As scrapbookers and memory keepers we take loads of photos each year – some of us each day for various reasons. And as Project Life becomes more and more popular we start taking even more photos. There’s nothing to taking a photo – aim and shoot. But then there’s taking better and even great photos. We can’t all be professional photographers – but with a few simple guidelines we can all become better photographers and memory keepers, and with practice comes perfection and better photographs. Here are a few tips I have learned throughout my career working with some of the best photographers in South Africa. These are the basics rules of getting better and more usable photos. This will be a series of tips and tricks on getting better photos – for you the scrapper and avid photographer. Simple, quick and easy! Take more photos than what you need sometimes you take a single photo of something that ends up being more important that you thought.

Always take more photos then what you think you will need

Some will be blurry, some will have the focus on something different than you intended, and some may even have something in the background you didn’t notice at all. The beauty of digital photography is that you can always delete the unwanted images or simply store them in a different place on your computer – but they are still there should you need them. Working in publishing taught me to take at least 20 more photos that what you really need. Changing the angle, the prop, the background and even the setting will help to have the same subject with different images.

Landscape, Portrait, Fill the Frame 

simple explanation really. In everything that you photograph always take landscape and portrait images. If you have a good editing program you can do this for yourself, but it’s so much easier just tilting your camera and taking landscape and portrait images. This also ensures that you are taking more photos than you normally would, giving you twice the possibilities for scrapping and memory keeping. Together with taking both landscape and portrait images you need to get up close and personal to your subject. Fill the frame with your subject by getting really close to your subject or use a macro or zoom lens depending on the gear you shoot with. By filling the frame with your subject you eliminate unwanted background “noise” like people on the beach or more lawn than you really want behind your new puppy. You are simply shifting the focus onto what is really important.

Shoot from Different Angles 

My favourite photos are those of my husband staring into the distance and totally unaware of the photo being taken. The same goes for toddlers playing in a sand pit and not looking directly into the camera lens – the camera captures something really special that would otherwise not be there. Different angles also means that you will climb onto chair and ladders to get higher than your subject, or lie down flat on the ground to get to the same height as the subject you are shooting. Getting a little dirty will mean that you get “the” shot.

Take advantage of themes and make use of props

Don’t be afraid to use props, these are used to add interest to a photo but also helps to focus the viewer’s eye on the subject. It can be something little that will enhance the theme of the photo like a colourful ball on the beach or a simple flower from your garden. Now go out and get that creative shot – we would love to see some of your best photos!