Taking Pictures

[H0wl]

Okay, so I have this digital camera, an Olympus D-550 with a 3x optical zoom and 3.0 megapixel resolution.

It's a nice little snap cam, nothing special, didn't cost me a lot of cash.

Eventually I'd like to take some pics of my girlfriend. Any tips/tricks on how to get the best out of my camera?

Anything from basic photography advice to stuff specifically targetted to my cam and how to photograph bare skin with it will be greatly appreciated.

 

[werbl]

Since it's digital, take LOTS of pics - you can delete the ones that suck later. If you leave the flash on, the pics tend to be kinda harsh and unappealing. Especially anything remotely close. Turn the flash off and the lighting will be a little softer, more natural. Depends on what you want I guess. Oh yeah, make sure you delete the bad ones, cause somehow someone might end up finding them. And have fun.

 

[Weird Harold]

Eventually I'd like to take some pics of my girlfriend. Any tips/tricks on how to get the best out of my camera?

Anything from basic photography advice to stuff specifically targetted to my cam and how to photograph bare skin with it will be greatly appreciated.

The secret to all good pictures is lighting. Get the lighting right and even a cheap camera can take good pictures. For portrature -- i.e. taking posed pictures of people -- indirect lighting is the best.

Indirect lighting is light that is reflected off of a surface before it hits the subject, preferably from a direction other than the direction of the camera -- in other words, don't rely on the built-in flash in your camera.

The "color" of the lights you use will make a big difference in your pictures. The closer you can get to natural light the better your pictures will be. Normal Tungsten filament lights will give allof your pictures a yellow/orange cast. A pair of flourescent bulbs on either side of the subject (about 45 degrees to either side of the camera) should give you good results without going to a lot of expense for lighting. Full spectrum flourescents would be even better, but more expensive.

Experiment with white poster board as reflectors for the lights.


Second, the better the image is composed in the viewfinder, the less editing will be required to make the pictures look good. Don't let the fact that editing (cropping, resizing, etc) digital pictures is easy let you get sloppy about getting a good paicture to start from in your quest tfor the perfect picture.

Check out the internet for advice on photography -- Kodak has some good tutorials for beginning photographers and I think Fujifilm does too. Google (or your favorite search engine) is your friend and can find you more advice on taking pictures than you'll have time to read.

Finally, practice, practice, practice -- and then practice some more. Get to know your camera and what it's capable of. Look at every picture you take -- I mean really LOOK at it. If a picture is not good, figure out what it is about it that makes it "not good." Do the same for pictures that are good -- figure out what makes it "good" and how to repeat it.

 

[sirmed]

YEp... I agree. Lighting , Lighting, Lighting,... from a 25 year pro that does photography every day... It is all about lighting... if you store that image of her on film or digital....

Good Idea is.. Window light...it is big and soft and keep her happy and you as well...

 

[H0wl]

Whee!

Thanks guys.

Yeah, if we are taking anything risque it stays on the Smart Media and she keeps it and decides what goes on a computer and what doesn't.