Take a Decent Portrait
I’ve recently gotten back into photography, so I’m trying to remember the basics. Since most guys are going to be the camera guy at family gatherings, vacations, etc, I thought I’d share this guide I ran across to taking decent pictures of people.
Portraits are the most popular type of photography, often with the most disappointing results. To properly frame a face, opt for a zoom between 120 and 150 mm, says Lynn Donaldson, who shoots for National Geographic Traveler. Any wider and you risk exaggerating features. But zoom in too much and you can add the illusion of weight, because longer lenses compress space.
Also, opt for a simple background; avoid bright light directly in front of subjects (they’ll squint) or behind them—automatic cameras darken the foreground until your subjects look like silhouettes. To counteract this, turn the flash on. “You can almost always use your flash in the sun,” Donaldson says. “It evens out skin tones and makes wrinkles and dark circles disappear.”
Another thing is how good digital cameras have gotten over the last five years. My wife shoots a Canon 20D, DSLR and it’s awesome camera that you can pickup on ebay for a reasonable price. Recently I wanted a decent camera I could keep with me all of the time and I bought a Canon Power Shot SD780IS and it’s awesome. I love this camera because it’s small enough to fit in my pocket and it shoots 720HD video. The only real complaint I have is it’s almost too small.
Here’s some video I shot with it.
This is showing the police response to the recent shooting at University of Alabama in Huntsville that I shot driving home from work.
Video I shot walking around an outdoor shopping area.
Some still shots
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