Friday, January 13, 2006
Picture People Hints (Part I)
A few secrets I learned for taking pictures of kids from the Picture People:
1) Take alot of pictures (see previous post "delete, delete, delete"). This is a high-volume, high-output business but they still managed to take about 3-4 different poses and a few shots of each pose. So out of about 15-20 pictures we were able to pick one that looked good. Kids were all smiling, looking the same way, eyes all open.
2) Once everyone is posed, take the picture quickly - before anyone is distracted and runs off to chase some other kid running around (this was the night before Thanksgiving and the place was a madhouse).
3) Use a feather duster. Yes, a feather duster. This was great. They had the cameras polemounted, so you would want to use a tripod with a cable release or have an assistant help if you're doing this at home. But here's how it works: Get the kids in the pose. If any of them are looking the wrong way or not smiling, come out from behind the camera with the feather duster. Gently lean over and tickle them under the chin or side of the face towards where you want them to look. Jump back and quickly hit the shutter. This really worked great.
1) Take alot of pictures (see previous post "delete, delete, delete"). This is a high-volume, high-output business but they still managed to take about 3-4 different poses and a few shots of each pose. So out of about 15-20 pictures we were able to pick one that looked good. Kids were all smiling, looking the same way, eyes all open.
2) Once everyone is posed, take the picture quickly - before anyone is distracted and runs off to chase some other kid running around (this was the night before Thanksgiving and the place was a madhouse).
3) Use a feather duster. Yes, a feather duster. This was great. They had the cameras polemounted, so you would want to use a tripod with a cable release or have an assistant help if you're doing this at home. But here's how it works: Get the kids in the pose. If any of them are looking the wrong way or not smiling, come out from behind the camera with the feather duster. Gently lean over and tickle them under the chin or side of the face towards where you want them to look. Jump back and quickly hit the shutter. This really worked great.
