Vicki W. suggested in an e-mail that I could maybe blog about how to take better photos of shiny objects. Never did figure out the shiny objects thing, but one thing seems to lead to another. That got me started taking some tree photos…and of course, the first picture the flash went off…the second picture I suppressed the flash:
It would have been better with a tripod or if I had steadied the camera on the back of a chair, but I was just playing around. It also would have been better if I picked up the envelopes lying on tree skirt!
Then I went in for some close-ups of individual ornaments. Betty, recognize your angel? She looks a little grainy because of the low light in the room, but I actually really like this picture.
I wish I had been sipping a glass of wine at the time so I could blame this on the alcohol (it must have been the sugar in the cookies I’ve sampled), but I started giving the camera a little twist as I took the picture:
This was fun! I found the key to keeping your ornament somewhat focused is to keep it in the center, imagine the axis of your twisting movement is going right through the lens, and then give a slight rotation when you’re pressing the shutter.
It’s so much fun because you can see right away what you got…
Have I made you all feel a little dizzy?
This would be an interesting activity for children/grandchildren who are the right age to use a digital camera. They might even end up taking a picture suitable for next year’s Christmas card! This would also be fun to try if you’re going to an evening parade, such as the Hollidazzle parade in downtown Minneapolis.
Thanks for the inspiration, Vicki! I’ll get back to baking and cleaning and laundry now.
–Sue
PS: Some tips if you decide to try this. I had no lights on in the room, just ambient light from an adjoining room. Remember to suppress the flash. Just a little twist, like from 2:00 to 3:00. Experiment with more and less of a twist. You’re not wasting film — you will just delete more pictures (I deleted a lot)! I took these with my little point-and-shoot camera, no fancy equipment required.
