Did I Take That Photo?

Photos As Humor

Caution: The following suggestions can be habit-forming and some people have actually become addicted to it. Don't say I didn't warn you!

There's more you can do with photographs than just frame them or put them in a scrapbook (though those are lovely things to do as well).

Think fun--think silly--think a little crazy. Are you tired of the same old Christmas photo with everyone dressed up in their Sunday best, smiling for the camera?

Take a lesson from one of my favorite entrepreneurs, MikWright (www.mikwright.com). These creative people took real photos from their childhoods (and before) and created captions for them that are sometimes touching, sometimes silly, occasionally a bit off-color, but always hilarious!

There's no reason you can't do exactly the same thing. Have the whole family get involved! This is the kind of thing that generally works better with more people rather than all alone. Somehow brainstorming just works better with a crowd (even if it's just a crowd of two).

Pull out the scrapbook or belly up to the computer screen and start going through your photos and see what people can come up with for captions. Collect way more than you need so you can cut back to the very best and then decide how to use them.

I have a few suggestions:

• Have a calendar made with a different photo and caption for each month and give it to friends and/or family for Christmas (or whenever you like).
• Use them in a corner of a letter you're writing to someone (this can be either on the computer or taking a copy of one and using the paper to hand-write the letter).
• Send them in the occasional email to someone who needs cheering up or just because it's fun.
• Have a file of them to pull out when you need a good laugh.
• As a special project, you can go through photos of your favorite person who's about to turn 30 (or 40, or 50, or whatever) and make captions that may relate to the upcoming age or that is more specific to an earlier time. Hang them all over the house or office or on the walls where the party is happening.

Think about this for a while and before you know it, you'll be thinking of all kinds of things to do with them and as soon as that happens, you'll want to go back to your photo treasure-trove and make more. As I said, be careful: this can be addictive.

Which Camera to Buy

Generally speaking, that's easy to answer--the one you like best and can afford. Obviously, there can be a lot more to it than that.

Here are the primary considerations: price range, quality of photos, size of camera, bells & whistles.

Let's start with price range--You can start from around $50 (I don't recommend it) and go up to--well, the sky's nearly the only limit on that but $300-$500 is generally the top level most people are willing to expend for a "point and shoot" camera--a camera to be used for social occasions rather than professional work.

The quality of the photos will be impacted by the number of megapixels, whether or not the camera has image stabilization, and a few other factors that really are based on the price.

Size is simple--they're small! I believe the largest one on my list of nice cameras is 4.1" long. That will fit in most pockets with ease. Don't let the size fool you--these are powerful little guys.

Bells & whistles can be fun but not necessarily critical. I love that mine can be switched from automatic focus to manual so I can make adjustments if I want but I don't think I've ever taken advantage of that feature. It's lovely to have an LCD screen that will flip around so you can have the camera near the ground without having to be down there at the same level in order to see what you're aimed at--again, not necessary. Think about these things, though, as you think about which camera you might want to buy.

Do your research, look at the higher end models and see which features you like, which you really like, and which ones you really don't think you want to live without and then start checking out cameras to see what fits your list of things you want and your budget.

What's most important? Is it comfortable? I'm serious! When I was choosing between two cameras that were so close in price, quality, and features that I couldn't make up my mind, I put each of them in my hand (it really is important to be able to hold a camera before you buy it, even if you go back home and order it online) and bought the one that felt best. Not only did I like the way it felt when I held it, the shutter release was at the perfect location. My right index finger went there automatically. On the other one, my finger headed for the on/off switch. That made my decision for me.

Bottom line--you're the only one who can decide which camera is right for you but buying after doing a little research with help you get not only the one you want but also the one that will give you the most of what want to get out of a camera.

Photography in Minnesota

I’m back from my trip to Minnesota! I’ve actually been back for a couple of weeks but the older I get, the longer it takes me to recuperate. As promised in my post telling all of you I was headed in that direction, here are the highlights.

The graduation reception was an amazing event. My daughter and the whole family must have spent forever getting ready for it. We had over 60 people there and it never felt overly crowded. I was able to spend time with all my family (Dad, Mom, step-mom, both sisters, step-brother, and a few nieces and nephews) and generally have a fabulous time. 

Mother’s day was equally wonderful with daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters. It was a much quieter day and that was truly just fine with me! 

I even made time to run around with my camera (did you ever doubt it?). My daughter and I drove all over the place looking for interesting places to photograph and we found two very old places (I love falling-down stuff) and a surprise bonus. My son-in-law works in a building with a predominantly glass brick exterior with interesting curves and I spent about half an hour photographing that. I think I got a few good shots from it. 

The next day my granddaughter and I headed out as well. She and I returned to the old homestead farm my daughter and I discovered the day before. The funniest part about it was that it was within a mile of her house. I’ve driven past it a couple of dozen times and didn’t notice it until this trip.    

Now that I’ve bored you half to death with my family trip, here’s the photo tip for this week. 

A tiny bit of background is important here. The house in the city had a For Sale sign out in front and it was reasonable that I might be there taking photographs as a potential buyer. The homestead (small farm that had sold off most of the land for area developments) had signs posted that said it was under video surveillance. My daughter said she had heard that the residents had both passed away and the house was vacant. 

