Taking better party photos

Nov 26
2008

Holiday gatherings are great opportunities to take pictures your friends and family will enjoy for years to come, so break the camera out early—while everyone’s fresh—and follow these tips to help make the most of your pictures from this special time of year.


Get the Group
It can be difficult to get everyone in one place. While you have the whole gang together, take a group or family portrait! It will probably be a treasured keepsake.


Be Candid
Resist the urge to make every shot a posed photo – jump into the “life of the party” for candid shots that capture the spirit of the people and the occasion. Move around to get different perspectives on any games, hugging, dancing, cooking and eating. If you’re shooting digital, take lots of pictures and then edit later. Don’t forget to use your camera’s video mode to capture the fun as well.


Zoom In
Closer to your subject is almost always better. Use your zoom to fill the frame and get more dynamic compositions. Sometimes once a guest sees the camera, they freeze up, so standing back and using the zoom mode can also result in more authentic and unexpected candids.


Set the Mode
Unless you’re going for a specific effect, use the camera’s easiest shooting mode for your situation. If your camera has a “Party” mode setting, use that. If not, use the “Automatic” mode and let the camera figure out the right shutter speed, flash and other settings. You’ll miss fewer shots, and have more time to focus on enjoying the party.

Maui Portraits

Nov 15
2008

Holiday Photos, Maui

Sep 10
2008

At this time of year, many of the world’s cultures will be getting ready for the Holidays such as Holloween and Chrsitmas. I like to advise my clients to get ready early on for holiday photos in Maui. If your planning to take photos for Christmas cards, you might want to start shopping around for companies that handle the type of quanities your going to need to order. There’s several local stores that offer christmas cards as well as companies on-line. As far as scheduling your family’s photo shoot, I recommend you make an appointment early on as during the season it’s hard to get an appointment and also doesn’t leave you time to get your cards printed and in the mail. I’ll be running an early bird special this year for those who schedule their shoots in October and November. I’ll be posting the the prices in the next couple weeks so, please remember to log onto my blog the first week of October for the best deal on Maui.