Five Tips For Taking Better Photos

At PosterBrain we've seen a lot of photos of all types. From landscapes to portraits, from sports team posters to the *ahem* more risqué. Within all the different categories of pictures, we've also seen a range of quality in the photos. We know our printing process can take even sub par images and make them look their best (hey, we even took a shot at the airport with our iPhone and it came out great), but it never hurts to try to help our users improve their photos at the source: the second the picture is taken.

To that end, we've combed around the various information sources available to offer the top 5 tips on how to take better photos. So here they are:

Subjective Subjects

Have you ever been looking at a friend's photos (or been forced to sit through an overly-long slideshow of their vacation slides) and found it difficult to tell what you're supposed to be focused on? Are we meant to be looking at the funny pose of Aunt Mabel pretending to jump into the Grand Canyon, or at the canyon itself?

Amateur photographers often try to combine too many elements into one photo. Or, if there are only a couple elements in the photo (like Aunt Mabel and the Grand Canyon) they often don't focus on their subject. In the Aunt Mabel example, it would make sense to focus on her, make sure the focus field of your camera is clearly trained on her and not somewhere in the middle distance.

Most new digital cameras will show you a series of lights or boxes to tell you what you are focused on. You can generally cycle through possible targets using a half-press on the "shoot" button to select the one you want.

Close the Gap

Really good photographers know that closing in on your subject is a terrific way to really make your photos stand out. Why else would tele-photo lenses be so popular? By getting in close your pictures will capture more facial expressions, more of the scales on that striped bass you caught, a better reflection of the sky in the car's glossy paint, or more of the chocolate sprinkles on your child's face.

When your subject is a wild animal or even a pet, it can sometimes be tough to get in close without ruining the photo, but in most cases your photos will be better for it.

A quick note on digital zoom: Most new point and shoot cameras come with a "digital zoom" feature. This is not the same as optical zoom (which is done with lenses). Digital zoom is effectively blowing up the photo (via software) and concentrating on a specific portion. While sometimes useful, it is overall not recommended to use digital zoom because it degrades quality and is very easy to blur.

Simplify to Amplify

Simplifying your photos goes along with getting closer to your subject, but presents its own challenges. Look at the work of great photographers: when Ansel Adams took the photo of a grizzled old cowboy, did he also include a tractor, a barn, a few cows, some chickens, a spool of fence and the man's birth certificate? Of course not, everything you need to know about that photo is right there in the man's face (and a little in his hat).

Likewise, your photo of the fish you just caught doesn't need to include the boat you used, the cooler that held your beer, the lawn chairs you sat in, and a nice stretch of beach. You want to capture the color and size of the fish, and the proud fishermen who landed her. Your subject is the majesty of nature and the exuberance of a hunter's triumph, not a guidebook to the method of catching a fish.

Declutter your camera's field of view and get better pictures right away.

Find a New Angle

If you're like most people, when the camera is in-hand you hold it up to your face and in the horizontal/landscape position to take pictures. No offense, but... BORING! Imagine what pictures of your kids would look like from age 2 to 20, lined up next to each other, if you took them all that way. They'd start out with the tops of their heads, then slowly they would reach eye level, and then you'd be looking at their chins with a cap and gown in the background.

Have you ever seen a photo from an uncommon angle and thought "Wow!" Of course, we see it all the time although it's not always obvious. Think about taking a photo of your dog from his level, or slightly below. You'd probably see things you never saw before.

Even turning your camera 90-degrees to the vertical (or portrait) style can provide some amazing changes in perspective. Get creative, try holding your camera over your head and shooting downward, paparazzi-style. Most of us have digital cameras these days, so why not experiment with all that "free" film?

Lights On!

Think about lighting. I know, you're suddenly paralyzed with visions of flashbulbs, stand-lights, and those crazy black umbrellas that the pros use (where do they get those anyway?). Don't worry, all we want you to remember are some simple rules of thumb for better pictures.

First, if you're outside the sun should be at your back 90% of the time. Now, you may have to adjust a few steps left or right if your shadow is interfering or if your subject can't stop squinting, but for the most part you want light on your subject.

Second, if you have to take a photo looking into the sun or other light source, make sure to use the "half-press" trick above to force your camera to focus on the subject, not the sun. The tendency of these cameras is to focus on bright objects, so it may take some time to get it right.

Lastly, if you are inside, consider how the internal lights will affect the colors in your picture. I often find it's better to shoot with less light than with the light given off by low-wattage incandescent, which makes everything a little yellow. Open the curtains for natural light, or turn off the ugly lights and use a flash.

The bottom line here is to think about the final product before you shoot the picture. No one has ever looked back on photos of loved ones and said to themselves, "Wow, I wish I hadn't spent that extra second focusing and just got a blurry picture instead."