THE THINGS I DO…

I wrote this for the holiday edition of MyTime magazine. I thought I’d share my top ten list of photo tips for holiday shooting.

1. Turn off the red-eye reduction feature on your camera. Most image editing programs allow you to correct for red-eye, eliminating the need to use this irritating, battery draining, feature.
2. Get close to your subject. Fill the frame with the important, crop out everything else. Shoot like a pro!
3. Hold the camera steady. Most holiday happenings are indoors. Indoor lighting requires slower shutter speeds, increasing the chance of movement and blurred images.
4. Shoot a lot of photos. Your chances of getting a good shot will increase with the number of photos you make.
5. Make sure you have plenty of batteries and memory cards. Nothing’s worse than running out of juice or memory just when things are getting interesting.
6. Keep your camera close at hand. You never know when an interesting photo opportunity will happen — be ready for it.
7. Look for the candid moments instead of trying to pose everything. Don’t orchestrate your photos, go with the flow and shoot what happens in front of your lens.
8. Check your lens for fingerprints. With point-and-shoot cameras, you can’t see what the lens is seeing so you’ll need to check from occasionally to make sure your lens is smudge-free. A clean, microfiber cloth is the ticket for taking care of this chore.
9. When shooting children, work from their level. It’s amazing how this will improve your photos of the kiddies.
10. Share your moments with others. I especially recommend uploading your photos to a computer for use them as a holiday slide show for friends to view when visiting. Digital picture frames work well also.

I hope this list will help make your holiday photography successful.

Enjoy the season,

Dennis