There are many qualities that continually set apart a professional, sought-after professional photographer from the competition. But one very important quality is the ability to see important, story-telling details in a scene.
So why is it important to take photographs of details? Because it allows the person viewing the finished photo to tell their own story and complete the whole picture. When we see a photo of a person’s face, not much else is left to the imagination. We already know exactly what that person looks like, how old they are, what kind of smile they have, etc. But when we see a pair of tiny feet splashing through a puddle, or see wrinkled hands holding an old book, our mind immediately begins to imagine and expand the story. We can imagine that the feet belong to a strong-willed, carefree child, breaking free from the indoors to enjoy the puddles outside. Or we can image that the hands belong to a great-grandmother who has served many people over the years.
As with any photo, there’s no one right way to take detail shots. But there are a few tricks to keep in mind to get the best photo possible and stretch your creativity.
- Get in as close as your lens will allow. Many professional photographers will invest in wide-angle or macro lenses in order to take great detail shots. These types of lenses allow you to get in really close and get amazing detail and clarity.
- Consider your angle. For example, I love to take pictures of feet but will oftentimes struggle with the angle of the shot. Do I have the person stand or sit? Do I take the picture from above or at ground level? Do I take it from the side or the front? Consider what the most interesting, story-telling angle will be and then try several different ones. There’s no reason to commit yourself to just one particular angle.
- Let your subject be natural, especially when photographing kids. A lot of times I want to get a shot of my kids running and playing, and usually that’s not a hard thing to do when I’m taking a photo of the whole scene. But when I want a photo of little feet running, or busy hands playing, then that movement is hard to freeze. Just make sure you’re using a lot of natural light and a fast shutter speed, and keep on trying until you get the right shot.
- Learn to see details, even without your camera. Many times I’ll watch a person doing something and think, “Wow, I love how her hands move as she knits,” or, “Look how tiny his feet are next to mine.” Everyone notices those types of things, but not everyone thinks to capture those moments with a photo. Try to always keep your camera close by and ready to go so that when those precious fleeting moments arise, you’re able to take a picture before the moment is gone.
Want to see more of Elisha’s work? Check her out on Instagram at @elishasnowphotography or her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/elishasnowphotography
GIVEAWAY - DAY 8!!!
As we continue into the second week of celebrating all our industry partners, we are thrilled to be featuring Lawn Fawn today! We adore their very creative coordinating stamps and dies not to mention their sweet paper collections, ink pads, twine and more! Armed with a very talented design team, Lawn Fawn continues create beautiful products and inspiration you'll want to check out! And today, maybe you could win some!
Our sweet friends at Lawn Fawn loved that they were featuring them today and have provided this very lovely prize to thank YOU, the SCT reader, for all your support! It's take a village right? Look at today's giveaway...
How sweet are these fish and THAT crab?! For an opportunity to win today's prize, be sure to leave a comment below by September 2nd! Winners will be randomly selected and announced on September 4th. Good luck!
Once you've left your comment, we would love it also if you could take a moment to tank our friends at Lawn Fawn (pun intended!) on their facebook page HERE. All our partners have loved hearing from you!!! You can also find Lawn Fawn:
On their website: Lawn Fawn
On their blog: Lawn Fawn
On Facebook: Lawn Fawn
On Pinterest: Lawn Fawn
On Instagram: @lawnfawn
On YouTube: Lawn Fawn
So you have our full permission to drop what you're doing (unless you're holding a child or eggs!) and spend some time checking out Lawn Fawn. We're pretty confident it will make you'll feel inspired to create a sweet card or project today!
~ Catherine, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine
thanks for the chance to win! Super cute stamps!
Posted by: TaraMcK | September 01, 2015 at 08:57 PM
Lawn Fawn thank you! I love fishes and everything to do with water! That is the theme of most of my photos, trips, and projects. I would love to be able to add these stamps and die cuts to my collection. I also enjoyed the photographer tips provided! Lisa
Posted by: Lisa | September 01, 2015 at 09:51 PM
Another wonderful prize pack! Lawn Fawn is 1 of my favorite companies. I enjoy the die/stamp sets. It makes creating so much fun & easy. Keep up the wonderful products & ideas. I am a Happy Customer for Life. Thank you for this great chance. ☺
Posted by: Jaime Sunshine | September 01, 2015 at 10:03 PM
In love with this.
Posted by: Michele Baird | September 01, 2015 at 10:26 PM
Lawn Fawn is awesome! Thank you for the chance to win!
Posted by: Carmen N | September 01, 2015 at 10:59 PM
The fishies are so cute.
Posted by: Karyn Brown | September 01, 2015 at 11:03 PM
Adorable as always Lawn Fawn!
Posted by: Michelle Price | September 02, 2015 at 12:14 AM
What adorable stamps and dies..so cute! Thank you for the very helpful photography tips. SCT is so much more than just a scrapbook and cards magazine, your content can't be matched. I can't wait to get each copy!
Posted by: Sharon K. | September 02, 2015 at 01:41 AM
I love All the products from Lawn Fawn and SCT. Would make great gardening cards for the garden club.
Thanks for the chance to win!!!
Posted by: Marlene Freylinger | September 02, 2015 at 01:42 AM
what a fun stamp & die combo!!! thanks for the chance!
Posted by: Danielle Higginbottom-Brown | September 02, 2015 at 06:59 AM
These stamps combo are adorable from Lawn Fawn! Thank you SCT!
Posted by: Brenda Brown | September 02, 2015 at 07:49 AM
I love the stamps and matching dies! Awesome!
Posted by: Bethany Pas-Flythe | September 02, 2015 at 11:57 AM
Such a cute stamp set! Thanks for the chance to win.
Posted by: Wanda Radler | September 02, 2015 at 02:20 PM
Ha, those are wonderful!
Posted by: Gail L. | September 02, 2015 at 02:31 PM
Adorable!
Posted by: Jackie | September 02, 2015 at 04:12 PM
So Cute! Thank you for the opportunity to win!
Posted by: debbie phillips | September 02, 2015 at 04:40 PM
Simply adorable!
Posted by: BettyAnn | September 02, 2015 at 05:06 PM
I love LAWN FAWN and everything they make is SO FANTASTIC - this set included!!
Posted by: Taunya Butler | September 02, 2015 at 06:58 PM
Just love Lawn Fawn! They out do themselves every time.
Posted by: Netta-Jane | September 02, 2015 at 07:43 PM
I love Lawn Fawn products and this set is great!
Posted by: Melinda Wilson | September 02, 2015 at 10:52 PM
cute fish. I could do so much with these stamps and die cuts. thanks for the chance to win.
Posted by: colleen | September 02, 2015 at 10:54 PM
I really appreciated this piece from Elisha on how to look at your phototaking in a more detailed way. I try to take at least one photo a day, and on those 'regular' days (of which there are many), I sometimes struggle with finding something that doesn't look boring. I think getting photos of some of the details is a wonderful idea. Thanks for that! Lawn Fawn produces such sweet products! I love this stamp and die set!!! Thanks so much for the chance to win :)
Posted by: Amber M. | September 02, 2015 at 11:56 PM
So cute! Thanks for the giveaway.
Posted by: Heather Arsenault | September 02, 2015 at 11:58 PM
sweet! what a cute factor!
Posted by: bettyannmanghi | September 03, 2015 at 12:53 AM