Focus. Frame. Shoot!

Try it for yourself right here, and then keep reading for a more detailed explanation:

UPDATE: Here’s a quick video overview…

Be a photographer, not an assassin.

I’m doing a lot of traveling right now, and when I’m snapping photos of my family at some scenic stop, it’s not uncommon for a kindly stranger to offer to take a photo of me and the fam using my camera.

I can usually guess within seconds what style of camera they likely own. How? Because those unfamiliar with DSLRs point the camera at us like it’s a gun, and then press the shutter button like it’s the trigger.

…and consequently our faces get positioned right smack dab in the middle of the frame. (I don’t mean to sound like such a photo-snob; I truly am grateful for the kind gesture!)

But do you know what I see when it’s an experienced DSLR user?

Focus.

Frame.

Shoot.

Now, some of you may be whining thinking, “Really? A blog post about how to snap a photo? How hard can it be to push a button??”

And therein lies the reason behind those bad family travel photos. So stay with me. Let’s start with Focus.

Focus.

First, you’ll need to make one setting change to your DSLR. Here’s the deal: every DSLR camera has several auto-focus points that it uses to focus an image, and you want to shut them all off except for the center one. On my Canon, I change this in the “AF point selection” setting but it may be called something different on your camera.

Seriously, don’t skip this. Don’t rely on your camera to guess at what you want to focus on because it will guess wrong at some point. Focusing is your job, not your camera’s. And one more thing: at least with Canon DSLR cameras, you have to be in one of the so-called “creative modes” for this change to go into effect (but you’re already using one of those modes, right?? ;)

Now it’s just you and the lone center auto-focus point. Aim your camera and hold the shutter button halfway down to lock in the focus on your subject. Keep that finger still; now you’re ready to frame your shot. (TIP: when taking a photo of a face, lock the focus on one of the eyes. Not the nose. Not the mouth. An eye.)

Frame.

It’s darn near impossible to talk about framing without getting into the principles of photo composition (how you position stuff in your photo). We’ll get to photo composition in a future sim (I’ve already started building it), but for now let’s just focus on the mechanics of snapping the photo. Just know that wherever you point the camera to get focus is hardly ever the right place for a nicely framed photo.

Shoot!

Once you have good focus and have framed up a nice shot, just push the shutter button the rest of the way down to capture your prize photo.

Hopefully this doesn’t sound like a lot to think about because it’s not. And before long, you’ll have the muscle memory down and it will be second nature.

Until then, may a little voice chatter away in your head:

“Focus. Frame. Shoot!”

If you want to practice right now, jump back to the sim up top. Have questions? Post ‘em in the comments below!

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving (here in the U.S., anyway), which means it’s officially time to get your holiday on. It’s also the perfect opportunity to improve your photo skills.

One of the biggest advantages that professional photographers have over us non-professionals (other than awesome photography gear) is that they are out shooting photos for a purpose. They’re not just capturing moments; they’re creating them. And something about that process of trying to execute an idea using photography makes them a little smarter than they were before, regardless of whether their idea even works out.

A real photo assignment!

As non-professionals, we don’t naturally get that opportunity. We may snap a lot of photos, but without an end product in mind, there’s little risk – or reward. That, dear reader, is where the holiday card comes in.

Think about it. Doing your own holiday card is the perfect photography kick in the pants:

• You’re the client; you can do whatever you want, but you have to do something!
• You have a deadline, so you can’t procrastinate!
• Sending your card to friends and family is a safe audience for your photography work
• You’ll wish you did some part of it differently, better, etc. This is how you learn and why this makes you better!

A word about printing

You gotta print it, right? I guess you could email your card out, but that’s lame. Here are your basic printing options:

• Use a local print shop: This is what I’ve done the last several years. It’s the most expensive of these options, but it’s also the easiest and I get to see a proof before it goes out to the world.
• Use an online photo service: I’m a big fan of Shutterfly for getting prints of digital photos (disclosure: that’s my affiliate link). The quality is excellent, and they have several options for turning your photos into a greeting card format. It’s inexpensive, but you have to wait on the mail.
• Use your own printer. I recommend this be your last option, as the pain-in-the-butt factor is pretty high. Plus, with the cost of ink, it’s more expensive than it seems.

For your inspiration

Here are a few of my cards from recent years that I hope will inspire you. Most of these involved some heavy Photoshop work, but they ALL have good ol’ fashioned photography as their foundation.

Making my own holiday card has been a tradition in my family for the last 11 years, and each year I pick up a new chestnut of photo-knowledge. We tend to learn by doing, and this is great way to “do” photography. You’ve still got time. Get cracking! Good luck!

An annual holiday tradition in my family is to make our own (hopefully) creative Christmas cards. Here’s the last 11 years of our work that I hope will inspire you to produce your own creative Christmas cards. Enjoy!

(Note: these are presented in chronological order; skip to the end for the good ones :)

2000

Ok, this isn’t mind-blowingly creative, but this was our first pass at actually designing a Christmas card rather than just shooting a nice family photo (not that there’s anything wrong with that — there’s not!)

The lesson: Your Christmas card doesn’t have to be some wild design in order to be meaningful and highly satisfying.

2001

No real improvement over the previous year design-wise, but we did enhance the snowflake pattern with a spray varnish (it basically just made the snowflake edges shiny on the paper).

The lesson: The creative part of creative Christmas cards doesn’t just happen in the camera or on the computer; it can happen with a spray varnish, a unique paper choice, or some interesting folding pattern. (I swear I’ll do a pop-up book Christmas card one of these years.)

