When it comes to taking pictures I have a bad habit of getting caught up in the moment and not paying attention to the little details that can make or break a frame worthy shot. I’ve always blamed it on the fact that most of the pictures I take are of my 3-year-old. Given that she is in one place for a very limited amount of time I tend to rush my shots in fear that the image I want to capture will disappear in the blink of an eye (or at least as quickly as she sees me whip out my camera).
Every picture you take holds memories that live on well after the moment has passed. In the chaos of our everyday lives we often tend to miss the details of any given moment. This is where photographs come in handy. With pictures we are able to freeze the moment and relive it whenever we want.
As cliché as it may sound, every photo really does tell a story and the more pictures you have the more complete the story can be. This is one of the reasons I take more photos than the average person. (Snap happy parents unite, right?) Which is not to say that I include every single shot I take in my scrapbook or photo album. I just figure it’s better to take more and edit later.
Let me give you an example of a way you can turn an ordinary outing into a wonderful story… void of captions.
A DAY AT THE PARK
Start by taking an establishing shot. For example, if you are having a meal in a grassy area get a wide shot of the entire park including your picnic spot. From there mix it up. Get a few medium shots of people interacting with each other and some close ups to show the emotion on their faces. It’s also nice to get a variety of candid shots and portraits. Even though it’s an informal setting there’s no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of a natural background to get a few posed shots in. A great way to capture genuine emotion is to have your subjects pose for a portrait shot then once you’ve taken that shot keep shooting as they start to interact with each other again.
You can tell whether you have accomplished your goal of telling a compelling story via pictures when you gather your prints and they make sense without any commentary. If a person who was not present at your event can tell where it took place, who was there, and what was happening, then you have succeeded. The person looking at your pictures should be able to feel as though they were there just by looking at your photos.
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