Families involve happy times, angry times, silly times, crazy times, and everything in between. The only way to get the real-ness of a family is to find a photographer that can catch those in between reactions and go on a fun (no, really!) family photo shoot with you.

1) Go OUTSIDE the box (Or studio, that is)

Sometimes being in a studio just creates that stuffy stifled atmosphere that suppresses the real interactions of a family. I believe that each family member gets nervous because it is an out-of-the-ordinary setting and one no one is used to. So, get out of there! Take the kids and go to a park. Visit the zoo or go get some ice cream. For fun family photos, take a trip somewhere to do something your family is used to doing together. Your family photos will look more real, your photographer will have an easier time of catching those moments that make your family unique, and everyone will be relaxed and at ease with each other. No nervousness allowed!

2) Matching Smatching

I don’t know any families that wear matching clothing all of the time. If you want family photos that look real, look believable, and look like YOU, wouldn’t it make sense to do the things you’re used to doing every day? If you don’t wear matching shirts every time you leave the house, don’t wear them to the photo shoot! Wear things you are comfortable in and that make each of you feel good. Bright colors usually work the best for the camera and help each person to stand out from the background. My suggestion is to pick a color scheme and stick with it. Choose just a few colors for your family photos that everyone is comfortable with and looks attractive in. Blend – don’t match.

3) Ignore the camera -no, seriously

I have seen so many occasions where people get in front of the camera and automatically freeze. There is just something about that big glass lens that makes people stiffen up and become nervous! The BEST way to become comfortable in front of the camera is to act like it isn’t even there. IGNORE IT. Tell the kids to ignore the camera like they ignore you when you tell them to clean their room. Yep, that should get the message across. The more you act like yourselves, the better your family pictures will turn out.

4) Photographer knows best

Moms, you may have to take a breather on this one. For your family photos, ask your family photographer for suggestions and tips on how to make your day more successful. For example, I would tell a client to make sure you scheduled your family photo session around your normal daily schedule. Be aware of naptimes,  wake-up times, work-times, and any other time that you are used to during your daily routine. Also, be very aware of the time of day that you choose for your shoot. If you want to take a trip to the park for your family photos, don’t plan on having the shoot at 1pm in the afternoon. The light will not work nearly as well as it would closer to evening or late afternoon. Squinty eyes can ruin a picture! Always ask your photographer for some helpful tips and ideas to you can plan your shoot accordingly. Remember: The photographer wants to work with you!

5) ALL Day is okay!

Here is a fun family photo idea that I often like to throw out there: why not book a family photographer for the entire DAY? Have the photographer get the real low-down on what your family is like on an hour-by-hour basis. Booking your family photographer for an entire day of shooting will get many moments of daily life you wouldn’t capture otherwise. For the moms, you are usually the one taking the pictures, right? Or you dads? This way, you BOTH can be in the photos without having to set a timer and run to pose in front of the camera. These shoots produce photojournalistic style photos – ones that tell a story, moment to moment, emotion to emotion. Get the kids in their jammies eating breakfast, the family making dinner together, and the parents tucking the kids in bed. You could break apart the day any which way you like, just so long as you get the memories that you want to hold on to.

The biggest part of fun family photography is getting everyone to act in the normal way they do when together, without a strange camera in your face. When a family is real and comfortable with each other, the true spirit of the family dynamic comes across. Using these tips for better family photos, getting that spirit across to the photographer is what will give you lasting and memorable family photos for years to come.

When preserving photos, you can choose to use photo albums, scrapbooks, or photo boxes. If you choose albums, you have to select the items that are made of high quality materials so that you can feel safe to keep your family photos on the album. On the other hand, if you choose scrapbooks, you need to make sure that you are using photo-safe glues and also avoid using regular adhesive glues and tapes which can damage your photos. In addition, when choosing boxes, you need to choose the boxes that are made of acid free materials and come with acid free card dividers that you can purchase from any craft or photo store. Also, you have to avoid using paper clips, pins, and rubber bands in holding the photos together.

Moreover, when handling the photos like vintage or rare photographs, you need to use cotton gloves. It is because the natural oil that comes out from a human body can possibly harm your photographs. Therefore, using cotton gloves can help you to prevent them from damage.

