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Health & Fitness

Three Top Tips for Better Photos

Top photo tips and a deal on photography classes

The one that got away! Picture, that is. We love our photos and treasure them enough to rescue them from a fire, but often just miss making an ordinary picture a great one. I take about 10,000 photos a year and have become an observer of other photographers and their pictures. I notice that most amateur photographs could be easily improved. Of all the photo hints and tips out there, these are the three that I believe can help most of us.

  1. Move in close then move closer. Isolate your subject and eliminate background distractions. Famous wartime photographer and founder of Magnum Photos, Robert Capa, stated it simply: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”
  2. Don’t  just “Point and Shoot.”  Look around your viewfinder to see what is being included in your picture. Don’t  aim at your subject as though it’s a “bulls eye.” It is usually better to place your subject off center about a third of the way from the top, bottom, left or right of you image area.
  3. Steady your camera. Blurry photos are often caused by camera movement. Especially if you are not in bright light, use a tripod or prop your camera against a tree, fence post, car or other solid object for best results. If hand holding your camera, squeeze, don’t push, the shutter release with your elbows against your body and your camera against your head. This may be impossible if you don’t have a viewfinder but only an LCD display. In this case the tripod may be even more essential.

And – take lots of pictures.

To learn more about taking and making photos, sign up for my class Basic Digital Photography, starting Thursday, March 1 at 7 p.m. at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center at 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. There will be seven weekly sessions costing only $10 each or $50 for all seven two-hour classes. For more information, go to www.con2000.com/photography/

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