Photography Lesson!!

I have a really great treat for you all tonight! I am at Market in Atlanta today and tomorrow so I have asked my good friend Sarah Cook to guest blog. Sarah is the one who taught me all of my photography knowledge. She showed me how to use my camera and how to capture a still image. My pictures improved 200% after one lesson with her. If you are local, she is a fantastic family and special needs photographer. I hope your enjoy her 4 photography tips and check out her blog. Her link is at the bottom of this post! Don't forget about our party on November 17th!! I have a GREAT giveaway I can't wait to share with all of you!!

So here ya go! Mrs. Sarah Cook..........

1)Find "good" light.

Before I became a Photographer, I thought I needed to have my subjects in the sunlight. I had good reason - I was trying to avoid my flash b/c on-camera flash is BAAAAD, okay? A year and a half into my professional career as a photographer, I know that putting my subject where they are facing the sun is not a good idea - you end up catching alot of harsh shadows and too much difference between bright and dark on your subject. SO, find the shade - but not too much shade - just "outside" of the light of the sun.

2)Get down at your subject's level.

Squat, lay, sit on the ground. When you take a picture of an item/subject from above it appears distorted - makes it difficult to really understand the size and scale of an item/subject.

3)Use the Rule of Thirds.

According to Wikipedia,

"The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design.[1] The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would."

A photo is much more eye-catching if its' composition is unexpected.

4)Use a large aperture.

Large Aperture = small #, like 1.8. When photographing details of an item, like an inscription, an interesting handle, a great texture use a large aperture. It not only lets in more light, but it makes that detail appear sharper. It's also artsy ;-)



Sarah Cook, of Cookwire Photography is a Photographer in the Birmingham area specializing in Family, Children and Special Needs Photography