Photography Tips

Posted by 2012 Kids Expedition Team in Hands-On Explorer on July 11, 2012
hoec-dan-westergren-kids

National Geographic Traveler photo editor Dan Westergren is traveling with us on our expedition to Montana. He is teaching all of the contest winners how to use their cameras and take good pictures with them. Here are some of Dan’s top tips for taking photos!

-Don’t always put your subject in the center of your picture. Divide your frame into thirds in your mind, horizontally and vertically, and place your subject at the intersection of the thirds.

-Take your camera with you whenever possible. Pay attention to your surroundings…always pay attention.

-Try different angles and positions. Don’t always shoot standing up, straight on…lie down, squat low, or climb up high. Try showing more sky and less landscape.

-Pay attention to the light. Your photos can be very dramatic at sunrise, at sunset, or with cloudy skies.

-Keep moving around and try different angles until you find just the right spot to take your picture so it includes every element. Focus on the subject, think about composition, and then take several photos till you get the one that feels great.

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Categories: Montana

Comments

  1. geckoexplorer
    July 11, 2012, 11:09 am

    Great tips! I try to do all these things, but sadly here in Maryland there aren’t as many places to take cool shots of. :( One thing I might want to be is a National Geographic photographer, that would be so awesome.

    ~Gecko~

  2. thejunglegirl
    July 11, 2012, 12:57 pm

    Thanks so much for the photography tips, Dan! Also, thank you for teaching us so much about our cameras last year in the Cayman Islands.

    - Kobie
    2011 HOEC (Cayman Islands)

  3. Little Dragonfire
    July 11, 2012, 4:11 pm

    Those are some really good tips.

  4. geckoexplorer
    July 11, 2012, 7:43 pm

    I just filled my bath with warm water and put my two Bearded Dragons in it. They are desert-dwelling lizards, but they enjoy a warm bath every once in a while. :) I have had them for over a year and now one of them is almost two feet long and the other is like 17 inches. They are so cute and innocent! The sit on their log all day basking and look around at me as like they think I’m fascinating. I feed the salad every morning, and then give them mealworms and crickets throughout the day, and sometimes an insect I find in my yard. I love they way they stalk the crickets and pounce on them.

    Now that I think about it, if the next HOEC isn’t to Madigascar, I hope it is to New Mexico. There are so many awesome deserts and canyons, and it is so different than where I live. And I know a lot about desert animals and their habitat, so I think I could wright a good essay. What do you guys hope the next HOEC Trip is to?

    ~Gecko~

  5. thejunglegirl
    July 12, 2012, 10:18 am

    Hi geckoexplorer -

    That’s funny that you say the next trip should be to New Mexico… that’s where I live! Anyway, it’s a pretty awesome place. The landscape is anything from arid desert to sand dunes to lush mountain forests. That would definitely be cool if NG decided to make it their next HOEC destination!

    - Kobie

  6. geckoexplorer
    July 13, 2012, 6:48 pm

    @Kobie

    o.o Haha, that is is awesome. So do you live near an actual desert? I bet you have lots of cool animals there too, like, uh… geckos? XD Actually, you probably do. Have you been to the grand canyon? NM is relatively close to there, considering I live in Maryland.

    ~Gecko~

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