my long lost dork twin, ordered “lobster with sweet breads” at dinner the first night. Sweet breads are brains. Who knew? She didn’t, and neither did I. They taste like garlic.

Back to the photographers. Summer was so much fun. She does some of the most beautiful color newborn work I’ve ever see and she can get joy out of the most recalcitrant child. Leiba was the coolest, most inspiring wench imaginable and Zoe, who organized the workshop, shoots the most beautiful scenes and intimidates the hell out of me because she is just that good. As for the teacher, well, I am Cheryl Jacobs‘ crazy stalker and some day she’s going to find me living under her porch so I can pluck every last bit of knowledge from her brain.

Brains. Mmmmmm….

So, we took a lot of pictures – go figure at a photography workshop – and this particular child was one of my favorite models because she was such a bit of mischief. And those freckles!

I call this one “Her Ladyship Sits for Her Portrait.”

Expect more of more kids as the days go by…

This one was shot in the Farmington River. Little Miss wanted to wear the “mermaid dress” and get in the water. Dressing up AND getting wet – does life get more fun? I waded out, carrying the 3 million pound camera and the child and placed her on the rock and asked her to just hang out for a few minutes. I stood in the right place, on very painful rocks, and we got this.

This was shot in a diner. I tried to put his hair into a ducktail (hair style FAIL – I can’t style my own hair, why would I think I could style his?) and dressed him up in jeans, a white t-shirt and a faux leather jacket and took him to a 50′s style diner at an off time so it would be basically empty, bought him his first milkshake ever and started snapping.

If you are thinking “I want something like THAT” let me know. There is nothing wrong with parks, wildflowers or your back yard and you’ll get shots you’ll adore taken in your spare room but I am always happy to head out someplace odd to get that one special shot. Like where? How about a carnival? Or an amusement park (though, yes, you’ll have to pay my entrance fee). The candy store. Who IS your child? What does she beg to do, where does he shine? Is your child an avid baseball player? Maybe his Little League game is the best place for a portrait. Does she live to swim? Maybe the pond is where to go. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of what a “location” is – that’s the best way to get something that is emblematic of your family and your child!

I love barn light. Really really love it.

There were a variety of victims. Errr… subjects. Families, 3-year-old twins, 1-year-old twins, children with more fashion sense than I can ever hope to have, older kids, younger kids and special needs kids. It was a wild ride of photography and, for many people, playing in the park afterward. There are chickens to see, a free roaming rooster to ogle, a very friendly horse (and, no, my hair is NOT a snack despite what he seemed to think) much open space to run in, barn cats that like even young, active children. Westmoor Park is such a hidden treasure, tucked away in West Hartford, and I always like to be able to introduce more people to it.

Each mini-session guaranteed 5-10 images (though I’ve finished proofing one and thanks to my lack of self discipline there are 18 final pictures from which to choose) and the $100 fee is wholly applied to the initial order which, of course, makes the actual session free. I am thinking about doing one more set of this style of mini-sessions for the holidays. But, enough of my prattle. Here are some pictures…

Of course, that isn’t so bad. I think it’s awfully sweet. In all truth, if I were working out of an actual studio and paying overhead and such I’d be hanging that one as a giant sample on the walls. We had been shooting up in this room for a while and were about to head downstairs to to the “head in hands” shot when big sister and baby brother settled in for a snuggle. I couldn’t resist. And I just love the result.

The head-in-hands is a classic I almost always do. These are mom’s hands; we did a set with each older sister as well for the perfect triptych.

And, despite being such an ancient baby this guy slept like champ too.

I hope you enjoy your sneak peek. The whole gallery should be ready soon!