Just as I was finishing up yesterday’s article, my good good good friend Jojie Alcantara posted on her Facebook site that she is conducting a “free fun photoblogging workshop” on Saturday, October 31, at SM City Davao. That was an amazing coincidence since I had been planning to write about basically the same thing, and I already announced its title at the end of yesterday’s blog: Photography for the Facebook generation. Jojie is really the best person to demonstrate this to you, so if you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of photoblogging, go to smcitydavao.blogspot.com for details.
At any rate, I also have some experience in this area, and today I thought I’d share some tips on how to make the pictures you upload to your Facebook account, blog, or any other website a whole lot better — even if your camera is only a point-and-shoot or even one that is attached to a cell phone. And I’m going to try doing it without being too technical, so if you’re a photo buff, cut me some slack here, OK? I’m talking to those who don’t know megabytes from megapixels, or aperture from shutter speed.
There’s a whole generation of shutterbugs out there who are taking advantage of the latest in digital technology, and it’s important for them to know how to maximize their point-and-shoot cameras. See, there is this mistaken notion that only single lens reflex cameras with enormous megapixel counts can take good pictures; this is a load of nonsense, and I will try to show you that even point-and-shoots can take breathtaking photos.
So how do you maximize your point-and-shoot? Here are a few tips, and remember that these address only the most common problems I see in pictures uploaded in social networking sites, blogs, and other such websites (note: clicking on the pictures will take you to my Flickr site):
1) Follow the rule of thirds. Originally, the rule of thirds meant that a subject either has to fill one-third or two-thirds of the frame either horizontally or vertically. In practical terms, all this means is that you should not place your subject right in the center of the shot. Imagine your frame being divided into by three lines horizontally and vertically; now place your subject/s either on the intersections or on the lines themselves. This gives the picture more energy and tension, and it makes for a more interesting photo overall.
This image was cropped from the one at right. I wanted a simpler, more focused photo so I "sacrificed" my wife to achieve it 
2) Keep it simple. Avoid clutter in the background and foreground, making sure that there are as few elements there as possible so that the viewer can focus on your subject. This can be a simple matter of moving yourself or your camera around your subject to find the most uncluttered angle, or, if that fails, moving the subject around to achieve the same.
3) Crop. If you botched these first two tips, don’t worry, it’s easy to fix it. One of the secrets of the pros is cropping, and this is easily done by image software like Photoshop (which practically everyone has in his or her computer, if you know what I mean). Take out elements that you feel are unnecessary or add unruliness to the picture, until you are left with one that is uncluttered.
4) Take lots of shots. Time was when photographers had to make each shot count because of film cost, but today’s digital technology allows you to keep on shooting like there’s no tomorrow. Keep those that you like and delete those you don’t. This is actually the secret of the pros, who often take hundreds of shots but display only a handful of them for the world to see. As John Courtis wrote in his book Bluff Your Way in Photography (Ravette Books), “Professionals, unless they are wedding photographers, have one great advantage over the amateur, which is seldom recognized or indeed mentioned. They hide or destroy the majority of their work.”
For this portrait of my wife, I stood back about 10 feet and zoomed in.
5) Don’t get too close. One of the most common mistakes I see in pictures posted on Facebook and other social networking sites is the distortion of faces because the snapshooter got too close and personal in order to get a nice portrait. Zoom lenses at wide angle setting can exaggerate perspective, which means when you point it too close to a face, the nose will seem closer while the rest of the face will seem to go farther, making for a not-so-flattering picture. For close-up portraits, move back and zoom in to the subject; this will give you a more natural look. To be continued
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Nice points here, Tito! These points are definitely some of the things that are easily forgotten by Photographers these days and to think they are the most important. Back to Basics for me here!
thanks roji. would you like to add your own tips? i’m sure many readers would be interested in learning from a young, up-and-coming photog like you.
Wow that would be an honor. I’ll just give a simple tip that you may have heard many times before and this one’s not on the technical side. My tip is just “Practice Practice Practice, Don’t give up and have fun!” It’s all about the joy you get when u take that shot be it for money or no money. hehe. Because for young photographers like me, in order to make it to the top we just need to keep on going and improving and having fun while were at it.