National Scrapbooking Month is almost over (as is the May Scrapbooking promotion) so I thought I would focus my blog post today on taking great scrapbook photos. You can find many, many articles on taking photos, but seldom find one that focuses just on photos for scrapbooks.
Here's an article by Deborah Simon (takegreatpicture.com) that has lots of great advice:
There are a ton of helpful and trendy tools for scrapbooking out there, but your albums won't look good if you don't take some great pictures!
As an avid scrapbook artist and keeper of family memories, I am constantly looking for ways to improve on capturing both the memorable and the mundane as part of my story. It used to be that the art of scrapbooking was simply a documentation of birthdays, weddings, and the children's school years. The pages consisted of nothing more than the elementary elements - paper and pictures. Paper remains as the foundation upon which most scrapbooks are made, but the pictures, or rather the picture taking, has changed.
Most of us who call ourselves scrappers, attend crops, and spend too much time late at night chatting on online scrapbooking forums, are not satisfied with the quality of photos that our limited skills used to produce. You remember those photos taken at family gatherings where everyone was standing around the kitchen table to witness little Johnny blow out the candles on his cake. I have them too; boxes full of photos with scenes of yellow-skinned people illuminated by the chandelier hovering over their heads. I'm quite sure that I also saw a few with an unknown group of people posing at a distance that looks to be a few too many miles from the photographer in an unrecognizable location. What were we thinking? Or should I say, were we thinking?
Scrapbookers are thinking now, about being more purposeful toward the choice of subjects in their albums and using their cameras to record more than just celebrations on the calendar. Along with the age of digital, has come the freedom to experiment, to be more creative with the camera and to shoot in continuous mode for a series of shots rather than risk it all on one. Not only can you work at being a better photographer from a technical standpoint, but you can plan ahead at how you want to tell your story. In other words, you can imagine from what perspective you would like to tell your story, make a list of the details you want to include, and set up your shots. Using this method will ensure being able to convey the emotions that you and your subject were experiencing as well as provide for more interesting scrapbook themes.
Let's review a few ideas on how to achieve more from your photo taking while trying to capture the moments of life.
First, work that zoom. Fill your frames. Don't be afraid to cut off the tops of heads, zoom in on body parts, or focus on a tiny detail while the rest of the photo remains blurred. Remove the clutter from your photos, especially the stuff that you think won't matter years from now. Go big and bold and awaken the senses with your shots.
Next, try a new angle. Step out of the box and climb high. Grab a chair and take a shot looking down on your subject. Get down on a child's level or have them climb up on a play set. Consider a different perspective. I am always moved by the less than perfectly lined up images and those are the ones that I end up being making the most exciting layouts. Throw out conventional wisdom and be more creative with where you stand and how you hold your camera.
Finally, be more open-minded about what you shoot. Make a mental note of the types of shots that grab your attention, the ones that evoke an emotion in you. Plan a scrapbook layout around an idea and take the photographs that will best immortalize the memory that you are working with. Spend some time thinking about how you want your life to be remembered and the memories that you'd like to keep fresh for later reflection. Don't wait to pick up your camera until there is a formal celebration or a family get together. Remember to include the activities that are unique to you and each member of your family. Take pictures of your life as it really is, not just the events that are common to us all.
Tools are nice. They make life a lot easier and can accomplish things that neither you nor I could do with our bare hands. However, it goes without saying that your camera is the one tool that makes this hobby what it is. It bears the fruit for us to continue with this labor of love - scrapbooking. So give your camera the attention and gratitude that it deserves and use it for all it's worth. Those other tools can wait. Go scrap your story!
Want to learn more about scrapbooking? Join my Scrapbook Club, starting in August! Contact me at [email protected] for more information. Beginners welcome!
