How to choose the "right" photos for your layouts.

My photos are not perfect. Sometimes I don't even manage to capture that unforgettable moment because I was busy savouring it instead of fiddling with my camera. I take a quick shot after the moment [Okay it could be days after the moment...same place, still counts! *LOL*] to use it to support the wonderful story of that amazing moment. Most of the time I make do with what I have captured and try to creatively weave my story with clever crops/editing/cover-ups. *winks*

Here are 5 suggestions on how to choose the "right" photos for your layouts.




1. Put together a series of "in-action" shots.

So my niece got some pretty hand-me-downs from her cousin and my intention was to do a fashion shoot type spread [Okay....so I'm the idealistic aunt who initially thought I could "direct" a 9 month old.]. It ended up being a series of funny expressions instead. Still fun. And still showcased the pretty hand-me-downs. :)



2. Play up a blurred shot.

Sometimes when all you have is ONE blurry shot, consider making it black and white [a lot more forgiving] and play with filters and shadows to make the most of the photo. My sister and I were at Universal Studios and were evidently more interested in playing than posing for the perfect shot. *LOL* So, I crop the photo close and wrote some of my journaling on a dark spot in the photo. And then embellished like crazy around the photo in bright colours. Were you distracted? :)




3. Have fun with consecutive customary pose shots.

In most celebrations, there's the customary [read: cheesy] pose shots where not everybody is looking at the camera at the same time [someone blinks, someone's mouth is wide open etc]. Personally I like to include consecutive shots and play up one almost perfect shot. Here, the nephews were woken up at 6.30am in the morning to cut their grandpa's birthday cake.... I used 2 black and white photos and 2 coloured photos to create interest. And added those cute ducks as distraction too! *LOL*


 

4. Make the cropping seem intentional.

I was laughing so hard when taking shots of my nephews playing with the yam plants that I didn't take full shots of the plants they were posing with. So I made the photo the focal point and created a whole scene around it. Notice that the scarecrow is wearing green...yeah...I can be sneaky...*winks*

5. Use composite shots to tell your story.

So my intention was to take shots of my nephew and niece posing with their grandma but I couldn't get everybody to cooperate. So I ended up using composite shots taken throughout the day to help tell my story.

There you have it. 5 ways to choose the "right" photos for your layouts. What do you think? What other tips do you have?