O.K. so now that we have a rough guide to where to place things in a composition, we can lightly brush on the subject of color theory. We were all taught in art class that Red Yellow and Blue were the primary colors so we’ll use this color wheel in our examples: Notice that the 3 primaries are noted with P, secondary colors with S and tertiary with T. Our cameras use the additive primaries: Red, Green and Blue to produce the millions of colors in our files but the RGB color wheel is significantly different than the one everyone is most familiar with . Printers use Cyan, Magenta Yellow as primaries but for our purposes, we’ll stick with RYB. Color is important to composition because it plays a such big role in how we perceive things. Viewing red for example can actually raise one’s pulse and blood pressure. Blue has the opposite effect. The vibrant colors of a street fiesta would look out of place at a funeral! So by thinking of the mood you wish to communicate you can better utilize the available color choices in a scene to achieve the desired result. Sometimes color is not relevant or can even detract from an images’ impact. Even the most basic digital cameras have a black & white mode. If not, you can always desaturate an image with the software that came with your camera. It’s rare that color can detract from an image but when it does , don’t use it.
Color harmonies: high contrast is useful in isolating elements in a composition and adding impact. Opposites on our color wheel or complementary colors produce contrast. Near neighbors or analogous colors on the wheel produce more subtle harmonies. More color schemes or themes can be derived from dissecting the wheel into split complementary, triadic and tetrad based themes. The color themes most commonly found in nature are usually a good bet for avoiding clashes that might detract from your image. We all know about warm colors typified by the longer wave lengths found in reds, oranges and yellows vs. the cool colors but keep these in mind for how you would want others to feel when they look at your photo for the first time.
can you spot some of the principles of composition in this image?

Some rudiments of composition theory have been very lightly touched on here but if you keep the Golden Mean, Rule of Thirds and Color Harmony concepts in the back of your mind while you’re taking pictures, you can improve your results. Remember to trust your instincts! Your role as record keeper with images should be undertaken as both a pragmatist and an anarchist. After all, rules are meant to be broken! In other words, don’t be a slave to the design concepts offered in this short article. The best composition is the one you think is best!
Photography is a science; not an art form .( i think we’ve shot some arrows into the hornets’ nest of controversy with that statement. ) Please don’t be shy about arguing or commenting . We would love to here form you!

thanks for listening,
t.strang

Depending on how large your family is and how good you are at being in several places doing completely different things at the same time, it might be a good idea to delegate the task of official picture taker to someone else! Whoever takes on this role should begin shooting when the guests start arriving and keep a time line in mind. At the end of the event you should have a good record of the individual guests, some snaps that depict the theme of the party, game time, special entertainment like a clown show for example, the eating time, play time, the cake and candles ceremony, the presents ceremony and the goodbyes.

tip#1: Starting with the arrivals you might want to isolate the individual guests by utilizing the portrait technique of blurring the background. With your camera in manual, zoom to a telephoto setting that fills the viewfinder with your subject and set the aperture at is maximum opening. This may be f2, f2.8, f3.5 etc. depending on your camera, or, as we are talking about getting better results from your little point & shoot camera, simply set your camera to it’s portrait setting! this will automatically open the aperture for you. Some cameras have a mode setting accessible from the shooting menu and others may have a dial with icons. Choose the portrait icon and get shots of all the guests as they are arriving. Remember now that we are taking pictures of children. These are usually small people; which brings us to Tip#2: Get down to their level! Get on your knees or sit down in a chair or somehow get your camera down to their level. You will get much more satisfying portraits than shots from angles that tower above your subjects!

Kids are absolutely wonderful subjects because they are almost always animated. As they play and run about, capture these moments by panning . Tip #3. Move your camera as you follow the action and lead a bit as needed. if your subjects are moving quickly, you’ll need to anticipate when they will be where you want them to be in your composition at the exact moment of shutter release. It takes some practice so check your results (assuming your not using film) regularly and make adjustments as need. Selecting a fast shutter speed will freeze the action and help a bit with getting sharp images.

