Children’s photography can either be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience or a difficult and challenging one.  Here are seven tips to achieving the former and avoiding the latter. 

1)      Choose a proper setting.  One of the more recent trends in children’s photography is using a natural setting rather than a studio setting.  A park, beach or mountain setting not only provides a better backdrop but will make it more fun for the child.  To the child, going to the studio may feel a little like going to the dentist’s office.  Of course a studio provides for a more controlled environment, but in a natural setting you have a better chance of capturing the child smiling on their own.  Let them play and explore the world around them.  This will provide for some great candid photos rather than posed ones.  Of course if you are using a studio setting there are still several things you can do to make your pictures amazing.

2)      Get to know the child.  Successful children’s photography is about getting the child to work with you, not forcing them.  To do this they need to like you and trust you.  Although there are exceptions, most children would rather do a thousand other things than get their picture taken.  They need to see that the experience is going to be better than they had first though and that you are not the dentist.  Talk to them.  Ask them how old they are, ask about their school, ask about their favorite things to do in the summer.  What you learn from the child can help you as you start to take pictures.  For example, if the child is small you may want to ask what their favorite animal is and then use that animals sound to grab their attention when they start to lose interest.  Children establish relationships much faster than adults.  With only a few words you can build a relationship with a child that will help them trust you.  Keep the conversation going and interesting as you start to take pictures. 

3)      Let them choose a pose.  This is especially important when the session is first starting.  Let them sit, stand, look at the camera any way they want and snap a few pictures.  Maybe the pose is a good one, maybe it isn’t, but let them pick a pose or two at the start.  After they have done that they will typically be much more willing to let you have a turn telling them how to sit or stand.  If they start to become frustrated, let them pick a pose again to loosen them up and then go back you instructing them.  Children’s photography takes patience and that sometimes means yielding a little control.

4)      Make it fun.  Children’s photography is a different animal, and needs to be fun for the child.  This is much easier in an outdoor setting but can work in a studio as well.  This also ties into the previous point of letting them choose a pose.  Maybe they want to stand on their head, maybe they want to have a picture of them jumping in the air.  Whatever loosens them up and gets them to smile. 

5)      Go to their level.  Don’t tower over small children.  Stoop down and talk to them.  Let them see and talk to you at eye level.  This also applies to how you talk to them.  Talk to children in a fun tone and more like a friend would talk to them rather than an authority figure.

6)      Use props.  Stuffed animals, squeaky stuffed animals, feather dusters, noise makers.  These are all essential in grabbing and holding the attention of a small child.  The smaller the child, the more important it is to have a good inventory of props at your disposal. 

7)      Respect the child.  Let them guide the session.  If they are hungry it isn’t going to work, if they are tired it isn’t going to work.  The smaller they are the more difficult it is going to be to force them.  Don’t try until they are ready.  Children’s photography is about getting great pictures of children and that happens most easily when they are working with you instead of against you.

For more information about children's photography visit Mary Kim Photography at

 www.marykimphotography.com

But there are many other situations where the flash could be used such as:  fill-flash situations when the background is brighter than the subject, using the flash to light up a room and creating better coloring, or using the flash to freeze a moving object in a dark situation. 

In typical indoor situations there will probably not be enough light to take a normal hand-held well-exposed photo.  There are many indoor flash photo opportunities you may be faced with.  You may want to cast light on a group of people for a portrait photo.  You may want to throw light into a room for an architectural photo.  Or you may just want to cast light on certain objects in a lighted room that appears too dark for an exposure.   

If your camera’s auto-exposure settings say that the photo would require a shutter speed slower than 1/60 of a second then you probably shouldn’t hand-hold the camera or the photo would come out blurry.  The reason it would come out blurry is because the shutter would be open long enough for any minor hand shake to distort the composition.  The use of a tripod or faster film will probably be needed but many of us do not regularly carry a tripod.  Most photographers simply use their flash bulb when they are inside.   

In order to take effective indoor flash photos there are some techniques you should keep in mind.  When using the flash do not point it directly at a mirror or glass that will create a lens flare or just ruin the photo.  Stand close enough to your subjects so the flash is actually effective (four to ten feet).  Try to make sure your main subjects are about the same distance away from the flash as each other or some that are closer to the flash will appear brighter than ones that are farther away. 

Fill flash fills in the areas of a photo that would normally appear too dark.  Fill flash can be used for sunny day portraits for shadows on a subject’s face or to fill any shaded area that is out of the sunlight.  Fill flash can also be used to cast light into a room where there are no windows.  Fill in flash is ideal for back-lit and side-lit situations.  In a backlit situation there will be a lot of light in the background but no or little light cast on the front of the subject.  This would normally create somewhat of a silhouette effect, but with a fill flash it would balance the photo nicely.  But in order for this technique to work, you must be careful to stay in flash range which is usually around four to ten feet.  With common cameras in order to add fill flash to a photo just toggle the flash to go off when it normally would not be needed. 

Many newer cameras now have a red-eye reduction mode where the flash may fire before the picture is taken in order to cause the subjects’ pupils to contract.  The red-eye reduction modes in newer cameras are surprisingly effective and many work in different ways to contract pupils. 

A slow sync flash is for more complicated exposures and is used commonly to create blurry long exposures.  The flash fires at the beginning of the exposure, but the shutter still stays open for a moment after the flash has fired.  This can freeze a car at dusk and create a blurry streak in the cars path.  Or the slow sync flash could capture a sunset and freeze a closer subject that is moving through the frame.  There are countless situations where a slow sync flash could possibly be used to enhance an exposure.  There are also other versions of the sync flash such as the rear sync flash (where the flash fires at the end of an exposure) or the stroboscopic flash (where the flash fires multiple times throughout an exposure). 

Many photographers also choose to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling to get a softer diffused kind of light commonly sought after for portraits.  This kind of flash technique requires a flash that can be aimed in a direction that the camera is not pointed.  It takes practice to refine this technique and only a small percentage of photographers actually use it. 

Practice using flash in your photos even when it is not necessarily needed and pay attention to your results.  The best way to become better at flash photography is to analyze your photos and try to figure out what you could have done differently in order to create a better flash-filled exposure.

Composition in wildlife photography can be difficult, especially for a beginner. Not only is it tough to work out just what you want, you are also likely to encounter a subject that just does not want to cooperate.

I can't help you much with an uncooperative subject. Rest assured that with practice and experience, you will find that you become much quicker at composing and exposing a photo so that you get the shot before the critical moment passes. There are a couple of simple tips that can make things a little easier.

First, practice your photography in places where the animals are used to having people around and are less likely to become jittery at your presence. This does not have to be a zoo or other enclosure. Most national parks have campgrounds and picnic grounds where the wildlife is used to being around people, and may even come closer looking for food. You have a much better chance of a shot if you can get close without frightening the subject away.

Second, try to organise your exposure before you set up the shot. If the light is fairly constant, it is possible to point your camera in the right general direction and work out the best aperture and shutter speed settings for the photo. Then when you approach the subject, you can concentrate on composition without having to waste time working out your exposure.

These simple tips may help to take some of the frustration out of wildlife photography, but what about the composition itself? Many people simply don't know where to start. If that sounds like you, don't be discouraged. Like I said at the beginning, composition can be tough; even for a photographer with years of experience.

Let's start by breaking it down into two categories; close-up and non close-up photos.

In a close-up photo, the subject fills most of the frame. A lot of people get in a tangle over whether to position their subject in the middle or to one side of the composition. In my experience it is quite acceptable to have the subject right in the centre, as long as you allow some head-room so it doesn't appear too cramped within the confines of the composition. A central position is especially suitable when the subject is looking straight at the camera, but often works just as well if the subject is facing a little to one side or the other.

The more space you have around the subject, the more you should consider putting it to one side or the other. In this you should be guided by the way the animal is facing. If it is looking to one side, position it a little towards the other side so it is looking toward the centre of the frame. So, if your wildlife subject is looking right, position it a little to the left. Not too far; you don't want half of your photo to feature nothing but empty space.

In a non close-up, where the photo shows a lot more space around the animal, it becomes more critical that you use that space effectively. In situations where the animal is featured with a lot of background, it may be better to think of the picture as a landscape photograph, and compose it accordingly. Some of the tried-and-true techniques like the Rule Of Thirds (google it if you are not familiar with it) are a good way to help you position your subject within the overall frame of the picture.

For a landscape style photo, it may look quite unbalanced to position your subject in the centre of the picture. It is usually better to position it to one side or the other, and it is now even more important to have the animal facing toward the centre of the picture. The eyes of an animal subject can have a strong effect on the direction in a composition; we tend to look where they are looking. So if the animal is on the left and looking left, the visual flow of the composition will lead out of the picture, instead of into it. If the subject is on the left and looking right, the viewer will follow the gaze of the subject into the centre of the picture.

Naturally it helps if there is something of interest in the centre or to the right to catch the viewer's attention and add interest to the composition. If the subject is looking into the composition, it makes sense that it is looking at something, not just at empty space. Almost anything will do...a tree, a beach, an impressive sky; as long as it adds impact to the composition. If there is nothing of interest to work with, you might consider zooming in closer, so there is less emptiness in the composition.