Christmas 2002

I feel like this was the year we turned a corner with a pretty unique concept, and this remains one of my favorite Arnold Christmas cards. Perhaps what is most surprising to me is how little Photoshop work was done here (I just had to remove the camera from the reflection). And this was old-school film, folks; I didn’t have a million digital takes to get it right, I just got lucky.

The lesson: Sometimes things turn out way better than you planned simply due to dumb luck. Celebrate it when that happens.

Christmas 2003

That Christmas we were expecting our third daughter, so I went with a “this is the present we’re getting this year” idea. I still like the concept, but this has been my least favorite card. I think I did a crap Photoshop job, and overall it feels contrived. The only thing that gives it a hint of genuine charm is the pointing finger of my then-youngest daughter. Again, more luck.

The lesson: The lesson is either 1) it doesn’t matter how great your idea is if it’s not properly executed, or 2) sometimes your ideas aren’t as great as you think they are.

Christmas 2004

I think this was a step up in our creative Christmas card endeavor, and also the first of a slightly subversive, anti-commercialism tone that would appear in later Christmas cards as well. This was also the year I finally figured out the lighting technique for a pure white background right out of the camera, so I was thrilled to get to use it here.

The lesson: Lighting is everything.

Christmas 2005

This year we wanted to incorporate a little bit of family news into our Christmas card, so we made a board game. The descriptions on the game board corresponded with the events of the year. And yes, we even included game pieces. I had a lot of fun making all of this, but it took too long and was starting to feel like overkill.

The lesson: Don’t get carried away. Keep your ideas manageable so that the whole process stays fun.

Christmas 2006

This was the year our business, our family, and life in general seemed to have gotten hectic and complicated. It was a tough year, but I’ll bet no one outside looking in would have noticed. But isn’t that how we all are?…putting up a certain facade on the outside, but inside we’re a bit of a mess? Seemed like a perfect idea for a Christmas card, though! The “picture” on the front cover was actually cut out, letting the smiling family from the inside show through. Open the card, however, and one sees the real picture. (I love those burning curtains!)

The lesson: Being real trumps being creative.

Christmas 2007

Ok, I’m not going to feign humility here: we nailed this one. And I don’t mean just the actual card, I mean the whole experience of making it. Our girls were old enough to participate and have fun during the photo shoots, and being a huge movie buff, I loved the whole action-movie metaphor of family life. It was a lot of work, but we had a blast making it, which I think gave us all an extra sense of togetherness and ownership in this annual Christmas card tradition.

The lesson: Think of a creative Christmas card idea that hits upon your particular interest, and you’re bound to execute it masterfully (or at least have a lot of fun working on it).

Christmas 2008

I got this idea from one of my daughters’ Where’s Waldo books, of course. Here we are acting out different events and details from the previous year, and the card itself included a poem of what to hunt for in the picture. I knew this would be a bit of a Photoshop challenge but it was fun and satisfying to see it all come together. The photo shoot was one of those fun family activities that I’ll never forget.

The lesson: Feed the kids first for maximum fun and cooperation. See that pizza? That wasn’t just a prop; that was dinner.

Christmas 2009

Time to take another jab at commercialism (the inside caption read “May your only excess be of peace and love”). Our photo shoot, unfortunately, was going nowhere.  Everyone was a tad grumpy and it was showing, so we changed our strategy and made it into a game. With everyone lined up on the other side of the room, we set the camera timer for a couple seconds and then would run to the couch trying to get in place before the shutter fired. Just a few tries at this, and we got our shot. And had fun.

The lesson: Your best photos will come when you’re having fun, something no amount of Photoshopping can fake.

Christmas 2010

I think my favorite card is still the Maximum Turbulence DVD from 2007, but our 2010 card is a close 2nd. We had a lot of fun as a family making it, and I like the anti-commercialism vibe that it took on. Producing this card also turned out to be a notable Photoshop challenge with that plastic packaging effect. I can honestly say that doing this card stretched my Photoshop skills, so that felt good too. (Watch a time lapse video of this card being made.)

The lesson: Don’t overlook the simple things you can do once the card is printed.  While I love the Photoshop work on this card, I was struck at how much rounding the corners and adding a hole to the printed card made it feel like real packaging.

[UPDATE: I've had several people email and ask how I did the plastic cover effect. I don't have a tutorial, but I do have a Photoshop PSD that you can dissect. (The basic trick is to use an image of indoor lighting, stretch it, "shape" it with the Liquify "Bloat" tool, and lay it over something else with a "screen" blend mode.) I want to be careful not to get off topic -- this blog is about learning how to use your SLR camera -- but I'm happy to geek out on Photoshop in this post!]

2011

My family and I have been traveling in an RV since the summer, so we knew we wanted to do something travel related. For the first time in a decade, however, I was plumb out of ideas. Fortunately my wife Amy came up with a great concept: a mosaic made from our trip photos, and as a postcard no less.

I did just a little tiny bit of color enhancement in Photoshop to bring out the tree, but all the hard work was done by MacOSaiX, a wonderful free photo mosaic app. When (if?) we return home from our travels, I’m going to make a full size poster of this; it’s mesmerizing to look at all the little photos close up.

The lesson: While I’m super please with the overall design of this, what is most satisfying is how appropriate it was for us this year (the travel photos, the postcard, etc.)  Clever card ideas are great, but they should also have meaning.

So there you have it; our last 11 years of trying to do creative Christmas cards. I hope this gives you some inspiration for some creative Christmas cards and family traditions of your own.