A-Z Blog Challenge: T is for Taking Terrific Photos by Rebecca Barray

It's that time again!!!  Unwritten and some 1000 other blogs participated last year, and this year looks to be even bigger! Just like last year, I've opened up the blog to host 26 fabulous writers, with each day of the challenge representing the letters of the alphabet from A-Z. I've asked each writer to focus on something that is personal to them, so we can learn more about each other. 

Please check out some of the other blogs in the challenge here: 

A-Z BLOG CHALLENGE 2013

T is for...Three Tips for Taking Terrific Photos

by Rebecca Barray

Everyone takes pictures. No matter what your talent level, whether you like to photograph people or things or even nature, and whether you use your phone’s camera, digital or film: you've probably taken a photo. Here are three tips to make your pictures look absolutely terrific!

1. Get Closer!

Simplify. Keep your photos uncluttered. You just need one thing to focus on. Too much other stuff in the frame will only distract from your main focus. 

So, get close. Closer. Now, get even closer and you might be close enough. Really get in there. Fill the frame with your subject. Cut out anything that doesn’t add to the composition, all the extraneous.

2. Get Out of the Middle!

Put the subject off center. You want to draw the eye away from the middle of the image. 

This is a variation of the rule of thirds. Use those guidelines you see in your viewfinder that divide your view into horizontal and vertical thirds. If you don’t have those lines, just remember to stay out of the middle. 

If you are photographing a person, remember: face the space. It’s a little awkward to have someone facing out of the frame with their back to majority of the picture.

3. Grab Your Camera!

This is the most important tip I know. You can’t take a photo if you don’t have your camera. Most of us have cameras built in our phones, and if that’s all you have, it’ll work. But if you have a nicer camera, why not use it? But to use it, you gotta have it with you. 

I keep mine on the bar between the kitchen and living room, for those opportune childhood moments, or disasters, whatever the case may be. When I leave the house, I throw it in the camera bag and take it with me. Usually. But of course, every time I forget it, I see something awesome, and wish I had it with me. 

Okay. Now that you’ve got a few things to keep in mind, pick up your camera! Go outside and find some flowers that haven’t quite bloomed yet. Or, follow your kids and/or pets around for a while. They tend to do interesting things every few minutes or so. Or,  just look up. The sky is one of my favorite subjects, because the light is always changing.

Feel free to comment with any questions or tips of your own! I’m happy to help in any way I can. 

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Rebecca Barray is a stay home mother of three (four if you count her extremely child-like husband). She is a writer and photographer, and a lover of learning. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Becca's Blog. If you need some tips for more complicated shots, like night and action photos, she did a series on exposure at Wordsmith Studio. 

Check out Rebecca's new photo chapbook, 'Nature: Reflections of Our Lives' here: https://www.createspace.com/4194284?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

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