Furthermore, when you are going to make label on your photos, do not ever write on them. Or, when you want to write on the back side of the photos, it is suggested for you to not use regular ball points or felt tip pens. You need to search for the photo-safe pens that can be easily found at the photo or craft stores.

1 – Personalised Portrait Gifts For Any Occasion

Photo gifts are unique items that can be personalised to exactly meet the tastes of the recipient. You can add any photo or even have a montage of pictures professionally created. By using pictures of the recipient or something that is relevant to their tastes you really can create stunning and heartfelt personalised gifts. These can be given to celebrate any event from anniversaries to weddings and from graduation to Christmas.

2 – Decorating The Walls Of Your Home

Whether you’ve just moved into a new home or are looking for a way to update the walls of your family home, canvas prints are ideal. Digital photos are the most popular item to print on canvas prints because of the level of photo reproduction that the natural canvas offers, but you can effectively use any digital format picture; this can be a downloaded piece of artwork or even a scanned paper print photo.

3 – Creating Unique Multi Canvas Wall Art

As well as the standard single photo, single canvas print, you can create multi canvas prints. The most widely known of these is the triptych which uses a row of three canvases with a gap between each one but you can use any number of canvases of any size and in any order to create incredible looking multi canvas wall art; perfect for the home or the workplace to brighten up any space.

4 – Immortalising Family, Friends, And Even Pets

Family photos, individual portraits, and group shots are all popular types of picture that regularly find pride of place in our homes. Rather than cluttering up the mantlepiece or hanging framed photos, canvas prints are an affordable and luxurious way to show off any of these pictures. Individual portraits can even be converted into pop art for a more colourful and fun display.

5 – Showing Off Pictures From A Once In A Lifetime Holiday

We all have a dream holiday destination and if you’ve recently returned from yours then why shouldn’t you take the opportunity to show off about it? Bespoke canvas sizes mean that you can print any picture on canvas to hang on your wall. Even panoramic shots can be converted into great looking canvas prints.

Canvas Prints

Photos can be converted from colour to black and white or sepia. They can be combined into a single, professionally designed montage. They can even be turned into colourful pop art prints that ooze with character. Because you create the design of the canvas print it means that you can really let your imagination go when creating canvas prints for any purpose.
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San Jose Photographer – Benipayo Photography offering photo canvas and other photography products.

About the author: Sarah shares her knowledge about gifts. Visit Bags of Love for stunning gift ideas

San Jose Photographer – Tips for Better Picture of Your Child

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Number 1: Get to know your camera.
Know all of the possibilities your camera has to offer. Read the manual, and if you don’t like reading go through all the menus and try everything out. Find out what your camera is capable of. The better you know your camera the easier it will be to use.

Number 2. Take photos in rapid succession
If your camera has a mode to take more than one image per second, always have it set on that setting. You are more likely to catch THE moment in focus. This is something to keep in mind when buying new camera (especially point and shoot cameras). If shutter lag is BAD you really miss out on some great moments. Look for a camera that has a burst mode. The thing I notice the most about other parents’ photographs is their lack of focus-shooting in succession gives your camera time to focus when it is taking the second, third, and fourth shot in a row.

Number 3. Don’t be afraid to be creative
Have fun with angles. Be interesting with your composition (ie the way you frame your subject in the viewfinder). Be artistic. See what happens if you purposefully crop off someone’s arm. Don’t be afraid to get dirty, lay down on the ground, or climb on top of furniture. Taking photographs should be an outlet to having tons of fun! Get close and personal. It’s fun to see the look son subjects faces when you can see their nose hairs.

Number 4. Never ‘say cheese’
Go for the unordinary. Kids don’t have to look happy and they don’t have to be looking straight at the camera to get a good photograph. Let your kids style and personality shine. If your kid is a ‘performer’ and always has that camera smile, try and be sneaky-sneak attack! Grab the camera when they don’t know you’re there and you can catch some fantastic moments.

Number 5. Pay attention to the light
When the sun is shining into your kids face you get shadows in the eye area, and major squinting. Position the sun behind them, or better yet you could find shade. You can also wait for the clouds to come out. Clouds work as a great diffuser. Window light is my favorite. Be careful how your child is positioned, however, because you can still get eye shadows indoors. Portrait photography is an art.

