Photo Tips: September 2007 Archives

Hello vacationers!

We love the vacation photos. And believe me, we get a lot of them. At one time, an editor told me he had such a backlog that any new photo coming in that day wouldn't be published unitl 7 months later. It wouldn't be unusual for us to publish a vacation photo in August that was taken while on a skiing vacation in Colorado. That's a lot of photos.

I'm also sure that you've seen some really nice photos, and some photos that weren't so nice. Photos that work have any one or more of these qualities:

1. Sense of place: The vacation hotspot is frequently lost in photos. I've seen a lot of photos of people standing in front of a non-descript thing that don't identify anything. When it works, you get a sense of the beauty of where you are staying. Sometimes this works when you are standing with a point of reference, a statue, a street scene, a vista and so on.

2. Foreground/background: I've seen countless photos when there isn't a foreground in a photo, and all there is in a photo is the background. Let me explain. A happy couple carries their Star-News to a far away land and take a photo in front of a statue. To get the whole statue in the photo, they put the camera on a tripod and frame the whole thing. Then they stand right under the statue. The photo ends up being a distant photo of a statue with two tiny people holding a Star-News, but the newspaper is so small, it doesn't look like a newspaper, and the people are so small, they are unidentifiable.
Photos that work have both a foreground and a background. Something that separates the idea you want to introduce from the background. For example, try setting up a photo where the background is the icon of your vacation hotspot. Then set yourself in the foreground, either in the center of the frame, or off to the right or left. This will make it easier to read the photo, see where you are, and appreciate your efforts to take a great photo.

3. Exposure: This tip is for anybody taking pictures of people or things outside. The key to a well exposed photo is to pay attention to light and shadows. I see this all the time, and suggest when I see it, to turn on the flash/strobe, (pro's call them strobes). Using a flash outside is as important as it is using it inside. In fact, the light that comes out of a flash is daylight balanced and is ideal for usage outside. If your subject, family member, etc. is stanging with a newspaper and they are in the shade, turn on the flash on in your camera. You may have to "force" it on. A lot of cameras allow you to force the flash to stay on. Cameras default to Auto, however the Auto setting won't fire a strobe if it's bright outside. If your subject is in the shade, turn on the flash to even out the difference between the background and the foreground.
If the background is totally in the shade, and you are in bright sunlight, you can do much to light the background. Your flash is probably not detachable, and your background could be as big as a pyramid. This time, turn off your flash and try a couple things. Find a place where you are in the shade too and try and match the exposure. If you are using a digital camera, this is easy by using the preview window. If you can't match the exposure, wait for a time when the background is in better light, or just wing it. We see a lot of wing-it photos, so you won't be alone.

4. Humor: This is a tough thing. All a humorous photo needs to do is make someone smile. It's not easy. Professional photogaphers strive for humor in a photo. Sometimes this is accomplished by getting an ordinary setting to look or seem not-so ordinary. A goofy face. A surprise.

We thank you all for submitting your photos to us. Sometimes it's pretty crazy to think that a reader has taken our newspaper on vacation with them. I have some recent examples below, and my all-time favorite which was taken a few years back. Enjoy.

Good vacation photo with a clear foreground, background, and it's well exposed.

This photo could be better if there was a foreground. The subjects are standing with a sign that is to far away and it created too much separation from the photographer.

My all-time favorite. To go on what I'm guessing is a cruise and get everyone dressed up in their tuxes and dresses to pose for a photo with the Star-News. Priceless.