Hints and Tips from Our Judges and Members

Composition

• Generally placing a key object or the focal point on one of the intersecting thirds gives a pleasing picture but this rule can be broken.
• Take several years off a plump or older person by having the camera a higher level with the subject looking upwards so the neck is stretched.
• If the focal point is at the side of the picture it is better to put it at the right hand side as we tend to "read" pictures from left to right.
• Don't crop too tightly. Allow some space around the subject and where movement is involved, allow space for the subject to "move into".
• For portraits where there is a horizontal line in the background, such as the top of a wall or fence, try to position the subject (or your camera) so that the line is level with their eyes. This should result in a more pleasing image.
• When photographing two people the image will look better with one person further forward than the other.
• Looking up at people can give them a threatening look, whilst looking down at someone can give them a vulnerable look.

Colour

Computer manipulation

• Photoshop tutorials are available on YouTube
• Manipulation is great for adding a catchlight in a subject's eyes - use a small white circle with gaussian blur or for a really authentic catchlight try lightening/brightening the picture and importing the relevant area as layer
• You can add a black or white border to the image using the crop tool and appropriate background colour
• You can add a line around the edge of an image before the border using " stroke".  In some versions of Photoshop & Photoshop Elements "stroke" is on the layers fx toolbar. For other versions of Photoshop Elements  you will find  "stroke" under the edit menu (at the top of the screen).  Note: You have to make a selection on the image where you want the stroke to appear before it turns into an option that you an choose. 

Mounting

• Choose the colour or shade of the mount according to the photo, i.e. if it is a dark picture use a darker mount rather than always sticking to "antique white"
• A mount can be more effective with a "drop border" - this is where the bottom border is slightly wider than the other three borders 

Preparing digital pictures for projection  i.e. how to set the correct resolution and get a black background beyond the image area

• Create a copy of your image, never do the following steps on the original as it loses quality for future printing.
• Use the cropping tool in Photoshop, or whatever editing software you use, making sure that the background is set to pure black (i.e. the lower right-hand square on the button showing 2 overlapping squares). 
• In the cropping tool options set the size to 1400 pixels (type in px) by 1050 pixels and the resolution to 72 ppi.  As different competitions and exhibitions may have different requirements check with them before resizing.
• Open the image and apply the cropping tool, the dimensions will be fixed no matter where you move the tool (Note: you  may only be able to drag the mouse to one edge of the picture initially, but when you release the mouse you will see small squares on each corner of the crop box which you can now move to go beyond the image before you accept the crop).  If the image does not fit the dimensions go just beyond the image until you include what you require. When you accept the crop, the areas beyond will be black and not show when the picture is projected. 
• Save as a JPEG (standard) file at maximum quality.  

Preparing digital pictures for our website i.e. how to set the correct resolution, get a white background beyond the image area and leave space for the title

• Create a copy of your image, never do the following steps on the original as it loses quality for future printing.
  
• Use the cropping tool in your editing software, making sure the background is set to pure white (i.e. the lower right-hand square on the button showing 2 overlapping squares). 
  
• In the cropping tool options set the size to 640 pixels (type in px) by 480 pixels and the resolution to 72ppi. 
  
• Open the image and apply the cropping tool, the dimensions will be fixed no matter where you move the tool. (Note you  may only be able to drag the mouse to one edge of the picture initially, but when you release the mouse you will see small squares on each corner of the crop box which you can now move to go beyond the image before you accept the crop).  Go beyond the image to leave some white space at the bottom &/or to the right which will be used for the title before uploading to website (the website administrator will do the titles so thay look consistent).
  
• Save as a JPEG (standard) file at maximum quality.   
• When you send your pictures in don't forget to give the title in the file name, or if it is too long, in the accompanying email.