Action Shots

At our March meeting, we learned about shutter speed and how it affects our photos. The homework assignment was to take photos of subjects in motion. The subject can be a person, car, animal, etc. -- as long as it's moving. Remember to follow good composition rules, especially the Rule of Thirds. Don't forget about your camera settings: Either use the sports mode (on a point & shoot camera) or adjust your shutter speed manually (on a DSLR camera). Pick one of your best photos and send to me before April 1st. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 6.

2011 Digital Photo Contest

The CMS Shutterbugs are encouraged to participate in the 2011 WritingFix Digital Photo Contest. The contest theme is: A picture that is worth ten thousand words -- or images that would inspire writers and story-tellers to write! There will be three winners (elementary, middle, and high school), and each winner receives a $25 Amazon gift card. Winning photos will be published on the WritingFix website. Teachers will enjoy using the pictures as writing prompts with their classes. The deadline to submit photos is April 30, 2011. I hope we have lots of shutterbugs to compete! If interested, please give your photo to me (Mrs. Boheler) as a digital file on a disk or flash drive, and I will submit them all together. For more information about the contest, click here.

January Meeting

The Photography Club met on Wednesday, Jan. 5, and learned how to take better pictures of people and animals.

Tips on photographing animals:
•Be patient: Keep picture-taking sessions short and your voice calm.
•Use props (flower, toy, treat, etc.) to get its attention.
•Shoot at eye level (eye to eye contact).
•Fill the viewfinder with your subject – get in close!
•Rule of Thirds

Homework assignment (due before next meeting --Wed., Feb. 2): If you have a pet (or access to an animal), please send me a photo you took of that animal... showing that you kept in mind the tips listed above. You can email the photo to me at carmen.boheler@clover.k12.sc.us or however it's most convenient. If you don't have an animal, I'll gladly take a photo of a person. Looking forward to seeing your photo(s)!

Here's a reminder of the tips we learned for photographing people:
1. Alter your perspective (shooting from different angles)
2. Avoid distracting backgrounds.
3. Play with eye contact (subject looking at or away from the lens).
4. Rule of Thirds (offset your subject; imagine the tic-tac-toe grid on your viewfinder)
5. Focus on one body part close-up -- eyes, hands, mouth, etc.
6. Experiment with lighting (side lighting, silhouettes/back lighting, etc.)
7. Shoot candidly (not always posed).
8. Use props if available
9. Take lots of shots -- The more pictures you take, the more good pictures you'll find in your results!
10. Have fun and be different/creative!

Next meeting: Wednesday, February 2, from 3:30 to 4:30. Please make sure your ride is here no later than 4:30. Thank you! See you soon!

Thank You!

Thank you to those club members who sent me their best photos for the bulletin board! I know they impressed your parents on Showcase Night! Keep practicing your photography skills, and I'll see you at our next meeting: Jan. 5th from 3:30 - 4:30.

New Ending Time!

The club meetings will now end at 4:30, instead of 5:00. Meetings will continue to be held in the media center the first Wednesday afternoon of each month. Please make sure your rides are here promptly at 4:30! Thank you!

Showcase Night - Dec. 2

Parents are invited to visit CMS the evening of Dec. 2 to see a showcase of student work and accomplishments. On the bulletin board outside the media center, the CMS Shutterbugs will be displaying some of their best photographs. Club members... please send me (via email, memory card, flash drive, or prints) your best photos to display. I need these BEFORE the end of November! My email address is carmen.boheler@clover.k12.sc.us. Let's show off what we've learned and captured with our cameras!

Close-Up Photos (Assignment #2)