Father’s Day Photography Ideas
What better gift can you give than a lovely photograph of a father and his child. This Father’s Day why not learn how to take great photos which capture the loving relationship between dads and their children. Here we are giving you some great father’s day photography ideas to help you achieve perfect photos on this special day.
Father’s Day is a day of celebrating dads or any important male figure in your life so let’s capture that bond using these easy tips and techniques.
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Tip 1 – Zoom in
An easy tip here is to simply zoom in. Zooming in helps blur out the background and compresses faces slightly to give a more flattering look. No one wants their face stretched out and photos of faces at a wide angle does exactly that. On most common cameras zooming to around a focal length of 50mm or above will do the trick. To learn about what focal lengths are in photography, click here.
@carolinehdz unsplash.com
Portrait taken at a wide angle, stretches out the face
Tip 2 – Wide Aperture
Building on tip 1 you can help blur the background further by using a wide aperture. Use the A or AV setting (Aperture Priority mode) and set it to the lowest number possible. This will give you your widest available aperture and added with the zooming in tip, will help to get a crisp portrait and blurry background. To learn more about apertures in photography, click here.
@kellysikkema unsplash.com
@limorganon unsplash.com
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Tip 3 – Be Natural and Have Fun
When you have a camera shoved in your face you freeze up and this makes for poor father’s day photography! Dad’s play with their children all the time so this part is actually easier than you think. Get them to play as they would normally. Is there a game they play together or something they do every day? If so, get them to do that, then this bit is not so easy. Make them forget there is a camera taking pictures.
The best tip here is to continue to take a few pictures until they forget you’re there. Don’t expect it to happen in the first few shots, you’re normally looking at 5 minutes into the shoot before those natural shots start coming.
@elmundoderabbit unsplash.com
@ohhbee unsplash.com
Tip 4 - Plain background
Let’s put the focus onto what’s important, the main man and his kids! Try not to clutter up the background and use a plain background when taking portrait pictures. A background with different objects, shapes and colours will just distract from the main part of the picture. Using a plain wall, outside in a field or simply using the sky will do the job.
@kelli_mcclintock unsplash.com
@deviyahya unsplash.com
Objects, different shapes and colours will clutter the image and distract the viewer - @kellysikkema unsplash.com
Tip 5 – Focus on detail
It is not just about getting faces; the little detail can give you the same feeling and in many cases an even stronger feeling. Showing the connection between a parent and their child doesn’t need to be a full-body portrait so try to find the little details that make them unique and bring that to light in photography.
@daiga_ellaby unsplash.com
@livvie_bruce unsplash.com
Tip 6 – Lighting
Most people don’t have a studio to hand so outside it is! When using daylight try to shoot at sunset or sunrise to get the best lighting for your shots. This will give you that lovely orange, warm light and that will suit fathers day photos to a tee.
Try not to take pictures in the middle of the day under bright sunlight. The look will be too white and your pictures may look washed out in places. If you are to take pictures in the middle of the day, try to take pictures in the shade or on a cloudy day as this will give you a softer light.
Taken at sunset - @gcalebjones unsplash.com
Taken on a cloudy day which is giving a soft light - @jule_42 unsplash.com
Taken at sunset - @awwam1991 unsplash.com
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