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Q: Holiday Photos ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   4 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Holiday Photos
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Visual Arts
Asked by: reesm-ga
List Price: $50.00
Posted: 12 May 2006 06:00 PDT
Expires: 11 Jun 2006 06:00 PDT
Question ID: 728038
I am going on holiday soon with my family and I would like to use my
digital camera to take some decent photos.  Can you advise me of the
things I need to be aware of, any particular equipment I might need
and any other do's and dont's?
Answer  
Subject: Re: Holiday Photos
Answered By: boquinha-ga on 13 May 2006 22:11 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hello reesm-ga!

I?m no professional photographer, but I love pictures! I found a lot
of great sites out there with excellent tips for the amateur
photographer. I?m excited to try some of them myself!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


There is a great article written by professional photographer, Derrick
Story. He gives 10 simple tips that will improve the quality of your
digital pictures, along with examples of the effects. Here they are
with brief descriptions:

* Warm Up Those Tones: Use the ?cloudy? setting rather than ?auto?
when taking outdoor photos and sunny landscapes. This should increase
the reds and yellows, resulting in richer, warmer pictures.

* Sunglasses Polarizer: Get a polarizing filter for general outdoor
shots. It reduces the glare and enriches the photos. If your camera
doesn?t accommodate filters, Story suggests placing a good pair of
sunglasses over the lens, being careful to leave the rims out of the
picture.

* Outdoor Portraits That Shine:  Try using the ?fill flash? option on
your flash. This will light up the background initially, and then
place just enough light on the subject. This improves outdoor
portraits.

* Macro Mode Madness: Experiment with the ?close up? or ?macro mode?
setting. Be sure to focus on the one subject that is most important to
you and see what happens!

* Horizon Line Mayhem: LCD monitors on digital cameras can distort
images just enough to make a picture seem uneven. Experiment with
different angling on the same shot to discover just where horizontal
lives.

* Massive Media Card: Story suggests that for a 3 megapixel camera, a
256MB card is the bare minimum. For 4 megapixels you?ll need 512MB,
and for a 6 megapixel camera you?ll need at least 1GB.

* High Rez All the Way: As long as you have enough memory, shooting at
a higher resolution will ensure that you can get great pictures that
can be blown up larger than the size of a credit card without
sacrificing quality.

* Tolerable Tripod: A tripod can be a great tool when you need to take
a self-timed picture, or where you really need to keep the camera
steady. Story suggests the compact UltraPod II by Pedco, but there are
a number of quality products out there.

* Self Timer Fun: Get yourself in all the shots. Another great use for
the self-timer is when you don?t want to jostle the camera when
clicking the shutter. Use the self timer and then it will be nice and
steady for the shot.

* Slow Motion Water: If your camera has the ability to adjust the
shutter speed, keeping it open longer will  capture great moving water
pictures while preserving the sharp background. If your camera doesn?t
have that capability, just skip this tip and keep on going.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/10/22/digi_photo_tips.html


There is a great website with basic tips, utilizing your camera?s
basic features. I thought a lot of them bore repeating, so here they
are:

*Bring your camera closer
*Pose your subjects
*Take candid photos, too
*Get on the eye level of your subject, especially children
*Take more than one photo of special moments
*Check the background through the camera viewfinder
*Turn off the flash to capture the glow of candles and lights
*The family photographer should be in photos?use a tripod, or
occasionally give the camera to someone else.
*Avoid red-eye?have subjects look slightly away, use natural light
rather than the flash when able
*Keep away from reflective surfaces
*Understand your camera?s maximum and minimum flash ranges
http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-pictures/take-better-pictures.htm

Here is the index page of help topics from digicamhelp.com. I found a
lot of the articles and links on this page to be quite useful.
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-photography-tips/index.htm


Best Family Photography Tips is a site dedicated to the amateur
photographer. There are a number of articles with basic how-to
information, as well as interesting tips. I found the information on
holding steady useful.

* Make sure both feet are secure on the ground
* Find a ?neutral and comfortable? stance
* Take and hold your breath gently just before snapping the picture
* Use a tripod, especially when your hand is shaking or you?ve had too
much caffeine
* If you don?t have a tripod, brace yourself against something solid
http://www.best-family-photography-tips.com/basic-photography-tips.html

 
Shutterbug.com includes the sage counsel that ?vacation photos are
often some of the most boring collections known to viewer.? With that
in mind, they give a few interesting tidbits to make your holiday
photos as enjoyable as possible.

* Take plenty of film (or, in the case of digital cameras, memory cards)
* Include people pictures
* Include a variety of image types
* Tell a story
* Edit the photos carefully when you get back home
http://shutterbug.com/refreshercourse/travel_tips/704vacation/


Here is another quick list of basic tips to improve holiday photos.
This site also has links to other, more specific information about
digital photography.
http://cameras.about.com/od/cameratips/a/familyvacation.htm


This is a link to a short article posted in the Travel section of
CNN.com regarding taking better photos.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/ADVISOR/07/28/photography.tips/index.html


Here is another article with basic amateur photography tips. Some are
repeats, but there are a few new ideas.
http://www.graphic-design.com/photographic/travel.html


Kodak has a number of helpful tips about digital photography on their
site. It includes ideas about outdoor flashes, close-ups, and others.
Check it out at:
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=317&pq-locale=en_US

Kodak has an index site with links to all sorts of other tips and ideas at:
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml;jsessionid=KXLM5PGFPHBNHFW4FBCXWD2W1YUEQ4L4?pq-path=38&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=13610


The editors at TigerDirect.com compiled their own list of quick tips
to improve your digital pictures. Highlights include:

*Get closer
*Cut the clutter
*Try a new angle
*Take LOTS of pictures
*Hold it steady
*Learn when to use your flash . . . 
* . . . or use the natural light
*Avoid the ?bull?s-eye effect; learn to take ?off-centered? pictures
http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/DigiCam_BetterPictures.html


Here are ten more tips on how to take better pictures.
http://www.memorysuppliers.com/tentifortabe.html


MalekTips is a great site with hundreds of tips and suggestions. They
have a section specifically about travel and vacation photos with at
least 25 specific hints, accompanied by short articles, to improve
your vacation photos. There is also a section on digital camera
accessories, which you may find interesting.
http://malektips.com/digital_cameras_help_and_tips.html


Hewlett Packard has a section on their website dedicated to digital
cameras and digital photography. Some of the following tips come from
there.

* Learn to use your camera?s auto-focus and zoom features to their
highest potentials. Read your camera?s instructions to understand when
to use each, and then experiment.
* Understand the different flash settings available on your camera.
Examples are the forced flash (activated regardless of lighting),
red-eye reduction (a quick burst of light just prior to the actual
flash photo), and forced off (no flash, regardless of lighting).
* Recognize combinations of natural light, windows, and artificial
light that can make it difficult for the auto flash to properly adjust
itself. Some include strong artificial light, partially dim
surroundings, and dark subjects against light backgrounds.

There are other tips on this page as well. See the rest at:
 http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/howto/technology_main/digitalcamera/plan_it.html


The Fuji Film website has a list of questions and answers about taking
pictures of children in particular. For example, there are articles
about preventing squinting and getting great candid shots. Links can
be found at:
http://phototips.fujifilm.com/pt_detail.jsp?id=11


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, this should be a good list to get you started. There is a wealth
of information out there on digital photography, so I?ve tried to find
the best, most consolidated lists possible to maximize your efforts.
One thing that was repeated on many sites was to understand the
features of your camera and experiment by taking lots of pictures. I
hope you have a wonderful holiday and get some great pictures! If you
have any need of further clarification, please let me know how I can
help. Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga


Search terms:

Digital photography tips
Better digital pictures
vacation photo tips

Request for Answer Clarification by reesm-ga on 15 May 2006 03:05 PDT
Hi Boquinha,

thanks for the information.  My camera is a Canon Ixus 40, a small
compact camera that is not very flexible.

regards

Reesm

Clarification of Answer by boquinha-ga on 15 May 2006 06:36 PDT
Hello reesm-ga!

You?re welcome! I found some additional, basic tips specifically on
the Canon Europe website. I?ve included the link. Most, if not all, of
the other tips that I?ve listed are applicable to your camera and can
help you take great vacation pictures. I hope you have a wonderful
holiday!

http://www.canon-europe.com/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital/digicam_tipsnhints.asp?ComponentID=34134&SourcePageID=230467#1

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga
reesm-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $5.00
Thank you boquinha.  Very pleased with your work.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Holiday Photos
From: probonopublico-ga on 12 May 2006 06:29 PDT
 
What is the make & model of your camera?
Subject: Re: Holiday Photos
From: probonopublico-ga on 15 May 2006 03:51 PDT
 
Hi Reesm

Many thanks for details of your camera.

Bouquinha has covered everything in her Answer.

Have a Great Holiday & get some Great Piccies!

All the Best

Bryan
Subject: Re: Holiday Photos
From: kemlo-ga on 15 May 2006 09:22 PDT
 
Dont ever put your camera down . Try to keep it concealed when just walking 
get a wrist strap and use it when taking photos
get a longer neck strap but wear over a shoulder and under a shirt or
jacket wen not in use
I speek from experiance
Kemlo
Subject: Re: Holiday Photos
From: boquinha-ga on 19 May 2006 06:39 PDT
 
Thank you very much for the 5 stars and for the tip, too! 

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga

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