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Photography Tips: Capturing your holiday memories

A family holiday or a break with friends is a great opportunity to capture some fantastic memories on camera.

Whether you're soaking up the sun, having fun by the pool or seeing some of the world's most famous sights the last thing you want is to be left with photos which are out of focus or a picture of your loved one with a lamp post growing out of their head.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that to take a good photo you need to buy an expensive new camera, you don't. Holiday photography should be about capturing special moments and having fun, you're not trying to win a competition.

A camera that has a built in flash and scene selection is perfectly adequate, and can be picked up for well under £100, cameras on smart phones are also getting much better - so forget the flashy DSLR and save yourself some money!

A good photograph has many different elements; composition, lighting and creativity to name a few.

Think about the background of your photograph

When taking the picture, consider where everyone is standing and what might be in the background; try to position the subject of your picture in front of a background that is aesthetically pleasing - avoid getting rubbish bins in shot or lining people up so that tree branches or telephone poles are growing out of their heads!

Photographing children: Action shots

Children are one of the trickier subjects to photograph, because they aren't good at keeping still and often become bored. Avoid staged looking photos and bored looking children by taking their picture when they're engaged in an activity and don't notice you're doing it - a good compact camera can capture an action shot with no extra blur.

Think about the Lighting

Whether you're photographing people or landscapes, the lighting is probably the most important aspect to consider; too much and your picture will be overexposed and bright, too little and it will be underexposed and too dark to see detail. A general rule is to take your picture with the sun behind you rather than in front, this ensures your subject matter is well lit. Use of a flash at night can compensate for poor lighting and dark conditions, and avoiding picture-taking in direct sunlight can counteract unwanted shadows and lens glare.

Experiment and be creative

An important point to remember is that an eye-catching photograph isn't always technically perfect - often it's the creativity which makes it effective and pleasant to look at. Think about photographing your subject from an unusual angle, use of props, sunsets and sunrises, and local buildings can also help to create images that differ from the standard 'pool shot'. The best thing you can do to ensure that your photographs are top quality is simple - have fun, and think outside the box!

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