Photography/Video Tip: Fill The Frame

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I love watching my kids perform...whether they are part of a school play, church choir, or sports team. I also enjoy taking pictures and video of them. It's quite rewarding to see the looks on their faces when they see and/or hear what they looked like. I imagine there are other parents and children who do not have that experience.

Why do I say that? I say that because I see people with their smartphones and tablets taking video from 50 to 75 feet away. I can plainly see what their capturing and it's not very good at all. There is no optical zoom (zooming lens system) on those devices. One option is digital zoom which, in my opinion, is not an option because of the pixelation.  If a parent chooses to use one of these devices their child will be too small to be recognizable or a little blurry because of the digital zoon. What is a parent to do?

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Fill the frame, of course!

As I said above, digital zoom is a bad option, so that really leaves three options. Moving closer. optical zoom, and cropping.

Move Closer
Moving closer to you subject will definitely help you fill the frame of your camera.  You see people doing this during school plays, dance performances, etc. so they can get a good shot. It's annoying and distracting, but it works.  It can also be applied in other ways that are less intrusive.

Let's say you're taking a picture of a birthday cake.  Take your picture. Then move a step or two closer. Or, your taking a picture of your family. Take the picture. Then move closer and fill the viewfinder with just the tops of their heads to the middle of their chests. Which of these pictures is more pleasing to look at? Which is more engaging to you? I imagine it will be the ones that are closer.

Optical Zoom
Using optical zoom means you have a lens system that is physically adjustable. You either have a lens that physically moves in and out from your camera (point and shoot) or interchangeable lenses with varied levels of zoom (SLR or DSLR cameras).  The longer the lens (focal length) the closer the zoom.  One thing to watch out for: The longer the lens the more susceptible to camera shake. Using a tripod or a shutter speed of 1 X Focal length will help eliminate the shake.

Cropping
Cropping is basically using software to zoom in on a picture after it has been taken. This strategy requires just a wee bit of forethought before you take the picture, and may also be your only option if moving closer and an optical zoom system isn't available to you. You'll need to take your photo with the lowest possible ISO and smallest aperture possible. If you don't know how to do this the automatic setting on your camera should work fine for you. When you get home and transfer your pictures to your computer, open them up in your editing software and crop them.

I hope that helps! This is all at a very high level. If you have any questions about this post, please e-mail them to ande@geminimm.com.