Pay attention to how much light you have and where it's coming from when taking your photos. If you're shooting outdoors, be careful not to take photos of a person when the sun is at their back. If you're grabbing a photo in front of a monument or landmark and don't have the flexibility to adjust your position you can use the camera's flash to fill in shadows. You may have to manually activate the flash, as there's a good chance that the camera will think that it's unnecessary on a bright day.
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Get Basic Composition Down. The heart of a photograph is its composition—the position of different elements in a frame. The easiest rule of thumb to learn and remember is the Rule of Thirds. Basically, you'll want to break your frame into nine squares of roughly equal size. Try and align the subject of your photo along these lines and intersections and imagine the main image divided over these nine boxes. This gives you a more dramatic, visually interesting shot than one where you subject is located dead center. Many newer cameras have a rule of thirds grid overlay that you can activate when shooting.
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Talk to your coordinator or lighting person and make sure that during the first dance, parent dances, and toasts there will be no colored lights on the subjects. Even during your guest dancing shots, it’s rough but it’s tolerable since it is supposed to have a club-like atmosphere anyway. Don’t ruin important moments like the first dance and speeches.
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Tip of the Day: When shooting, never delete images from the camera, wait until you review them on your computer screen before making the decision. Even a shot with camera motion or poor focus may have some artistic merit.
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- This is a “first impression” business. You know the quote – “You only get one chance to make a good first impression.” – There is no business where that is more true than modeling or product photography. Every agency or client that you contact – your photos, comp card, or modeling portfolio will always go in the door before you.
- Consider this: If McDonald’s were going to launch a new print ad campaign for the Big Mac. . . do you think that they would go to the nearest McDonald’s, order a Big Mac, and return to the studio to photograph them? Of course not! They would hire the most creative and skilled food stylists from New York or Los Angeles to build and photograph a Big Mac – the likes of which you nor I will ever have the opportunity to eat – but it sure will make us want to go out and buy one! What is my point?
- Set your standards HIGH! You MUST use a very critical eye when selecting any images to put in your product portfolio. Make sure that the pictures that you show can WOW agencies and potential clients.
- You are only as good as your worst image – and believe me – photographers, agencies, and art directors WILL remember the worst image.