Pay special attention to kids. The memories you capture will become extremely important to them in the future.” Photography/Rajiv Kumar
K Madhavan Pillai tells you how to get an album full of happy summer holiday memories by using some easy picture making practices.
The bags are packed. You are about to leave for a fun-filled vacation. For most of us, a family holiday is a rare occasion because it happens just once a year, or once every few years. Subsequently, getting good pictures becomes one of the most important parts of the holiday agenda. Over time, these pictures serve as joyous reminders of our fun moments of togetherness. A few simple practices can go a long way in making your holiday photo album something to cherish.
- It is all about Memories, Not ‘Art’
To begin with, you need to ensure that your loved ones are the heroes of your photo story. Be the fun-loving holidayer, not a serious photographer. Let every special moment add to your frame count.
- Thus, Be a Storyteller
Think of your album as a movie in frames. Record all the little moments that make up the story. Weave in the plot as the story unfolds. Every good movie has adventure, romance, exotic locales… even suspense and angst, just like a family holiday. In the end, the heroes return home triumphant. Of course, through it all, you need to ensure that the process of picture making is fun for your family too.
- Showcase Relationships
A family is all about close-knit bonds. Photographing the interaction between family members, or showing relationships through body language, increases the emotional content of your photo story
- Pose for Posterity
Vacation time is when your family will be at their undisturbed best. It is a perfect chance to make wonderfully relaxed individual or group portraits. These are the kind of portraits that later may go well in a family photo album.
- Get Candid
Most people, including family members, tend to get self-conscious when they know you are making pictures of them. For candid portraits, you need to be patient, but alert and quick. As you keep shooting, your family will soon forget that you have a camera. This is when you will get the best natural, candid shots.
Knowing how your family reacts is a good way to get pictures. Simply request someone to do something out of the ordinary… and wait for the reaction.” Photography/Vivek Nigam
- Include the Environment
A large part of the story is to showcase the beauty of the place you are in, with your family in the frame. Marketplaces, shops, streets, mountains, lakes, gardens, valleys, forests… use them all as backdrops for your portraits.
Spontaneous moments are simply impossible to replicate. You need to be quick and ready with your camera at all times.” Photography/Vivek Nigam
First frolic and games, then quieter conversation, and finally the introspective silence… long-distance train travel yields many picture possibilities.” Photography/Pragadeeshvel S
- Do not Forget to Include Yourself
In most cases, the one with the camera is rarely in front of it. The album gets more interesting for the rest of your family if you are also a part of the story. Use the Self Timer of the camera or request someone else to shoot pictures in which you are with your family.
- It is not Just About Faces
Make closeup pictures of hands holding a steaming cup of chai in the morning. Or your own feet in the sand. Or silhouettes of your loved ones against a beautiful sunset. Or of your family walking down a path in the middle of the woods. Their faces may not be visible, yet pictures like these strengthen the story by depicting the mood of the moment
Shooting on the move with the road in the frame is a great way to depict a long journey. Just be very careful! ” Photography/Jayanta Das
- It is also about Objects and Spaces
From odd looking menu cards at local restaurants and the decor of the hotel room to the street signs or the cobblestones on the sidewalk, all of these tell small stories of their own about the place you are in.
- Establish a Sense of Scale
It is easy to gauge size or distance when you include your family in the frame, standing close to the monument, as a point of reference. On the other hand, if a family member is closer to the camera than to the Taj, it could appear much smaller than what it actually is. Have you seen pictures of people holding the Taj Mahal in the palm of their hand? Try out clichés like that. It can be fun too!
- Check and Recheck Composition
Simpler, cleaner compositions are much more impactful than crowded ones. Before you shoot, quickly check the edges of the frame, the foreground and background. This lets you to inspect the frame for unwanted elements. If there are distractions, recompose and recheck before releasing the shutter.
- The Advantages of a Light Tripod
Despite the tripod being an invaluable accessory, it is often the first piece of equipment to be forgotten. Shooting with a tripod makes you more conscious about composition. It compels you to shoot from lower vantage points than your normal standing eye level. It also keeps the camera steady and lets you use the Self Timer. There are many low light and long exposure techniques you could try out.
- The Magic of Available Light
Morning or evening light is wonderful for frontal, warm lighting. At noon, open shade gives you soft light to shoot in. At any given time of the day, whether indoors or outdoors, light can be your friend as long as you are aware of how it affects the scene. Similarly, shadows can look beautiful, dramatic or ugly, depending on how you use them in your pictures.
- Scene Modes for Better Pictures
Sunset mode, Sports mode, Landscape, Portrait, Night Portrait, Beach… all of these modes help you get better shots in those particular situations. Use them wherever and whenever you can!
When the situation allows, move to a radically low viewpoint for adding a lot of drama to the action in the frame.” Photography/Vivek Nigam
Toddlers and children are naturally very expressive. A family vacation is the perfect time to make pictures of them having fun.” Photography/Rajiv Kumar Solanki
- Turn Face Detection On
Face detection helps ensure that the faces in the frame are in sharp focus. It also adjusts exposure for the faces in the frame.
- In Bright Sunlight, Use the Flash
It helps fill unflattering shadows in portraits. If your camera has the feature to reduce flash output, keep the flash exposure compensation value at -0.7 or -1, for a more natural looking photo.
- HDR for High Contrast Scenes
Many cameras now have a High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature. It allows you to retain details in very dark and bright areas in a scene. Alternatively, you can also use Auto Bracketing to snap off multiple frames with different exposures, and combine them later. This feature works best with static subjects. If you need to make HDR pictures with your family in the frame, they need to be very still.
There is an easy way to make great photos. Get your family to do something fun together just for the camera. One, two, three… go! ” Photography/Rajashree Raghavendra
- Shoot a Lot, Make a Tight Selection
It is good to be a careful, thinking photographer. But it is more important to capture every special moment. So preset camera settings, be spontaneous, and make plenty of pictures. Eventually, select from the top five percent of all the frames you shoot for your holiday photo album.
- Add Flavour with Fun Captions
Good, witty captions embellish your images with interesting little details. Do not forget to include the date, place and names of the people in the photographs. It helps when friends or others in your extended family see the pictures.
- Finally… Share, Share, Share!
The joy of a photo story is when others can share in your holiday fun. After you get back, organise a slideshow at home for your near and dear ones. You can also share it by putting it up online. Most of all, make high quality prints from a good photo lab for your album. Despite social media and online sharing, the pleasure of going through a physical photo album cannot be overstated.Decades later, after the kids have grown up, a single image sent as a print with a small message is bound to bring back fond memories and a smile. This is why family holidays must be picture perfect.
This article originally appeared in the May 2013 issue of Better Photography.
Try vertical framing for impact. It works well for monuments and large interiors with high ceilings.” Photography/Rajiv Kumar Solanki
Include the environment in your portraits, so that others viewing the album know what the place is like.” Photography/Debashis Mukherjee
Interesting Picturemaking Ideas for your Holiday Album