Number 6. Have fun with outfits
Kids have more fun when they know its okay to get dirty, and they are more likely to be themselves if you’re not stressed out about them getting dirty. Kids take great photos when they are getting dirty! Layers are great-tights-tutus-leggings, and all you dads out there, leggings are for boys too! (Baby boys) Hats with brims (ie cowboy hats) can create eye shadows. Knit hats are awesome fun in the snow/cold.

Number 7. Take photos of everything
Babies aren’t always smiling. You want to remember everything unique about them; even the pouts and the frowns. The queen victoria frown was what my mom called this face I made when I was a baby. Now my son makes the same face, and he looks just like me. Hands, feet, toes, rock it out with close-ups!

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San Jose Photographer – Benipayo Photography

Contact: Michael at michael@benipayo.com, if you want a portrait session.

408-717-3670     415-763-7643

Author:  Jeff Fauss
Los Angeles Portrait Photographer

These black and white photography tips will help you to recognize good black and white (b&w) photo subjects and to be able to photograph and edit these for the best effects.

The reason so many photography courses and schools teach b&w photography early on is that it is an excellent way to train the eye to recognize what makes a striking composition.

As amazingly beautiful as a colorful sky may be, it is the lines, shapes and curves that move the eye through the photo. So while the colors can be quite beautiful, black and white makes the photo more dynamic.

In spite of its attributes, after the media went full color in the 70′s and 80′s b&w photography faded. It soon became increasingly more challenging to find places that sold and processed black and white film. Now thanks to digital cameras and photo editing software, black and white photography is back!

How to Recognize Great Black and White Pictures

Although choosing the best subjects is very subjective, many professional photographers will agree that the following types of compositions beg for black and white:

• Photos that convey strong emotion. Color can be a distraction, while black & white lends power to the feeling expressed.
• Images lacking a full spectrum of colors; for example, a city scape or Ansel Adam’s Yosemite “Moon and Half Dome.”
• Low contrast images such as photographs shot on dark overcast days.
• Any subject with the lines, contours, shadows and curves that you just know will look great in black and white. How can you tell? By getting familiar with a variety of images! Just look online for “Ansel Adams.” Or search for “famous black and photos.”
• Look at B&W photography books at the library. There are many places to appreciate and learn this artful form of photography!

Create Black & White Photography with a Photo Editor

If upon seeing a subject, you know it’s got to be a black and white photo, then you could set your camera to B &W and take the picture. But once you get experience with using your photo editing software, you’ll find that you can create even better images by shooting in color first and then desaturating it in the editor. Another added benefit to this method is that you’ll never accidentally take a day’s worth of pictures in black and white because you forgot to reset the camera!

Check Your Camera’s White Balance

While the easiest and simplest way to use your photo editor to change a color image to black and white is to desaturate the colors, this method doesn’t allow you to control how the primary colors work together to produce a grayscale brightness. If you have good white balance in your picture, then simple desaturation may be all you need to do in the software editor.

Make Use of Your Photo Editor’s Color Swatches

By using a photo editor, you can also apply color swatches. Even though there are no colorful tones in black and whites, there are still tones created by colors. Color swatches work much the same way as color lenses do on an SLR camera. For instance, camera filters in the yellow to orange range look great with skin tones while green adds wonderful natural tones to outdoors pictures.

And last but not least, don’t forget to share your favorite b&w photographs. Beautiful black and white photos deserve to be framed for all to see. Choose frames that showcase rather than distract from your black and whites with simple clean lines. Hopefully, this article has inspired you to take more black and white photographs!

San Jose Photographer – Benipayo Photography
Contact: Michael at michael@benipayo.com
If you are interested having a portrait session with me -
408-717-3670     415-763-7643

Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames and loves taking pictures. Shop online and see our large selection of black picture frames and white picture frames in a wide variety of styles, colors and sizes.

