This week, that honor goes to this photo from

Joanne W’s Tate’s Bug Bash.

I love Tate’s expression juxtaposed with the festive party table.  Brilliant!

HOW TO TAKE GREAT PARTY PHOTOS

As I’ve been thinking about photography (and trying to become a better photographer myself), I checked into what some of the experts had to say about how to take great shots.  Here are some tips for all you photographers out there:

Tip 1:  Get down to your subject’s level, especially if you’re shooting kids.

Tip 2: Pick a plain background for your subject to makes it pop.  (And make sure there are no trees sticking out their heads.)

Tip 3: Move in close and fill your picture with your subject.

Tip 4: Even outdoors, use your flash.  On bright days it will fill in shadows, and on cloudy days it will brighten things up.

Tip 5: Know your flash’s range (for many cameras it’s about 10 feet).  This way you don’t end up with dark pictures.

Tip 6: Turn your camera sideways and take some vertical shots.

Tip 7: Place your subject off-center.  Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid and place your subject at one of the intersections of lines.

Tip 8:  Lock the focus on your camera to take pictures of off-center subjects.  That way your subjects won’t be blurry.

Tip 9: Watch the light.  For pictures of people, cloudy days are the best.  On sunny days, pay attention to shadows.

Tip 10:  If you’re taking a group shot, aim the center of the camera at someone’s chest. That way, the heads appear in the upper third of the photo, and you’ve filled the photo with people rather than background.

Tip 11: Be a director and get creative.  Add props, use different angles, take a ton of different shots (to increase your chance of getting that one “great” photo), and have fun!

I hope these are helpful.  I’m going to start using them and I’ll report back.

Sources: Kodak and weschan.com

What I do when I’m a fan of someone is I call them up and tell them.  So while I was talking to Ashley, I asked her how she and Mike achieved this feel and she said “we really love people.”  The first thing they do is get to know everyone in the wedding before it starts.  That way, when the cameras are later placed in front of them, they feel much more comfortable being “real.”

Ashley and Mike don’t follow many of the traditional rules of wedding photography.  For example, instead of asking the bride and groom to “pose” like they’re in love, they let the bride and groom be who they are and allow the love speak for itself.   Their goal is to capture the beauty, the fun, and the emotion of the day.

I asked Ashley if she had any advice for brides and grooms about to get married.  She said they are usually so stressed the day of the wedding and want everything to go so perfectly, they have a tendency to almost want to “just get through it.”   But Ashley advises the bride and groom to embrace their feelings, even if that means the bride’s mascara runs down her face in the middle of the ceremony.  Let it.  Those will be the best pictures.

I asked Ashley to send me some of her and Mike’s favorite shots.  Here they are.  Lovely.

Snap Photography

Snap Photography

Snap Photography

Snap Photography

Snap Photography

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