Introduction
Those of you who’ve been coming to this site for a while might already know that I take photos professionally. When I’m not working on Design Instruct, I work as an event photographer, so I’ve covered more than my fair share of parties and events.
In this article, I’ll assume that you’re already familiar with the basics of photography. If not, whenever you encounter a term or concept that you’re not familiar with, check out this overview of Photography-related topics on Wikipedia.
With that said, below are some photography tips to keep in mind at your next social event.
1. Add Depth to Group Photos by Not Shooting Dead-Center
When I first started taking photos of groups of people, I noticed that they tended to arrange themselves into a straight line, shoulder-to-shoulder, as though they were taking a class photo. Or, if people were sitting on a couch, they would always expect me to take their photo from dead center. And, in my experience, these situations often end up in a boring photo (at least in my book).
In a dynamic and fast-paced environment such as a party — with lots of people and not enough room or time to have a group arrange themselves into an interesting configuration — it’s the job of the photographer to make the shot more interesting.
From my experience, a step to one side from the center of the group will impart a feeling of depth to a group photo. This happens because one side of the group will be closer to your lens, thus adding depth and creating a more captivating composition. Try it out!
2. Create Interesting Photo Effects with Jaunty Angles
A jaunty or canted angle (also known as a Dutch angle, among several other terms) is a photography technique that you can use to develop an aesthetically-pleasing composition from an otherwise dull scene. Jaunty angles give your photos a feeling of being dynamic and alive.
Using jaunty angles is tricky because it can add a feeling of confusion to a photo if you don’t keep the composition in mind.
However, once you get the hang of it, it’ll add a really great effect of making your photos look livelier and full of fun — and that’s exactly what we want when we’re snapping at parties.
In addition, I find that you’ll often be able to get the best angles of your photo subjects using jaunty angles.
In a nutshell, I like to pick a focal point in a photo that I want to highlight. Then, I keep that focal point level, tilting the camera accordingly.
For instance, if I find someone’s eyes attractive, I’ll use that person’s eyes as my focal point. I’ll align their eyes so that they’re level, while the rest of the photo isn’t.
Sometimes I’ll see photographers just tilt their camera to one side without really keeping the composition in mind, making their photos look disoriented and unsteady. Through my own trials and errors (and there have been many), I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a right way and wrong way to use jaunty angles: It’s not enough to just tilt your camera to one side.
To learn more about jaunty/Dutch angles, check out the following links:
- Dutch Angle Photography
- Flickr group with examples of dutch angles
3. Try Using Props
This is always fun. People seem to love this and it often brings the party together. In my experience, props can be anything from a hat, funky glasses or a fake mustache.
For instance, In a Halloween event I was shooting, I printed out business cards with different kinds of "smiles" on the back of them. Then I had people hold it up to their mouths as a sort of impromptu, quasi-costume.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar