Digital delights! Seven ways to 'point' & shoot your projects!

Expression, July-August, 2005 by Roy Huntington

And no, it's not hard. Not even a tiny bit. It's mostly just "different" than what you may be used to. But I've gotta' tell you, the new crop of inexpensive digital cameras makes photographing your creations for posterity, or Aunt Mable, or sharing with your friends via email--or to send to Expression--as easy as, well, doing it. Trust me when I say if you can tackle a complicated Expression project, a simple snap-and-share photo with a digital camera is a breeze. Really.

If you're like most of the Expression staff, you've probably got a closet, or garage, or craft room, or a (fill in the blank) full of art, just sitting there, maybe collecting dust. Why not document it? Isn't there that sometimes when you've finished something you're particularly proud of and you'd like to send a photo of it to someone? Or even to simply save it to your computer so you can refer to it long after the treasure is given away. What about a scrapbook of your art? Kid's show-and-tell at school? Why not send photos of their best projects in with them?

The list is nearly endless. Besides, a few minutes now can make you a better photographer in any situation later, not just when it comes to immortalizing your art. So read on, keep an open mind, and mostly just get out there and do it!

Use A Tripod This is probably the most important tip. Even a cheap one (say around $10) is fine. Every camera, regardless of how small, will usually have a way to mount on the tripod. Place the camera on the tripod, touch the shutter (use the self-timer if it has one), stand by and smile until the shutter clicks. You're done. Check out the results, and if you need to reshoot, go for it. The best thing about digital is you get immediate results and it doesn't cost a dime to take pictures! Try, try then try some more.

Get In Close And this is the second-best rule. We've all seen those vacation photos where the people are tiny figures in a sweeping panorama of the Grand Canyon. Who are those people anyway? Well, we don't want that with project photos. You want to highlight those details, colors and clever techniques you just invented.

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Get in close ... very close. And then a bit closer. Just make sure your camera will still be able to focus. The attention is on your project, not the cluttered background, the wallpaper, the cat sleeping on the couch or your husband snoring in his chair against the wall. Most consumer digital cameras have a "macro" mode, which is simply a fancy way to say "close-up." Turn the dial, or the knob or push the right button and bingo, your camera can take close-ups down to less than a few inches.

A very famous Japanese photographer, Ichiro Nagata, once told me: "Remember, Roy, one photo equals one image in your mind's eye." Which means your picture should highlight one focus of interest--and it may just be "part" of a project. Your eye should "want" to go to the right spot. Practice and you'll see.

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Lighting Believe it or not, open shade (under a tree or on a shady side of the house), or indirect light from a window is almost perfect light for your photos. And if your garage has any florescent lights, just set up right underneath them!

Most cameras have what's called "auto white balance" which makes sure the colors in the photo are right Your camera looks at the light you're using and guesses how to best take the photo. Sometimes it guesses wrong and your yellows are green and the blues are, well, some weird color! What to do? Play with the preset "white balance" settings of your camera and you might find a better match. You'll see icons for florescent, interior, sun, cloudy and more. One just might work, even if the light isn't the same as the icon.

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Some consumer cameras have a "custom" white balance setting. It allows you to set it up perfectly. If you can't get a proper match with the auto settings, go to the manual and read-up on setting your custom white balance, and you'll look like a pro!

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Don't Get Cluttered Take a second and look behind your project before you push that button. Just sticking your "just worked on it for five days" project on a cluttered desktop and snapping a photo doesn't get the job done! Almost always, a simple white or pastel, clean background is best, unless you're going for a "theme" shot. In that case, look at Expression photos and see how Lisa and Rich do it. Then copy them shamelessly! But remember, "less" is almost always more. Except when it comes to new stamps!

ISO? Your camera may also have a "manual" mode. That just means you can control the shutter speed and the F-stop (which is how much light the camera lets into the camera), and something magical called the ISO. All you have to remember is the higher the ISO number goes, the less clear and sharp your photos will be. A low number like 100 up to 400 is fine, but higher than that and you'll get mediocre results. There are some technical reasons for having ISO control, like using a high ISO number to let more light onto the memory card in your camera for shooting in low light. But you won't have to worry about that. If you shoot film cameras, then think of ISO as the same as the old ASA speed film numbers.