So, what kind of pictures are you taking?
The holidays are done, and if you got a new camera, I hope you’re using it. I’ll take pictures of just about anything, but some folks just want to take pictures of their family; others only get the camera out for special events; others just like taking shots of objects.
I know during the past two months, I’ve sold several cameras to people who wanted to know how to take close ups of small objects, in order to post them on E-Bay. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but E-Bay and the digital camera are a match made in heaven. Now, understand please, while I may be proficient in most things computer-related, I’ve mostly stayed away from E-Bay. I am a pack-rat, and have no desire to sell off the various knick-knacks, collectibles, Happy Meal toys and discarded toys in our household. I’m also leery of sending money to strangers with the expectation they will ship their items to me. I’m suspicious – so sue me.
However, I’ve looked it over in the past, and yes, people are smart enough to get the pictures of their goods up there. Sometimes the photography is good, sometimes it looks like a 10 year old Polaroid shot by my dog. But I’m finding people are starting to take this very seriously. Macro mode, which is the special mode your digital camera uses for close-ups, is becoming the hot feature.
There are a couple of tricks to getting a good close-up shot.
- A steady hand – If you have a tripod, use it. Otherwise, try placing your elbow on a table. Extreme close-ups will show blurring from the slightest movement.
- Turn off the flash – Turn on the overhead lights, take the shade off a table lamp, even a high powered flashlight is better than a flash in these conditions.
- Shoot from an angle – Objects look better at a slight angle. Don’t take the picture head-on, but try turning the object toward or away from the camera a little.
We’ll look at other types of shots later on.
Meanwhile, leave some comments, and let me know what kind of pictures you’re taking.