Storytelling: taking great photos for memory albums

I recently had an article published on ezinearticles.com that outlines some tips for taking a great selection of photos for scrapbook albums, and some tips and ideas for capturing the types of images that help to tell a story. I really wanted to highlight some key points with more examples and less text, so I am including the 'picture book' version here. If you woud like to read the full text version, just follow this link

1. Think about the event and plan ahead: if you are going to the beach, or a theme park or a wedding, make a point early on of getting everyone together for one or two photos. Then you KNOW you have a photo of everyone!




Mummy, Teddy and Josie stop for a quick snap just inside the entrance at the reptile park.




2. Focus on the details: sometimes it takes two photos to tell the story. These two photos are of Ypres cathedral, Belgium. The entire town of Ypres was completely destroyed during the First World War, and the town was rebuilt from the rubble. The photo of the cathedral shows the grand structure, while the close up shows bricks peppered with bullet and shrapnel holes.




3. Experiment with angles: It costs nothing to experiment with digital photography. After you have taken the standard pictures, try something new. I love this photo of Ted with his new baby cousin Aliyah- the photo has great depth and you can just see him holding her hand.




4. Put yourself in the frame: if you are photographing kids, every now and then set the timer and hop into the picture too- your kids will love it. When Daddy took Ted to see Dorothy the Dinosaur in concert two years ago, he knew that I would want pictures of not just Teddy and the people on stage, but of him also- so he asked a fellow Dad in the crowd to take their photo. Well done Daddy!



5. Take action shots: While posed photos are lovely and make great focal points, action shots are wonderful for supporting the story. Also, if you are staging a posed photo and someone blinks, the photo goes from being beautiful to not so great (and not always noticable on a digital viewer). In this photo, ted is opening a parcel of a new Wiggles DVD he bought with his pocket money. His attention to the parcel is far better at showing how excited he was. Plus, I would not have been able to get him to pose with his DVD- he was too excited about watching it!

6. Having fun: Even grown ups can join in the fun or dress ups or playing games. Many museums will have a dress up area for kids to play in, and if you can convince Dad or Grandma to put on a hat and pose with the kids, it will add a wonderful richness to your pages. And you never know, they may even enjoy the excuse NOT to act their age!




7. Hand over the camera: Giving someone else the camera not only ensures that you get into the photos, but also lets them capture their perspective. My son has a little point and shoot, and he takes photos alongside me (when we know where it is- it is currently MIA). He loves seeing me scrapbook his photos- it makes him feel like he is part of the story too. In this photo, I asked Teddy to photograph his new slide he got for Christmas, and this is what I got. Not what I had in mind, BUT it is a wonderful snapshot of his world.

8. Every now and then, stop and have fun: You don't have to be chief photographer all the time. Give yourself permission to relax and join in the making of memories. If you miss something special, write it down either in a word document or in notebook, and keep the word file in a folder with the photos. That way you won't forget and you will have relaxed and joined in the fun.