Tuesday, June 26, 2007 , Updated
Official SMU photographer offers tips for vacation photos
Tip #1: get a camera.
Hillsman S. Jackson probably has one of the coolest job titles in North Texas: he's the designated Southern Methodist University photographer. Which sounds to me like it could be employed as a pretty good icebreaker at cocktail parties and such:
"What do you do here at the university, young man?" - matron of the arts sporting elbow-length satin gloves and pince-nez, absently sipping a martini.
Example of the kind of picture that would benefit from the use of a tripod.
"Why, I'm SMU's AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER, ma'am!" - hands on hips, gazing clear-eyed into the ivy-draped courtyard beyond.
Regardless of his party-worthiness, Lensman Jackson knows at least five things about photography - specifically vacation photography - and he'd like to share them with you, whether or not you're a reader of SMU's News and Communication press releases:
1. Get close to the subject of your photo. "If you think you're close enough, you're probably not," says Jackson.
2. Don't expect great images to result when snapping photos of people in bright sunlight - their features will be washed out and their eyes will be all squinty. Rather, put them in the shade, or have their backs to the sun and use fill-flash. Best bet: shoot your people photos during the twilight hour when the nastiness of contrastiness is at a minimum and colors are saturated.
Grizzly bear felled with a single blow from a camera tripod. Don't try this at home (unless you reside in some sort of fantasy wilderness area where bears can be killed with tripods).
3. Carry and use a tripod. This simple tip comes in particularly handy when shooting night scenes that require long exposures, but even in daylight it'll help to control composition and allow you to close down your lens aperture to achieve greater depth of field. (Plus, you'll give the impression to bystanders that you know a bit more about what you're up to than those slackers doing the hand-held thing.)
4. Shoot lots and lots of pictures. (The theory being that even a blind pig scores a truffle - or a fantastic vacation photo - with enough repetition.) After all, digital pics cost nothing until you print them, and you can always delete the dross during the in-camera review process.
5. Have fun. Because "it'll show in your snapshots," according to Jackson. (Oh, very well - if I must...)