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Simon Blint, Director of Visitor Relations at the SF MOMA, Yeah You Jerk, Photography is Not a Crime


Image by Thomas Hawk
If you think that photographers should not be subject to this kind of harassment digg this hereSimon Blint, Director of Visitor Relations at the SF MOMA is a first rate jerk.Recently I blogged about my excitement regarding the San Francisco MOMA’s decision to begin allowing photography in their permanent collection after years of maintaining a closed no photography policy. Directly because of this change in policy, I made up one’s mind to purchase a family membership in order to support the museum, both with my esthetic energy and financially. I was excited to get down expending steady time diagnosing and documenting the museum.Unfortunately, I should have cognized better than to really believe that the San Francisco MOMA was grave about opening up up the art and architecture intrusted to them to the universal common.After acquiring my family membership and travelling to the museum today I was forcibly shed out of the museum by two museum security guards at the direction of the Director of Visitor Relations Simon Blint. My crime? Taking a photograph from the second floor stairs in the SFMOMA’s atrium (an area where the SF MOMA’s own website explicitly says photography is allowed).You can see the photograph that I took when I was shed out at the top of this post.During the course of my interaction with Blint I stated him that: 1. I was a fresh member of the museum and that I’d been in contact with Thea Stein in the Marketing and Communications Department of the museum who had corroborated the modern change in museum policy with me personally regarding photography in the museum.2. That the SF MOMA’s personal website explicitly allows photography in the atrium.3. That I would be blogging my forcible eviction from the MOMA.Blint told me that "he did not care" and that he necessitated to "assist" his employees employees that might come out in my photographs. I was not piping with a tripod. I was not shooting with a flash. I was being noiseless and deferent of the area and the other patrons. Blint on the other hand was unfriendly, accusatory and rejected to even analyse my photographs or let me to share with him what I was executing with my art. He accused me of utilizing a "telephoto" lens to spy on his staff from the common staircase on the second floor. Blint obviously knows nothing of photography because the 14mm ultra ample angle lens on my camera body was about the furthest thing accomplishable from a telephoto lens. He refused to discourse this, refused to examine my photographs, refused to consider it at all and simply had me chucked out with two security guards.Ironically Blint also sought to chuck out my friend torbakhopper who was hanging up out with me at the museum today and he wasn’t even taking photographs. He finally softened on his case and told him that he could stay if he desired but that I was traveling to be forcibly ejected.Blint refused to escalate the situation to an A-one even though I told him I’d been in contact with museum personnel. He was on his own ad hominem power trip and misused and mistreated the authority intrusted to him for the public benefit to hassle, humiliate and embarrass a paying member of the museum. Photography is not a crimeI believe that I was very much targeted in this case because I was using a digital SLR. There were plenty of people taking photographs of the atrium using point and shoots that Simon did not target, but I think that it was the fact that I was using a larger DSLR that made me a target. Rather than seek to understand what I and my art were about Simon fingered the smarter way to deal with the situation was simply to kick me out of his museum.While I might be competent to understand if my ejection from the museum had been at the hand of an overzealous security guard who was simply uninformed about the SF MOMA’s change in policy regarding photography in their museum, when this ejection came directly from the Director of Visitor Relations I happen this to be exceptioncompetent.If the museum has a photography let policy in their atrium as explicitly evinced on their website and someone identifies themselves as a photographer, artist and paying and backing up member of museum I would expect less hostility, aggression and harassment. Photography is an art and those of us who select to practice the enthusiastic art of street photography ought not be targeted by bullies like Blint. Many of the great artists, artists being shown in the SF MOMA itself were practitioners of street photography. It is humourous that the great Cartier-Bresson, who took thousands of photographs of incognizant people in his work, hangs in the museum while a photographer practicing the same type of work gets ejected by a power-trippy asshole. It’s insincere and unsatisfactory.It is abject that one of my first experiences as a paying member of the SF MOMA had to be afloat of hatred, bitterness and harassment.Update: The SFMOMA Responds to this incident here

Photography Desk


Image by billread
This is my wife’s solution to my accumulated photography "junk" which was cluttering up our den. She was a consecrated soul. She not only plucked it out, but let me to make the closing choice between antithetic "bankable" units. Then she sanded and enamelled it herself. It is a computer armoire from a localised rough-cut furniture company. See the notes for more info.Strobist: Taken with my Nikon Coolpix 5700 so I could have my D80 with 70-200 VR in the shot. Nuked the scene with Sunpak 383 through satin umbrella against the camera at camera gone forth cheerless, but I didn’t note the power. Fired w/GI radio trigger.See some of my more absorbing photos here:www.flickr.com/photos/billread/sets/72157602414666978/