Get some group shots before everyone leaves. You might want to include some of the parents or even yourself! Remember to set your camera on something sturdy (chest level high is a good starting point for your camera’s position) . Set the self-timer and jump into the shot. Depending on the size of your camera’s storage media, you should have lots of photos to sort through and organize into a sequential record of the party.

The first thing you might think about while setting up your position and choosing a focal length (you won’t need a telephoto setting ) is which part of the sky will afford the best view of the show. This could be a mistake if the show you’re attending is in a city or near anything remotely interesting like a famous or iconic building or structure. A few examples might be the St. Louis Arch, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Trans-America building or the White House! You get the idea… include a landmark in your composition. With the pyrotechnics and a landmark your shots will be far more interesting than if they only included the actual color bursts!

Now it’s time to set your camera in manual mode. Choose an aperture that will give adequate sharpness. if the minimum aperture of your camera is f8, a setting of f 5.6 or lower ie:f8) is fine. If your lenses’ minimum aperture is f16 to f22, you may get better results by opening up to to f8 or f11. If your camera doesn’t allow for manual setting of aperture and shutter speed, it may have a Night Scene mode or even Fireworks mode like the Nikon Coolpix series. Use these.

O.K. So we’ve got a good position, our camera is set up on a tripod, our camera’s view includes some interesting feature besides the show and we’re ready to go. How long of an exposure do we need? When the show starts, try some test shots with different shutter speeds. If your camera’s ISO rating is set to 100 (the lower your ISO rating, in general will yield less ‘noise’ in your image with the long exposure times needed for night shooting) you will need at least a 2 second exposure. If your camera’s digital sensor is set to ISO400, a half second or longer exposure will be needed. etc.etc. 4 seconds at ISO 100 will give good results but you might want to try some longer exposures like 8 seconds to include multiple bursts. We said you won’t need to use a telephoto setting. This is true if you are located at the designated viewing area but not true if you are on the other side of town! The idea is to use whatever focal length is necessary to fill the frame. Nothing is more boring than a blank black sky!

If you don’t have a remote control shutter release or shutter cable, use your camera’s self-timer to release the shutter. Experiment and have some fun!

Could be another case of camera shake that’s giving those poor results!

One of the very easiest ways to improve your photos is keep your camera as stable as possible. Your inexpensive point and shoot camera is capable of some surprising sharpness if it is kept as free of movement as possible at the moment of shutter release. Do you like to compose your shots by using the LCD screen instead of using the viewfinder? Do you like to compose your shots by holding your camera out in front of you with your arms extended? If you answered yes to either of these questions there are a few very simple techniques you can use to improve the sharpness of your photos. Firstly, even though it may seem intuitive to extend your arms out in front of yourself while you shoot, this position is far less stable then a position where your elbows are bent and resting against your torso. Try using the viewfinder (if your camera has one) instead of the screen to compose your shots. Think of your body as a tripod and make a conscious effort to keep your body as still as possible when you release the shutter. Look around… is there a wall or light pole or some other sturdy structure close enough for you to lean on without changing your position so much that it would appreciably change your compositon? Try leaning your body against it for even more stability.

The whole argument for having an inexpensive point and shoot camera is portability . These cameras are light in weight, small in size and easy to carry in a purse or pocket. So.. the idea of lugging around a heavy tripod is simply not an option. But… there are other very simple ways to skin this cat ie; put the camera on something sturdy, compose your shot using the screen or viewfinder and set the self-timer on your camera for a couple of seconds before you press the shutter release! This is the next best thing to having a tripod and you can rest your camera on almost anything; a garabage can, a fence post, a wall, a mail box chair, table, etc. etc. Yet another option is to consider getting a mini tripod or bean bag. Both of these are readily available from your local or online camera shop for a very modest outlay and neither will weigh you down or require you carry more cases. Bean bags are a good choice where the most convenient surface you wish to rest your camera on is not flat; like a stone wall for example.

Now you say your camera has built-in stabilization software? Your cameras default ISO rating is set to a very high ISO400 or ISO800 so the shutter speeds in most daylight situations are so fast that camera shake is not as much of an issue? That’s great, wonderful and marvelous but the best way to improve sharpness is begin the picture making process with as much stability as possible.