For the photographer, amateur or professional, having your photograph printed in a professional print publication is extremely rewarding. People will see your work in its best light, in full colour and in high resolution. This is a great opportunity to see your work as it was intended but to ensure the best results there are some simple guidelines you should consider.
It seems obvious, but you should have a good awareness of your camera‘s capabilities and practice to get a feel for the effects of each setting. Read the manual and try things out. For a print publication, you are going to want to use the highest resolution available on your camera. This will ensure a sharp image and minimise pixelation and blurriness.
Work on focus. Make sure your image is sharp and keep the camera still. For best results, consider using a tripod. Be aware of the light. Natural light is preferable and will eliminate those unwanted reflections and wash out. Professional photographers refer to the ‘golden hour’ of 30 minutes after sunrise and 30 minutes before sunset for the best natural light. Similarly, be sure to use your camera’s ‘no-red-eye’ setting if it has one. Otherwise, if you have to use a flash, aim it above eye level of your subject.
Think about the composition of your photograph. Angles can add interest and play with shadow and hue. Be aware of the background, of everything in your picture, as unseen elements can add unwanted nuances to the photograph. You can use a simple piece of white card, for example, to curve against a wall and create your own ‘infinity’ background for product shots.
Don’t be shy. Try not to be afraid of getting close to your subject. Your picture will likely appear on a page with other elements, so make sure the reader doesn’t have to squint too much to see the central element of your photograph. Don’t be conservative when it comes to taking lots of pictures either. Try things out, photograph everything. Making mistakes here is good and will teach you a lot about what works and what doesn’t, while teaching you about the abilities and limitations of your camera. When you are finished, have a good look at each picture and consider what has worked and what hasn’t and why that might be.
By: Niels Heidenreich
Also, do not limit your learning to consideration of your own efforts. Always look at the finest award-winning work of professional photographers and consider again what works in these pictures and what makes them great. You might even see some things that you think don’t work so well. Take a look at example images and consider what you would do differently.
Doxdirect is owned by Tom Griffiths of PageVisions Ltd, a printing company specialising in online print production including professional brochure printing and binding services. The focus of their service has been built on convenience and affordable printing for the home consumer and SME businesses that also incorporates a secure, web based document storage solution.
Avery is consulting for Doxdirect, an online printing portal that strives to make printing efficient and affordable for anyone with a printing requirement (brochures, booklets and pdf documents ) from SME’s to home users. Follow Avery on Google +
