As the holidays approach, everyone likes to run for their cameras.  Grandma’s hugs need to be captured along with the little ones’ joy over gifts and holiday lights.  The outdoor sights glisten with snow, and promises of winter adventure.

Why not make this year’s photos, both indoor and out, look better than ever before?  We recently spoke with Lakewood photographer Ben D’Andrea to see how he comes up with his best shots.

“Good photography always boils down to composition and light,” said Ben. “This lesson is easy to understand, but is an ongoing process of learning the entire time you take photos.”  After thirty years as a professional photographer, Ben knows a lot about both elements.

We asked what to focus on first, and Ben recommended learning about the rule of thirds or the golden mean.  “The rule of thirds is a great skill to master because it doesn’t matter whether you shoot your photos inside or out, in whatever season you choose,” said Ben.  He explained that this rule is a matter of training your eye to see your composition as if it had a grid of nine blocks in front of your lens.  Place important elements on the lines between the blocks in order to create a comfortable visual balance.

“We live in a three-dimensional world,” said Ben, “but photography and graphic arts only have two dimensions to play with.  You want to encourage your viewers’ eyes to move and build in-depth which may be missing in natural composition.”  For example, a horizon line should not cut your composition into equal halves because it flattens your work.  It is much better to “place” the horizon on the upper one-third line or the lower one-third line to draw your viewer into the picture more.

“Also, if you’re new to photography, I really recommend seeking out a group of others interested in learning photography too,” said Ben. “This is an incredible tool for those just starting out and even more experienced photographers, not to mention that it’s also a great chance to meet other people with like interests.”

Taking Shots of Family & Friends

“The first rule of portraiture is that if it has eyes, the eyes are the focus,” said Ben. This means that whether you’re snapping photos of your neighbors at your outdoor fireplace or of your pets, viewers will naturally gravitate toward the faces and eyes of your subjects.  Put these eyes on one of your golden mean lines when you go to shoot a photograph.

“Also, if you’re new to photography or don’t have a lot of lenses to work with, pose your friends on the same plane relative to the front of your lens.  Don’t put people two to three feet apart,” said Ben.  “Then, try to make sure all faces are showing, and the people are posed in triangular groups of three, relative to their height.”

Taking Photos Outdoors

When you step outside in the winter to take your photos you’re in luck. The sun is lower in the sky, so you have a better chance of getting more angled and diffused light, which makes for better photographs.

“The challenge with photography and snow,” said Ben, “is that the snow can fool the lens into thinking there is more light than really exists.” He recommends opening your aperture by 2/3 an F-stop.

If you’re shooting scenery outside, here are some of Ben’s top tips:

• Isolate a small portion of your scene and shoot only that.  Less is more.
• If you’re shooting a landscape, use a wider angle lens like the standard kit 18-55mm lens
• Check for distracting elements.  We tend to look only at what we want to see in a photo, then get home and find we’ve accidentally left in a soda can or telephone wire in the shot.
• If it’s cold, let your camera acclimate to the weather for a few minutes before shooting.
• Always have a back-up battery, and keep it in your pocket next to your body for warmth.  Batteries can run down quickly in cold environs.

We asked Ben about his favorite outdoor photo experience, and he gave us this terrific story:

“We were hiking near Empire, Colorado.  The day was pretty much a bust for photography. It was wet and cold, with a steady rain, but towards the end of our walk, the rain let up so we decided to stop for a picnic lunch in the woods, not far up into the hills. As we ate, a bull moose came up to only about 15 feet away from us. Of course I grabbed my camera, and that moose decided to stay and let us shoot several shots of him. It was amazing that this animal’s fight or flight circle allowed him to get so close to us, and I kept thinking that it was also incredible to have this kind of nature experience less than 30-minutes from Denver.”

One closing thought for our discussion was Ben’s personal view of photography. “Use your camera to create your own reality, not a photocopy of what you see.” Here’s hoping you enjoy the holiday season and capture it with a new eye.

(Photo by Ben D’Andrea)