With the holiday season in full swing some us will be asked to take a few ‘simple pictures’ for Friends and family.
It is easy to brush this off with the ‘I’m not bringing a camera’ defense or ‘just put your camera on automatic and do it yourself, it’ll be fine’. The truth is most of take pictures because we really enjoy it and have a passion for it, to a greater lesser degree, and to turn down these requests robs us of a great opportunity to try something different. After all friends and family don’t let each other use the green square… So put on that lens that you never normally use, format a few cards and take a look at those you care about with a new perspective.
When looking at a familiar subject it’s hard to see it clearly without imposing your preconceived notion of what it is upon it. Look at your built in meter, make a decision as to how to interpret it. After all, it’s job is to render a neutral grey evenly, not to make your pictures look as great as they do in your head, that’s your job. Uncle bob might be sitting near the window, dozing off and you want to sneak an intimate feeling personality shot for the family album. Use your meter to tell you what neutral exposure is in the mid tone part of the frame, and adjust to bring it to life as you see it. Do the same at your Christmas party, at the bar, at church or wherever you wouldn’t normally take care of your exposure. Don’t let your Facebook posts and family pictures take a horrible turn towards the green square, take control this season and onwards into the new year.
From Jez.
Recent Comments