Digital camera equipment has made more artistic options available to photographers than they ever had with film but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are capturing longer-lasting, more memorable images.
This week we asked Gazette photographer April Bartlett, ABI photographer Alex Iskander and McBain Camera manager Rene Rodrigue what it takes to get the best holiday shots. All three agreed that almost all great pictures require more than luck. They require planning and an eye for composition.
“Think what you want before you even take the photo,” Bartlett stressed.
Iskander agreed, adding that the photographer needs to have a theme in mind before even picking up the camera.
“Suppose you have a kid and a tree. Ask yourself, ‘What’s the reason for the picture?’ Do you want to show baby’s first Christmas? In that case, the tree is just a small background note. Or do you want to sell the tree to show how beautiful the decorations are this year, in which case you would stand back to get a vertical shot of the tree, ” he said.
When Bartlett shoots photos – almost any photo – she has a mantra that she often repeats to herself.
“Fill the frame. If you want a vertical shot of a tree, fill the frame with the tree. If you want a photo of baby by the tree, then get Mom and baby cuddled up beside the tree. Get close and fill the frame with baby,” she said.
The lights of the tree can interfere with the effect you wish to create, but again, by thinking ahead, you can solve the problem.
“For most shots, use the technology of your camera. Use the auto setting,” Bartlett said.
Rodrigue prefers to work with the glow of the lights themselves.
“I avoid using a flash because I want the glow of the Christmas lights and the flash could overpower that. But if I want more light on the subject, then I move the living room lights closer and I play with the position of the lights,” Rodrigue explained.
Large family photos take the most planning, Iskander said, but they also provide an opportunity to create a special pictorial memory of an important event.
“Suppose Grandma and Grandpa are there. It’s unusual for them to be there, so you want to show that everyone is together, but perhaps there are 18 people there,” he said, as he explained how he might set up such a photo on a couch or at the dinner table.
“Mentally create shapes with the people, so you don’t just spread them out in a long line. The tall people could maybe sit down and then you create shapes with other people near them,” Iskander said.
When he shoots a family photo of a large group, Iskander breaks the larger group into smaller groups, arranging them into shapes, usually diamonds or Vs. With the diamond shape, he will place four people in the group with a person’s head on each point of the diamond. He applies the same principle to get a V-shape from a group of three. All the little shaped groups together make the complete arrangement of a family get together.
“You have to think how to do this before the people sit down,” he said. “Perhaps draw it out on paper first. You know your family and their size and shape and age. Maybe the main point of interest will be Grandma and Grandpa in the centre and the groupings of the rest of the family to the side and in front and behind, but you cannot be doing this at the last minute. You have to have it planned in your mind before they get there.”
In his mental preparation, he thinks about the heavier, perhaps self-conscious family member and plans to cover his or her body with another body.
“People are self-conscious about their weight, especially girls. So think how to hide them. Keep them in the back and cover them with other people’s bodies or heads. And turn them to the side, instead of straight on,” he said.
Iskander leaves the fidgety children until the last minute before placing them into his setting. He also completely ignores the family grouch, who doesn’t want to be in the photo.
“Don’t worry about that person. You know where you are going to put them in the photo. Make sure people are comfortable. Joke with them and don’t force that unwilling person. They will see everyone is there and together and having fun and they will want to be part of it because otherwise they feel left out. Or perhaps someone, maybe the youngest child, will coax them to join,” he said.
Always the psychologist, Iskander keeps the banter going so that no one knows exactly when he is going to take the photo.
“It’s best that they don’t know when you take the shot because they are more relaxed. You are trying to do a casual shot combined with a professional look,” he said.
Planned set-up photos are one thing, but getting the spontaneous Christmas Day photo is the family photo-buff’s fondest wish. To get that shot, the photographer has to be prepared to carry a camera around with them all day.
“Invariably, when people bring their photos in, perhaps for copies, the most treasured ones are the candid shots, maybe with Uncle Bob laughing on the couch with Cousin Sue. To get those shots someone has to pay attention to what’s happening and they have to follow them with a camera. Those photos are the ones that years later you can tell a story with,” Rodrigue said.
While it’s nice to get the subject in a relaxed holiday mood, the photographer has to have fun too.
“Don’t be afraid to try different shots and to have fun,” Rodrigue said. “Choose your timing. Recognize something significant when it happens but don’t beat yourself up if you miss it. Frankly, it’s going to happen again. Christmas comes every year.”
