Augblog1
There are many qualities that continually set apart a professional, sought-after professional photographer from the competition. But one very important quality is the ability to see important, story-telling details in a scene. 

Augblog2

So why is it important to take photographs of details? Because it allows the person viewing the finished photo to tell their own story and complete the whole picture. When we see a photo of a person’s face, not much else is left to the imagination. We already know exactly what that person looks like, how old they are, what kind of smile they have, etc. But when we see a pair of tiny feet splashing through a puddle, or see wrinkled hands holding an old book, our mind immediately begins to imagine and expand the story. We can imagine that the feet belong to a strong-willed, carefree child, breaking free from the indoors to enjoy the puddles outside. Or we can image that the hands belong to a great-grandmother who has served many people over the years. 

Augblog3

As with any photo, there’s no one right way to take detail shots. But there are a few tricks to keep in mind to get the best photo possible and stretch your creativity. 

  • Get in as close as your lens will allow. Many professional photographers will invest in wide-angle or macro lenses in order to take great detail shots. These types of lenses allow you to get in really close and get amazing detail and clarity. 

Augblog4

  • Consider your angle. For example, I love to take pictures of feet but will oftentimes struggle with the angle of the shot. Do I have the person stand or sit? Do I take the picture from above or at ground level? Do I take it from the side or the front? Consider what the most interesting, story-telling angle will be and then try several different ones. There’s no reason to commit yourself to just one particular angle. 

Augblog5

  • Let your subject be natural, especially when photographing kids. A lot of times I want to get a shot of my kids running and playing, and usually that’s not a hard thing to do when I’m taking a photo of the whole scene. But when I want a photo of little feet running, or busy hands playing, then that movement is hard to freeze. Just make sure you’re using a lot of natural light and a fast shutter speed, and keep on trying until you get the right shot.

Augblog6

  • Learn to see details, even without your camera. Many times I’ll watch a person doing something and think, “Wow, I love how her hands move as she knits,” or, “Look how tiny his feet are next to mine.” Everyone notices those types of things, but not everyone thinks to capture those moments with a photo. Try to always keep your camera close by and ready to go so that when those precious fleeting moments arise, you’re able to take a picture before the moment is gone.

Augblog7

~ Elisha Snow

Want to see more of Elisha’s work? Check her out on Instagram at @elishasnowphotography or her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/elishasnowphotography

GIVEAWAY – DAY 8!!!

As we continue into the second week of celebrating all our industry partners, we are thrilled to be featuring Lawn Fawn today! We adore their very creative coordinating stamps and dies not to mention their sweet paper collections, ink pads, twine and more! Armed with a very talented design team, Lawn Fawn continues create beautiful products and inspiration you'll want to check out! And today, maybe you could win some!

Our sweet friends at Lawn Fawn loved that they were featuring them today and have provided this very lovely prize to thank YOU, the SCT reader, for all your support!  It's take a village right? Look at today's giveaway…

8-LawnFawn2

 8-LawnFawn3 

8-LawnFawn1

How sweet are these fish and THAT crab?! For an opportunity to win today's prize, be sure to leave a comment below by September 2nd! Winners will be randomly selected and announced on September 4th. Good luck!

Once you've left your comment, we would love it also if you could take a moment to tank our friends at Lawn Fawn (pun intended!) on their facebook page HERE.  All our partners have loved hearing from you!!! You can also find Lawn Fawn:

On their website:    Lawn Fawn

On their blog:       Lawn Fawn

On Facebook:        Lawn Fawn

On Pinterest:        Lawn Fawn

On Instagram:        @lawnfawn

On YouTube:        Lawn Fawn

So you have our full permission to drop what you're doing (unless you're holding a child or eggs!) and spend some time checking out Lawn Fawn. We're pretty confident it will make you'll feel inspired to create a sweet card or project today!

~  Catherine, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine