Today is my birthday...woot woot!!!

So, in honor of that AND {Teach It Tuesday} I thought I'd give a few tips on how to photograph a birthday event!  Most of the tips have to do with composition, but there are some technical aspects to consider as well!!!

I take pictures of my girls' birthday parties all the time, and when I can't do it, I get my BFF to come over and capture the important parts for me...

I went back to one of my favorite "themed" birthday parties for one of my girls...it's been almost 3 years since then, but I think the images will help in illustrating my "tips"

Here we go!

1. DETAILS:  This is probably my favorite part...especially if you have a "themed" birthday party.  Just like setting the "scene" in a story that you read, "details" help tell the story of the party itself...it gives you the "feeling" and helps you imagine yourself or remember yourself back to that moment in time!

Technical things to remember: find your light source and be sure that it illuminates the objects appropriately.  Use your camera settings to give a feeling of depth and "something happening behind the scenes"







2. CATCH the ACTION:  Especially for children's birthdays, there are a lot of expressions being made, action going on...have your camera ready...be inconspicuous so that you can capture those unexpected moments...surprise them and quickly take the picture...zoom in close, and then use a wide angle to show the entire scene.

Technical things to remember: Indoors especially you'll have to watch your camera settings.  This might mean limiting where you stand due to your light sources OR it might mean upping your ISO.  Do not lower your shutterspeed so much that you get blur.  Remember to use the tips on getting SHARP images as well