Summertime brings with it all kinds of parties and events, creating the perfect opportunities to see friends, spend time with extended family, and just kick back and relax. As these parties start in full swing, some things become very commonplace, including the food, the drinks, the music, and the pictures.
Among these, the pictures are probably the one thing within that would evoke strong memories along the line. And the way they are taken would determine the bulk of how strong and wholesome these feelings are. Photography sounds like an easy thing, but nothing could be more different from reality. It is a skill that is perfected by months of practice and at the end of the day, not everyone reaches that perfection. In this article, we will go through a few tips you can use to take good photos during your parties.
Tips for taking better pictures at your parties
One thing is worthy of note, you do not have to combine all these tips to get the best pictures in one go. What makes a good photographer is the ability to differentiate what tips would apply in different situations. And as a host, it is up to you to create an environment that optimises all pictures taken. Let’s go through some of these tips:
- Liven the shot with props
This works well in most cases. There are very few photo op ideas that liven up a party better than props. For one, it makes everyone take a more interactive approach to the picture-taking session and adds a creative edge to the whole process. Simple ideas you can implement for a photo-taking session include:
- Asking everyone to wear quirky hats, glasses or other funny fashion options
- Printing slogans and asking people to pin them on
- Making people wear fake moustaches
- Giving everyone masks
- Asking people to make statement poses, etc.
- Create the best settings for your pictures
A picture is nothing without a backdrop; nothing without a setting that emphasises the mood of the place and captures the moment perfectly. Most parties are not really decorated with the picturesque setting in mind; it is only when the time comes to take pictures that people start to look for spaces that would give the best pictures.
Ordinarily, low light settings should not affect the mood or quality of the picture, considering the fact that all cameras have flashes. The problem lies in the priming of the shutter speed. If the shutter speed is not as zippy as it should be, most of your pictures would come out in a blur.
The best shutter speeds are speeds of 1/160 or 1/120 seconds. Make sure the camera is at a low f-number, allowing more light to pass through the lens and wide aperture. Low f-numbers are better for indoor shots with poor lighting and low-light photography. If you are outside, however, on a beautiful background, a high f-number would be to your advantage.
- Avoid dead-centre shots
You would not know how flat your shots have been until you make the effort to angle them more. Except you are at formal parties (and even then this still is a crime), try to avoid getting posers to stand in a line, side-by-side and then orienting yourself and the camera in a dead centre position. The photographs would usually come out bland and stuffy, with no originality or flair.
On the other hand, angling your lens would create a more interesting picture for everyone involved. It would make the shot look more voluminous and would add a bit of dynamism.
- Avoid straight-on shots
We have established the need to experiment with horizontal angles. While doing that, you should also focus on not limiting yourself to natural height angles. Think about it. If you are compiling an album, would it not make more sense to have numerous angles in the pictures, as opposed to having the people within pose in different positions while the camera angle stays unmoving? Such an album would look redundant, and the individual pictures would look very boring.
Apart from this, you have to recognize that not all the people in the picture are of the same height. This is even more imperative if you are taking pictures of a kid. You get more natural shots if you avoid straight-on shots.
- Diffuse the flash’s light
Your flash might really help you in dim situations, but it does not really do much in the way of helping the lens to create sharp shots with natural tones. When you diffuse your camera’s light, it focuses the rays and disperses the light in an evenly distributed pattern across the people in the photo. This also helps you to soften the shot.
- Focus on background details
Party photographs do not have to always include people, sometimes photographs that capture the setting are just as important to telling the story, as the people who attended the event are. Minor details would add more class to the photo album you are compiling; you can take pictures of the food, the drinks, the decorations, the arrangements, etc.
- Adopt a photo booth service
A photo booth at your party is a vintage addition – one that your guests would ultimately thank you for. If you are not used to taking photographs as a whole, this is also the safer option. Most photo booths are already well equipped and programmed to take care of most of the things on this list. The benefits that come with photo booths are also very plentiful and they are very versatile in range. They can be used to create brand awareness at formal parties, they are quite affordable, they leave you to focus on your party without worrying about pictures, and they greatly enhance your guests’ experience.
Wrapping Up
Photo booth hire services are not hard to come by. In fact, we have just the product for you. At Snaptured, we have a lot of party products you can rent for your party, including smoke machines, decorative light-up letters, smoke machines, and of course, photo booths. Visit our site, and contact us today for your party packages.