Photo Tips and Guidelines

Macaroon's featured photographer, Kate Miller, outlines her professional photo tips and guidelines to ensure that your photos are perfect for our products

  1. The most important thing when capturing great images of your kiddies and family is to make sure everyone is relaxed and having fun! Be patient and have your camera ready for those special moments in between. Choose an environment that is relaxed; and make sure there is lots of natural light available. 
  2. Photography is all about light, and whether you are indoors or outdoors be sure to use optimal lighting. Nothing beats natural light so be sure to take full advantage of this. Use the natural light projecting from windows and doorways on to your subject while shooting indoors. When outdoors, avoid direct or harsh sunlight as it creates glaring shadows which are unflattering on any face. The best times to shoot are early morning and late afternoon, when the light is soft and allows for a even spread of light across your subject. Remember to keep the brightest light source behind you; especially when taking photographs towards the sun by using your flash to compensate. When using your flash, be sure to keep some distance between you and your subject. A good rule of thumb is about a metre. 
  3. When shooting kiddies get down to their level. Make sure your camera is eye level with them - you are capturing them in their world and therefore should be seeing the world from their point of view. Try shooting from as many different angles as possible, you’ll soon get a feel for what angles make the best pictures. Get up close and personal, focus on elements and the whole of your subject. When shooting portraits make sure the eyes are in focus; the eyes should in most cases be your focal point and are all important in creating an emotive photograph. These kinds of photographs are especially great to use with the Macaroon collection of stationery and stickers. 
  4. Always check your camera settings before you shoot a photo you intend to print - on stationery or as prints. Always select the highest resolution and largest file your camera will support (e.g., if you have a 5 megapixel camera, you should select to shoot your photo as a 5 megapixel file). If you’re shooting using an automatic setting on your camera, remember that you may need to change your settings manually for certain shots such as turning on the flash when shooting into the sun. There are lots of simple tricks that will change your photographs dramatically - have a look at your cameras manual it shouldn’t take you long and will be well worth the effort. 
  5. Watch for motion – with babies and kids especially, it is hard to notice motion because it may only be a hand or a foot that is moving. Motion captured on camera can print blurry for that body part. While difficult to get a baby to stay still for the perfect shot, try to shoot the photo in ample light, which will allow the camera to capture at a faster speed reducing blurriness from unnoticed motion. If indoors with no natural light, try using a flash about a metre away from the subject to achieve this. Motion can also bring a photograph to life, by keeping the focal point (e.g. A child's eyes/face while running) in focus. 

 

The above guidelines are meant to be used by a hobby photographer in order to, when combined with Macaroon designs and photo enhancement expertise, produce the highest, professional quality photo possible. But the above are general guidelines only and may not work in all cases. If the photo in question may not print to a desire quality, a Macaroon designer will contact you to discuss your options.