Photography Tip: Get Better Photos By Taking More

Today’s photography tip is something that is super simple and yet is often how I get my best photographs.

Just take more photos. That’s it. And I don’t mean take more photos every day in general, I mean when you’re trying to capture a memory in a single moment in time, just keep your finger on the shutter and keep taking photos.

The photographs that you’ll end up loving the most of your family in particular, are those that are candid and show you all just having a blast. These photographs can’t be posed, and, when you’re working with small children (or unwilling participants, not naming any names, Husband), the only way to get natural photos that show everyone basically having a good time is to set up the shot, and keep on shooting.

Shoot 50 frames, or 100, if you need to. You’ll end up discarding about 90-95% of the photos, which is fine (hooray digital photography!) but all you’re after is just one, single, great photo that reflects how wonderful that moment in time was.

I pulled together some outtakes below to show you a typical photo sequence of little Missy E. She loathes photographs in general, so I try and make her laugh at me, tell her silly things so she finds it all entertaining instead of a chore. If you watch her face as the photos progress, there’s a great mix of wacky faces, and then, at the end, a single great frame with a huge, natural smile on her face.

Technical tip: You want the camera to be shooting quite fast to capture crisp images with no motion blur (particularly with facial expressions). The easiest way to get this is by shooting in bright, natural light. If you’re using an SLR, set the ISO a bit higher to make the camera more sensitive to the light (I usually set mine around 400-500). This helps the camera capture the images faster.

Are you trying to take better photos? What would you like more tips on?