Taking photos for the Second 20 photo collage

To celebrate the launch of our updated website we introduced the Second 20 photo collage. The idea with this one is to take a series of snapshots of your favourite small person (or persons) on a plain background. We then take your photos and turn them into a stunning photo collage – highlighting the expressions and bringing out the character of the person(s) in the photos.

Taking the photos themselves is easy and does not take long at all. The main requirement is to have a plain (preferably light coloured) background to take the photos against. The reason for this is that it does not distract from the face of the person in the photo and keeps all the photos uniform.

Try and use natural lighting if possible, so you don’t have to use the flash. Doing this will help to avoid stark dark shadow areas. If lighting is not great, then switch the ISO setting on your camera to a higher number. Above all, remember that this is not supposed to be an exercise in taking technically perfect photos, but rather to capture expression and to have some fun!

Two of our original photos:

A prop of some kind will really help with getting children to relax and mess around a bit! We just gave our son Ethan his mum’s glasses and that was all that was needed! The only bit of direction we did was to ask Ethan to look left, right, up and down. The rest was him just doing his own thing!

The finished Second 20 Life Poster:

It took 5mins to take the photos, but we will treasure our Second 20 for years to come.

When you send us your photos, we will convert them to black and white, adjust as needed, then create your life poster. It will be printed on Professional Epson 255gsm glossy photo paper.

To order please click here.

Tags: a3 collage, general news, photo collage, photo tips

Move in close!

When composing your photo resist the temptation to stay rooted to the spot! Use your feet as part of the photographic process. By moving closer to your subject you will be able to create a much more interesting shot.

Of course, it’s not always possible to get physically closer to the subject of your photo, but if your camera has a zoom control – this is the time to use it.

If you’re at a wedding, leave the group photos to the wedding photographer – instead get in close (either physically or using your zoom) to create a much more interesting shot. Keep close up shots of people to a maximum of three, so you can still get enough detail in!

Combining this technique with the rule of thirds means you can start 2010 with some great photos – ready to go in your next Life Poster!

Tags: hints, photo tips, taking better photos

Composing your photos

The key to taking a great photo is composition. A good tip to bear in mind when using your camera is the rule of thirds.

Tips to help compose your photos for your photo collage

The image above is split into 9 sections – three horizontal and three vertical – hence the name – rule of thirds. Aligning the face in the photo with the intersections of the lines and the horizon along the horizontal line help to make the photo work.

When composing your photograph, decide what the key elements of the photo are – be it a face, a building or a view. Then, arrange the key elements of your photo so that they fall as close as possible to the intersections of the grid. Some digital cameras have an option to display a grid as shown in this image to help you compose your shot using the rule of thirds (check your manual if you’re not sure!). If your camera does not have this function, you can still use the rule – it will just require a bit more time when composing the shot!

We hope you find this tip useful! We look forward to putting your superbly composed shots together in your next life poster!

Tags: hints, photo tips, taking better photos