Quick Tips for Better Pics

As spring rolls around and you are planning your fundraising events, you will undoubtedly want to take photos for use on your website and in your fundraising materials. You’ll want to make sure that you have the best quality images you can t0 reflect positively on your organization. Naturally, it’s best to hire a professional photographer. But if you can’t do that, consider these tips.

1. Lighting: Be aware of where the light is coming from. I know this is difficult at gala event in which the stage is in a set location, but there are things you can do to make sure people are lit from the front – if they are standing in back of light and their face is in shadow, have them step back so that the light is in front of them. If they are in front of a window, they will be back lit and their fronts will be in shadow, so have them stand facing the window or light source.

2. Backgrounds: Make sure backgrounds are clear as possible and there is nothing awkward in the background (so the person doesn’t have a plant coming out of the their head, an arm from someone walking by, or the frame of a doorway or window is splitting them in half, etc.). You can ask people to take a step over to avoid some of this.

3. Framing: Be sure your picture tells the story you want it to – if it is about the person, move in and get more of a close up and eliminate extraneous detail. If it is about an interaction or showing the context of the environment, show that, but in general, get the tightest shot as possible to show the most detail.

4. Focus: Shooting people is difficult since they move around and photos can be blurry. Make sure your camera setting is on for movement (this may be called the Sports setting) if that is what you are shooting. And don’t be afraid to take multiple shots of the same subject since inevitably someone is blinking or moving (if you are shooting digitally it doesn’t cost you anything).

5. Resolution: Photos need to be high resolution for printing in a newsletter or other printed piece (300 dpi at the size they will be used, for example 6 x 4 inches), so make sure your camera setting is on high resolution so that we can use your photos in the newsletter.

6. Smile and encourage others to smile as well – you want to excite people about your organization by showing them that people enjoy themselves at your events.

If you have the budget for professional photographer, contact Jason Gardner, he is excellent to work with and does excellent event work: http://www.jasongardner.net