Christmas is just around the corner, and if you’re Romanian, that likely means your house will be filled with family, friends, and lots of delicious food. It would be a shame to let these wonderful moments pass by without capturing them with quality photos. Below are some helpful gear recommendations that will take your pictures from drab to fabulous.
A little about the camera:
It’s Christmas Eve and you’d like to take a picture of your kids by the Christmas tree. The only source of light is a lamp in the corner and the twinkling lights on the tree. You pull out your point-and-shoot camera, set it to automatic mode, tell everyone to smile, and press the shutter button. After a few critical seconds (during which time your kids have long stopped smiling and may even have left the room), the flash goes off and a disappointing image appears in your preview screen. The kids’ smile-less faces are bleached by the flash, their eyes have the dreaded red pupils, the tree in the background is in focus while the kids are not, and you’re tempted to just trash the image (and the camera for that matter). “Is this the best this camera can do?” you wonder. The answer is yes.
Enter the DSLR. Don’t be intimidated. Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras are not only for professional photographers. You can even buy them at Costco! They are worth the investment, and they will transform your pictures. For the entry-level DSLRs, I recommend the Canon T4i or the Nikon D3200. These cameras will give you the freedom and the features to take wonderful pictures at a fraction of the cost of a professional camera. Spending more money on a higher-end consumer camera may give you better quality, but you will spend money on features you will most likely never use (or never know you have).
Here’s what you need to know about the lens:
Most entry-level cameras come in kits which include a lens. Unless the kit is less expensive than the body only, I would not recommend it. The lens included in the kit is notoriously undesirable. A great and affordable multi-purpose lens is the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. The 24-70mm refers to the zoom range and f/2.8 refers to the aperture. The smaller the aperture number, the more light it can take in. At 2.8, this lens will perform well even in low light situations (such as your living room on Christmas Eve), create much crisper images by increasing the shutter speed. It will also allow you to achieve the coveted blurry background characteristic of professional photography. Just as importantly, it also allows you to zoom in on your subjects (and I’m not talking digital zoom). For more on aperture and zoom, please read the online article on my blog.
Don’t forget the flash:
When I bought my professional camera I was shocked to see that it does not have a flash. To me, that was like buying a car without a windshield. But I quickly learned that the on-board flash on a camera is counter-productive. Remember the bleached look of the point-and-shoot? The red eyes? The trick to getting rid of those is not to mount the same flash on a different camera. The secret is to have an attachable flash. For a few hundred dollars (again, a good investment), you can transform your pictures. The Canon Speedlite 430EXII mounts on your camera shoehorn and has a swiveling head, which allows you to aim it at the ceiling or even a wall. This technique creates beautiful, diffused light that gives depth to your portraits without washing them out. Natural light is the best; but especially here in the Northwest we are often confined indoors. Having an attachable flash is indispensable those tricky indoor lighting situations. By simply pointing the flash up rather than directly at your subject, you have drastically improved photos.
These are just a few recommendations for the essential equipment needed to transform your family memories. I hope they will help you achieve beautiful photos this Christmas season. For more tips on camera settings and techniques, please visit my blog at www.cadeauphotography.com/blog to see the full article.
Lelia Toader is a local photographer here in Portland OR, and has been a friend and a great resource over the years. Her recent startup company Cadeau Photography (www.cadeauphotography.com) went in a very short time from part time occasional photography, to a full time, respected full fetched Photography Business here in the Portland Metro area. Cadeau Photography is great at taking children’s pictures, family pictures, senior pictures, and much more. I encourage you go pay her website a visit and see for yourself. Her portfolio is amazing, and eye for greatness creates shots that blow you away.
By Lelia Toader. Photographer and owner of Cadeau Photography