Parents risk missing out on capturing priceless childhood memories because they do not understand their cameras 
(19/11/2009)
According to personalised children’s book publishers MyPerfectStory.com,a third of photos sent by parents lack the quality to be put into print. Armed with state-of-the-art equipment, but seemingly lacking the basic skills to take a good photo, parents run the risk of missing out on capturing priceless childhood memories because they don’t understand their cameras.
“Parents believe they are sending in the best photos possible for their children’s personalised books, but a third of the time we have to go back and forth to get it right,” says Ryan Goble, author and illustrator.
“Most people own high megapixel camera phones and point-and-shoot digital cameras, but that doesn’t mean they know how to get the best out of them - they wrongly assume the technology will do the work.
“Rather than making the most of the quality, parents get swamped by the quantity of photos they can take. Phrases like ‘high res’, ‘pixilated’ and ‘DPI’ can cause confusion, but parents should just think about the basic rules of photography.”
To combat the curse of the shoddy shutter the publisher now issues a step-by-step guide to the perfect snap:
1) Don't overcomplicate - use a plain, clutter-free background to avoid any distractions from the main subject.
2) Break it up - imagine the image is broken up into nine boxes (like a tic-tac-toe board) and aim to have the target image where the lines cross in the centre. My Perfect Christmas requires a front facing image of a child’s head filling as much of the nine boxes as possible.
3) Keep it simple - take time to select the target, frame it in the view finder and zoom in or out to cut out all distractions and clutter.
4) Pre-focus the camera – this will help improve accuracy and quality. Cameras don’t always focus well even when in automatic mode. Fix this by simply holding down the shutter button halfway just before you take the photo to focus on the subject, then hold down fully to take the shot.
5) Capturing kids - they have a very short attention span, so get someone to jiggle a toy next to the lens and make sure the camera is ready to take the image. Take a few shots if you get the chance before the child is distracted.
My Perfect Christmas is the first book from the specialist publisher, which uses state-of-the-art photo technology to make children the star of the story. Every book is hand-finished to the highest standard to be a lasting memento for the child and the family. The quality of the original image is critical to achieving this. My Perfect Christmas highlights the excitement of Santa’s visit and traditions such as putting out a carrot for his reindeer.
| 
Print version | 
Email to a friend | 
View other articles
Related categories: Books for children Kids and children
Recommended suppliers
