7 Tips for Taking Picture-Perfect Photos

1. Practice with your camera and learn how it works before you head off to your company party or start snapping pictures of your kids unwrapping gifts.  Professional photographers say that preparation is one key to taking great photos.

2. Snap several photos of the same group or scene so that you’re guaranteed at least one great shot.  Digital cameras, of course, show your results instantly!

3. When taking a group picture, shoot from the chest up rather than attempting a head-to-toe shot. The picture will look more natural and you’ll better frame the all-important facial expressions.

4. Rout “red eye!”  Instead of having your subjects look directly at you, ask them to look at your shoulder.  Also, take the photo in a spot that’s well-lit.  Voila!

5. Posed shots can be wonderful, but it’s important to capture the candid ones as well.  You’ll love the pictures of surprise, sheer joy, tears, and delight seen during impromptu moments.

6. Ensure that you aren’t missing from the pictures!  Hand the camera to a friend or relative and let someone else briefly play photographer so that your smiling mug can be treasured in print.

7. Although you probably wouldn’t expect it, sunny days aren’t always the best environment for great pictures.  Instead, snap photos on an overcast day or in a shady spot to give a softer appearance and reduce harsh light.

From Day-timers eTalk Newsletter

Ever since Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the first photo in the summer of 1827, people have treasured this wonderful medium and the memories it captures in just a click! 

The History of Photography – in Less than 200 Words!

• The ancient Greeks and Chinese talked about the principles of optics and images back around the 5th century B.C. 

• Invented around the 11th century, the camera obscura used a lens to project an image onto a viewing area.  

• Joseph Nicephore Niepce (remember him?) snapped the first photograph, but it took a long time – 8 hours – to see the image, which later faded.  

• In the 1830s, Louis Jacques Daguerre experimented with many different techniques.  His goal was to reduce the time it took to develop the images.  His research resulted in lasting pictures that would develop in less than 30 minutes.  He named these images – daguerreotypes – after himself. 

• George Eastman’s celluloid film – rolled out in 1889 – made photography more accessible to everyone.  He also developed an inexpensive box camera with a fixed-focus lens and a single shutter that appealed to the public.

• Edward Land invented the popular Land Camera (also known as the Polaroid®) in the late 1940s, enabling users to have nearly instantaneous pictures.  

• Texas Instruments was the first to patent a film-less electronic camera in 1972.  One of the first to come to market was the SONY® ProMavica (Magnetic Video Camera) in 1989.  It recorded images on a 2” still-video floppy disc and was used by the CNN news crew to transmit images of the student uprising in China’s Tiananmen Square that same year.                                                                                

• From Day-Timers eTalk Newsletter