Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to be with family.

For many, it is also a great time to try to take family photos. Many family members who are normally out of town are together and visiting. It’s a great time to get a picture of the whole family at once.

For many, it is time to take the annual Christmas card picture.

For others, is just a time when everyone is together and they want to treasure the memories. After all, family is one thing to be very thankful for. It is often nearly too late to have a professional portrait done in time for Christmas.

A couple years ago, I decided Thanksgiving would be a great time to get a portrait of my grandpa and grandma.

While they were both still in reasonably good health, I knew that there would not be too many more chances to get a great photo of both of them together. Although I had access to professional equipment that few people can use, I made a few mistakes that prevented me from getting the portrait that I wanted. My grandfather died recently, and I was never able to get that last portrait that I wanted.

Here are five rules for getting great family photos this Thanksgiving.

5. Don’t try to take the family photo at the table.

   It can be very difficult to get everyone in focus while sitting at a table.  Those closer to the camera will appear larger in the photograph and those that are back farther away from the camera will look smaller. Find a place where you can keep everyone closer together and about the same distance from the camera.  Also, your flash will tend to be too bright on the people in front and to dark on the people in back.  Bouncing the flash off the ceiling can help with this problem if you still want to take photos at the table.

4. Try to find a simple background that will not be too distracting.

You want to make sure the emphasis is on the people in the photograph and that they are not getting lost in a distracting background. If the weather is nice, you may want to try a photo outdoors. Again, try to find a place outside that looks nice, but is still not going to be too busy of a background.

3. Decide who is going to be in the photo before you start.

If you are going to be in the photograph, make sure you have a tripod ready.  This might be a good time to invite a friend with no family over for Thanksgiving if you don’t have a tripod. In my case, I just wanted to get Grandpa and Grandma together and before I got a real good photo everyone else got into the photo. If you are going to do a group, I always start with the biggest group first and then work to the smaller groups unless there is something that is more important the the whole group photo.

2. Make sure you can see everyone in the picture.

Make sure you have everyone posed so that they can see the camera and the camera can see them.  Also make sure that no one will be hidden in a dark shadow.  Make sure that everyone will be looking at the camera.  This can be especially hard with children.  At the same time, you don’t want a picture of mom pointing at the camera what she is trying to get the child to look at. Be patient and keep a good sense of humor.

1. Most importantly!  Take the photo before anyone eats.

This will avoid that red cranberry stain on dad’s white shirt.  They hand out napkins at restaurants because accidents do happen.  Also, after everyone eats that wonderful meal, no one is going to feel like going through the work of taking a photo.  Everyone can just relax after they eat then.  It also ensures that grandma won’t be fainting from grandpa’s onion breath!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for the other blessings in your life.

The Dark Side Of Digital Photography Strikes Back

The fourth problem with digital photography is the way they are printed.

Printing your own digital photos is not better or cheaper in the long run than having your digital photo printed by a lab. Why do they give you a free printer so often with a computer or camera? Because they plan to make a small fortune from you in ink. Add the cost of ink to the cost of photographic quality paper and you are paying as much as a print costs at a lab. Add the cost of redoing a digital print because the color was not what you saw on the screen or the printer heads were dirty and now it is even more expensive. Do not forget the time you spend waiting for the printer to print. You often end up with a print that you would not accept from a lab that cost just as much. Not really worth it.

Labs have a color management system to make sure the print comes out as close as possible to how it is recorded in the file. Not only that, but photographic prints have improved their archival quality over the past few years. While some ink jet printers have improved image stability and some are even much better than photographic prints, many ink jet printers have very poor image stability. Some ink jet digital photos deteriorate in as short as 5 years.

Printing digital photos at home can be difficult and a headache as well as expensive. It is a matter of having the right tools and software.

Finally, digital photos need special care.

Digital photos are more fragile that film photos. While digital photos printed on photographic paper are not more fragile than film images, the files may not be as safe as putting the negatives in a shoebox. Film negatives are susceptible to fire and flood and physical damage, so are digital files. Digital files are also susceptible to mechanical failure in the hard drive. I just had a drive fail and lost some of the data on it. It really is not just a question of if, but when your drive will fail.

Also, for the first time, your memories could catch a virus. There are real losers out there that have nothing better to do than write viruses that can damage your computer. Some of them actually target digital photos on the computers they attack. I have met people who have lost their all digital photos to a computer virus.

Ok, there are 5 problems that are unique to digital photography.

All of these problems are manageable as long you know what to expect. Use fill flash to fill shadow (does not always work). Be careful with your exposure. Have quality prints made of your favorite digital photographs and make sure to back up digital photography files to quality DVD’s or CD’s. Make sure you run virus software that updates itself daily to keep digital photos on your computer safe from viruses.

Read Part One of Five Problems with Digital Photography

Start taking your graduation ceremony well before the ceremony.

Maybe try to get some photos of your Grad trying to get that silly hat to stay on. If the school has a tradition of tossing hats into the air you may not get one with it later. Make sure to get your photo with the Grad also. This is a good time to get the Grad with parents photos.

During the graduation ceremony, keep the camera on and flash charged but do not spend your time looking through the camera.

If a real good opportunity comes along you will be ready. Do not waste the moment though, if you are not close or there is anything or anyone between you and your daughter or son, enjoy the ceremony. Remember, its the graduation ceremony that you came for, not a photo shoot. Keeping the camera ready may use up the battery for later though. Bring a spare along with extra film or memory.

If you try to take the photo when there is someone or something between you and the Grad, your camera will get confused.

All the light from the flash will bounce off the object. Your camera will see all this light and think there is too much. Your Grad will most likely be lost in the dark with the object a bright glowing form in the front of the photo. This is what virtually all the photos everyone there will be seeing. Unless you have a real good opportunity, it is a great time to just enjoy the moment in your daughter or son’s life.

Now, for the rest of the show.

After the graduation ceremony, make sure to get photos of the Grad with his or her friends.

These are the photos they will want to put on the Web and email to friends. You will want to get in a few with your Grad again too.

When you are taking these photos, it is important to find a good background.

Preferably something without crowds of people in it. You will want to keep the attention on your subjects. Indoors, try to find a wall or even better something with the school logo on it. Watch out for windows and glass cases of trophies that might cause a reflection. Having school related background will add to the feeling of the photo.

If the weather and time of day work out, take some outside, using the school as a background.

Try in front of the school doors (make sure not to keep others from getting through). Try to frame the Graduates with the school name over their heads. A photo like this with your Grad’s best friends will be a photo they will always treasure. You may not have too much choice about having other people in the background for this. The importance is your Gradate with friends in a place they will remember (hopefully fondly) for life.

Some schools do not have the ceremony at the school.

Still look for a place you can take the photograph with the school logo. You may have to share it with others trying to do the same thing so don’t hog it. Look for a nice background outdoors. You may find a nice wall or some trees nearby. Do not just settle for the crowd as a background.

When you outdoors, try using fill flash for some of the photos.

That is using the camera flash to fill in shadows form the sun. DOn’t use it for all the photos, just some, because sometimes it can look wrong.

By taking lots of photos of your Grad with his or her friends you’ll find them more willing to pose for a few with the parents. Maybe one of the more responsible friends can take the photos that include you.

Just remember, its the moments that count.

Not the photos. Don’t drag it on too long. Remember your graduation ceremony? Your Grad will probably want to get past the photos and spend some time with friends or family celebrating.

One final though. make sure drinking and driving is not part of the celebration for anyone. You want there to be many more things in life to celebrate, remember, and take more photos of.