9 Quick Ways to Get Snazzier Snapshot Photos

I was sitting and trying to think how many snapshot photos I’ve taken during my life. You know, those quick photos of the dog in the backyard, the family on vacation — all those daily events we feel the need to preserve into perpetuity. They add up pretty quickly.

As I was thinking about this, I came to a more startling realization. Despite the fact that they fill my hard drive, clog my Flickr account and fill every photo album I own, I can’t think of one time that I’ve sat down and decided to go through my massive snapshot collection. Why? Because the vast majority of them suck.

I don’t think I’m alone. While I’ll spend hours thinking about how to set up a cool macro shot or get a better angle for a photo for the paper, I never spend much time thinking about getting better snapshots. Most photographers are the same way. It’s too easy just to set the camera to automatic mode and click the shutter, producing a mediocre photo that’ll never be seen again.

I think that’s kind of sad. There are a lot of easy ways to take better snapshots that maybe we just tend to forget. Here are nine common-sense methods to try.

1. Get a camera that you don’t mind lugging around.

This is part of the reason I think the vacation photos I have are so lousy - I was tired of carrying my camera around. It’s tough work carrying five pounds of camera equipment around everywhere; it becomes pretty tempting to just shoot a photo of everyone in front of the visitors center and leave all that stuff in the car for the rest of the day.

With the proliferation of inexpensive and feature-laden digital cameras, there’s no excuse for this anymore. There’s a of opportunities for cool photos that you’ll miss simply because you didn’t have your camera on you. Find a compact digital camera and have it be a backup to your more capable kit. Stick it in your purse or in your pocket as a matter of course every day. You won’t even notice it until the time comes when you run across the perfect photo. Then you’ll be glad you have it.

2. Stop posing.

Avoid this:

Photo by Karmalize

Photojournalists will tell you that a photo has to communicate something. What does the photo the man is taking say? Nothing. It doesn’t tell anything about where this group was at, what they were doing, or how the felt. It’s just a bunch of people standing together and forcing themselves to smile. Yawn. This is the type of photo that gets lost in a drawer pretty quickly.

It may be tough, but try to stop taking posed snapshots. If people reflexively stop and smile when you pull your camera out, wave them off. Tell them you want to get a photo of them actually doing something. Oftentimes it will seem like you are fighting an uphill battle because people have become so conditioned to posing, but keep at it. Your snapshots will be better as a result.

3. Get out on the periphery.

Try for this:

Photo by Dan Fletcher.

An easy way to stop people from posing for your snapshots is to not let them see you shooting. Using a longer lens and staying toward the edges of an event will produce photos that look a lot more natural.

This is possible even with your portable camera. There’s a fine selection of ultra-zoom cameras, many of which have image stabilization. One of these will fit the bill for a snapshot camera nicely. If you’re in need of a starting point, look at the Canon Powershot S5 IS as an example of a feature-laden, affordable camera that will give you the ability to shoot from afar:

4. Set up to keep shooting.

Try for this:

Photo by Dan Fletcher

Everyone has a billion photos of someone smiling in front of a lit birthday cake. But don’t stop at that. Keep shooting as they blow out the candles. Keep shooting as they smile afterwards. Those shots are going to be a lot better and a lot more natural.

A lot of people make this more difficult than it is. By the time they recompose and refocus their shot, the person has already blown out their cameras and the picture is missed. There are a few settings on your digital camera that can make this easier. See if your camera has a burst mode that enables you to take several frames per second. If it does, activate it and leave it on. Just hold down on the shutter and you’ll be able to get a lot more photos more quickly than you could otherwise. If your camera is having trouble focusing because of low light, see if you can focus it manually. This stops the frustrating process of “focus seeking” and will decrease the time between shots.

Digital photos are cheap. Take a lot of them.

5. Less is more (in terms of people).

Avoid this:

Photo by Velo Steve.

No offense to Velo Steve, but this photo makes this look like a pretty lame reunion. This shouldn’t be the only photo you walk away with from the evening. I mean, come on. Even a Class of 1982 Caltech reunion dinner has to be more interesting than this.

Photos of people interacting one on one are going to say a lot more than one big group shot. The emotions are going to be a lot more authentic and the photo is going to be a lot more meaningful. Instead of this being your photo from the reunion, take your camera and go incognito during dinner. Get pictures of the people talking to each other. Get pictures of the awkwardness. Those are going to be a lot better than a big group shot.

6. Be aware of light.

Avoid this:

Photo by Washer_Dreier

You don’t need perfect exposure to have a great snapshot. But light still isn’t out of the equation. I have so many dinner photos that are completely ruined because there wasn’t enough light to get a good shot. Similarly, there’s a lot of lame vacation photos taken in direct sunlight in the middle of the day with harsh shadows all over the subject’s face.

By all means, take a lot of snapshot photos, but also recognize the limitations of the situation. There’s no point in taking a hundred photos of an occasion when none of them are going to turn out well. Sometimes, it’s better to put the camera down for a bit and wait for a better photo.

7. Turn off the flash indoors.

Avoid this:

Photo by robwest.

It’s a natural reflex to turn on the flash as a way to compensate for poor lighting. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t make things a whole lot better. Flashes on digital cameras are not the best, and unless you’re carrying around an external flash and bouncing it off the ceiling or shooting it into an umbrella, the results aren’t probably what you think they will be.

Here’s why. On-camera flash is very harsh, direct lighting. This isn’t the most flattering type of light. It produces dark shadows and destroys the ambient lighting if it’s not used properly. Moreover, the flash on a digital camera isn’t that strong, making it pretty ineffective at range. It’s probably better to wait for lighting conditions to change - or to use a longer shutter speed or a higher ISO - than to gamble on using your on-camera flash.

That said, if you are outside, the flash is an effective way to reduce shadows - especially in the middle of the day. Fill flash is something that can improve those vacation photos in a hurry.

8. Don’t be afraid to delete.

Part of the reason I don’t ever look through my snapshots is that I wouldn’t know where to begin. There’s so many that it becomes overwhelming. It’s better to prune out the losers as soon as you download to your computer than trying to flip through everything later on. Free photo organization software like Picasa makes this exceptionally easy.

9. Get your finger out from in front of the lens.

Photo by Film Colorist.

It’s as much a problem now as it always has been.

Stumble It!