The first we discovered, other than my son-in-law’s office building, was the very old house with the For Sale sign out front. While I was there, a fellow from the tattoo parlor down the street came out and asked if I was the niece of the woman who had lived there. I told him I wasn’t, that I was a photographer and found the house amazingly interesting. I didn’t say I found it interesting because the front porch was falling down or because the entire house was in sad disrepair. I said it had great architectural interest. He told me about the woman who lived there—how her family had owned the house since it was built back in the late 1800s and that he would miss the owner of the house. 

The second place, the homestead, was truly falling down. My daughter and I totally ignored the signs (I’m not encouraging anyone else to do this—it could get you in trouble—but I couldn’t resist) and I started taking photos like crazy. It was a fabulous find for someone who loves falling down structures. Unfortunately, it started to rain and we were forced to leave before I had all the pictures I wanted. 

The following day, my granddaughter and I went back to see what other shots I could get and there were people there. One of them came down and asked if I was the niece of the former owners (interesting that in both cases it was a niece they asked about). I told him I was a photographer and had been drawn to the fabulous structures and their photographic potential. Did he mind if I took photos there? It turned out he was just someone who had come to get the 30-foot boat he had stored there and needed to remove before the place was sold. He wasn’t going to say I could or couldn’t take photos. Of course I continued to take them until he said they were going to be taking the boat out and if we didn’t leave, we could be trapped in the drive for several hours while they got it all ready to go. We left even though there were many photos yet to be taken. Sometimes you just have to get what you can get and be happy with that. 

At the junk yard, the experience was a bit different. I had just gotten started taking photos when someone came out and asked what I was doing. I explained I was a photographer and I was drawn to fabulous, rusty, old items and they had them in abundance. He seemed to be concerned that I was taking photos for a lawyer or insurance company or something, in addition to mentioning that it wasn’t a safe place for me to be. He insisted I leave immediately and I told him that of course I would. 

In each of the above cases I was friendly, non-threatening, and cooperative. The most important thing, though, was that I acted as though I should be there—that a photographer gets to wander about places that the “normal public” doesn’t have access to.  

While you may never choose to become a professional photographer, there are a couple of things to be learned here:

• If there is something you want to photograph or use as a background and it appears to be on private property, use common sense when deciding whether or not to potentially invade someone’s privacy. (I knew the homestead’s owners had passed away and the old house was for sale).
•  If someone asks what you’re doing be friendly and explain what a beautiful (fascinating, interesting, delightful—whatever) location it is and that you wanted to photograph it.
•  If asked (or told) to leave, no matter how cranky the request may be, continue to smile and cooperate as quickly as you can.
•  If the person is VERY cranky, offer to delete any photos you may already have taken of the property and offer to show them the digital screen as you delete them so they can see that you go back to the location you were in before this one.
•  If you want to take a photo of somewhere that someone is already in evidence, ask! If approached properly, people are often very pleased to have photos taken of their property.
• When given permission to take your photos, be sure to thank them for allowing you to intrude.
• If the place you want to photograph is obviously somewhere it would be rude to intrude upon, don’t even think about it (I’m reminded of a scene in the movie, Witness, where an Amish woman said tourists would sometimes drive right up to the house. “They seem to think we’re quaint. It’s very rude.” Yes, it’s very rude to do something like that. If you’re on public property, taking a photo of Amish quilts hanging on a clothes line that's one thing—going onto their private property to do the same thing is something else entirely.
• Use common sense, be considerate, ask permission when possible, and be understanding if some people find your request out of line. 

I wish you as much success as I’ve had getting permission to photograph as many things as I have. It can be great fun!

Quick Tips for Mother's Day (and other gatherings)

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and for many of us that means an opportunity to take photos. If you’re not quite ready to leap in and figure out how to be a professional photographer in the next 10 days, here are a few tiny tips to help get you a few photos you’ll want to frame and a bunch more you’ll be proud of. 

1. Get close enough to identify the subject. If you can’t tell who everyone is through the view finder, chances are no one else will after it’s printed.

2. Photograph very small groups of people rather than a whole room full. Sure, get the overall room as a reference point if that’s how you like to do that, but then come in closer for individual and small group shots. If you’re in a home environment that can sometimes be more difficult than getting close in a restaurant.

3. Take more than one shot of each photo. Have you ever noticed professional photographers (even on television)? They take several shots of each thing they’re photographing. When they’re taking photos of models, they don’t just take one of a particular outfit. No, they take multiple shots of each pose and each clothing change. This is so they have more to choose from when they’re done. There’s just nothing so annoying as having the only photo I have of a momentous occasion be blurry or for some unknown reason cut someone’s head off. It’s so simple to click the shutter a couple of extra times, just for insurance.

4. Take photos sooner rather than later. Trust me when I say that people don’t get easier to photograph as an event goes forward. Again, going back to professional photographers, they take the wedding party photos before the wedding every time than can do that. They take more shots at the beginning of the reception than the end. OK, some of the photos from the end of the reception can be pretty interesting but the best shots frequently come at the beginning of the event.

5. Finally, and actually most importantly, have fun. If you can have fun with your photography, other people will have fun having their photos taken. If you enjoy what you’re doing, you get to enjoy the gathering as well. If you have trouble knowing when to put the camera down, give yourself 10% of the time of the gathering to take photos. That number is a maximum! If you’re only going to be at a restaurant for less than 2 hours, you have 10 minutes or so to take as many photos as you’re going to.

These little tips work for any event or gathering, this is just a good time for a “quick tips” article.