Make your music active, real, alive, enthusiastic, and your audience will take fire.

Practice as regularly as you eat, and think all time you are doing it.

Practice all your lesson. The teacher assigned nothing to be omitted or overlooked.

Music courses are so arranged that they form a smooth level path to summit of efficiency. But if you leave path or try any short-cuts, you will be exhausted for nothing and will expose yourself to rough, open, untraveled country.

You will tend to use wide angle more often than your telephoto setting. Pay particular attention to your "end people" (those farthest to right and left in your viewfinder), and verify there is enough space in picture, so that if cropping is required, end people don't have to lose a limb.

2) The Flash

Flash considerations are critical. Do not be outside your "flash range." For example, if at ISO 100, your flash can properly illuminate 12 feet, don't attempt any photography pose that requires anyone to stand at 14 feet (unless, of course, it's evil cousin Ira who you want to appear in darkness).

3) Plan "B"

If you need to be further away than your flash allows, here are 2 things you can try...First, increase ISO setting (but not so much as to produce to much noise), or second, move to a significantly brighter location.

4) Watch Your Background

If there are distracting features, change your settings to blur background (see Techniques page). The best photography pose in world won't look right with a distracting background. And finally...

5) Mirror, Mirror, on Wall

If there are mirrors or reflective surfaces in background and you can't find a different location, only take picture in such a way that flash is not perpendicular to surface, but at an angle (unless you want a nice photo of your flash).

Outdoor family photography has completely different issues. For OUTDOOR photography...

6) The Sun

Avoid photographing in direct sunlight, or in mixed light and shade, especially faces. Optimal lighting results from a slightly overcast sky.

7) Shade

When photographing in shade, use fill-flash (see terms) when necessary. And, really finally...

8) Beauty

If practical, take picture at one of beautiful natural settings near you. Imagine result of a creative photography pose captured in a stunning environment. Can you say: "Over mantle!"?

To see 5 different categories of poses with tips, scroll to middle of Photography Pose.

Article courtesy of Best Family Photography Tips.com, where you can see some sample pictures including more photography tips.

Copyright 2005 Robert Bezman. All rights reserved.