These simple guidelines are intended to do nothing more than give you some ideas. Nature is not governed by the rules of composition, and a wildlife photographer must be flexible to get the best result out of each situation. Above all, trust your own judgement, your own sense of visual balance, to create a satisfying composition. On the other hand, if you are struggling to get started, think back to these guidelines; if you can position your subject well, the rest of the composition will fall into place.

See Andrew Goodall's wildlife photography collection at http://www.naturesimage.com.au , and find Andrew's top selling ebooks on the skills of good nature photography. While you are there, sign up to the online newsletter for updates, tips and freebies!

Digital cameras offer so many functions and features, photography can seem way too complex for the beginner. In frustration many new photographers simply switch their digital camera to auto, and never learn how to use it properly.

If you read that and thought "That sounds like me!" read on; I have good news. There are some great ways to take better photos without having to learn the complexities of your camera. That's right - leave your camera on auto and still learn to take great photos.

Of course I encourage anybody to learn and understand aperture and shutter speed, the settings you will need to understand to really improve as a photographer. However, the best encouragement is to start getting results quickly, so here are five easy tips to help you improve your photography...the low-tech way!

Better Photography Tip#1. Take your photo in the best possible light. You may have heard that the best light for most photography is very early or very late in the day, when the sun is low, and the light is soft and colourful. This is a good rule to follow most of the time. Not only is the light more attractive, you can also avoid the contrast and heavy shadows of midday.

Some subjects actually work better on cloudy days. For animals and people, cloudy weather softens the light and overcomes the problem of your subject squinting into the light. In the forest, overcast skies prevent the heavy contrast that is a problem on sunny days.

Better Photography Tip#2. Landscape photos: create a more interesting composition. Many photos can be made more interesting not by zooming right in on the subject, but by zooming out, or standing further back to capture more of the surroundings. The important thing is to use make sure you use the surroundings to add impact to the picture.

For example, let's say you are photographing an old rustic farmhouse. You could add even more character by using a line of fence posts, or a gravel driveway, to lead the eye into the picture. Or when photographing a waterfall, you could try going a little further downstream, to shoot the creek with the waterfall in the background for a more interesting angle.

Better Photography Tip#3. Sunset and Sunrise. Everyone loves taking sunset (and sunrise) photos. A brilliant sunset sky can make a great photo, but you can make it even better by looking for a good subject in the foreground. The key is to find something that stands out against the sky, with a an outline people can recognize; a tree, a windmill, even a row of power poles. The subject does not have to dominate the photo; in fact it is probably best if it only takes up about ten percent of the composition so that the sky remains the starring attraction. But if you can create a striking silhouette, you will immediately add character to your sunset photograph.

Better Photography Tip#4. Animals (And People). Portrait style photos are usually spoiled by a distracting background. When you take a photo of a friend, a pet, or an animal, you don't want the surroundings to take attention away from the subject.

So here's the trick. Don't stand close to your subject and take the photo with a regular or wide-angle lens. Try standing further away from the subject, and zoom in with your biggest lens. This will have two results. First, it will reduce the area behind and around the subject that is visible in the photo. Second, it will minimize the depth of field, which means only your subject should be in focus. Anything in front or behind the subject will be out of focus, and will not cause a distraction.

Better Photography Tip#5. Concentrate. Sometimes all it takes to make a photo a success is to move a little to the left or right, or zoom in or out just a little more. If you just point the camera in the general direction of the subject without thinking about what you are doing, your results will not improve. If you slow down and really examine what you can see in the viewfinder before you press the button, your success rate will impove.

Simple things to look out for include; trees and power-poles appearing to grow out of the head of the subject (move yourself or the subject to a better position); litter on the ground (pick it up); aircraft or distracting clouds in the sky (wait for them to pass by); blurry branches on a windy day (wait for conditions to settle for a moment). All these things and more can ruin a photo, and they can all be remedied by taking a good look to make sure your picture has captured everything you want, and nothing you don't want.

So there you have some easy tips for good photography without getting hung up on technology. Above all, pay attention to tip #5 and slow down to concentrate on what you are doing. The other golden rule: keep practicing, take lots of photos whenever you can. You will learn a lot more from your own experience in the field, than by being told what to do. Remember with digital cameras it doesn't cost you anything to keep on snapping. With patience and attention to detail, you will be taking better photos in no time - guaranteed!

Andrew Goodall's top selling ebooks on photography for beginners have already helped thousands of people learn the skills better photography. Find them athttp://www.naturesimage.com.au and sign up the online newsletter for even more tips...it's free!

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