Spoil your loved one this Valentines day by surprising him or her with a photo shoot and custom made story book. Email sales@vimagemedia.com for bookings.

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Winner of our Mini Photo shoot for Face of Vimage 2011. Aint she Hot?!

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Scores:

BOV 74 – Kyra Pillay 547

BOV 166 – Shakirah khan 547

BOV 23 – Atiyana Govender 405

BOV 182 – Akshay Chetty 331

BOV 130 – Zayyaan Variawa 281

BOV 32 – Mickayla George 269

BOV 68 – Bhuvanesh Pravesh Jagadis 246

BOV 4 – Caylee Tiana Michael 222

BOV 115 – Ayanna Ramnarayan 217

BOV 63 – Seth Josiah Naidu 215

One of the many difficulties of taking pictures is, you must set your focus of what you to portray and then take the photos. This has been a challenge for many years in consumer photography because getting things into focus isn’t as easy as it sounds. This is especially the case, when I request a photograph to be taken in a specific composition. Therefore trying to compose the photo AND get the right part in focus really puzzles everyone. Well, for those who are not taking professional photos and are simply interested in snapping what you see, there is a new innovation in town. It is the ability to take a photo regardless of the focus and just take the photo. You can fix the focus after it is taken and save the image as you see fit. Imagine that! I would love to see this is in professional cameras someday because it will make our lives easier as well. The technology is called Lytro (http://www.lytro.com/). If you want to see how this technology works, please visit the website.

Here’s an article from MASHABLE: http://mashable.com/2011/10/20/lytro-camera-hands-on-videos/:

We had so much fun at the launch of the Lytro, the groundbreaking light-field camera that takes pictures instantly and lets you focus anywhere within the frame, we wanted more hands-on time with the device. Even the media won’t be getting review units until 2012, so we did the next best thing: inviting Lytro founder Ren Ng to Mashable’s San Francisco offices for a personal demonstration.

Check out the videos above for the result. Some key takeaways:

The zoom button is almost impossible to find, but very natural to use once you know where it is.

The touch-sensitive LCD is tiny! It’s very responsive, but hardly the world’s best screen for viewing your photos.

Pointing and shooting feels amazing when there’s absolutely no delay.

There is a slot on the side that lets you add a carrying strap, which allays one of our concerns.

Lytro pictures get much more dramatic when you’re lining up something very close and very far away. You’ll have fun playing around with that.

Ever wondered how to take great photography of children? I came across this fantastic quick tip on taking photos of children that are memorable, funky and fun.

From Photo Tuts: http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/shooting-articles/quick-tip-how-to-take-great-photos-of-your-children/

In the past few years, taking photos of children has become a highly politicised act and there is a lot of public fear surrounding the situation. But in appreciating the joy that a child brings to their new family, there should be no hesitation in taking delight in documenting their offspring’s childhood.

This is easier said than done, and there aren’t any rights and wrongs when it comes to photographing kids, but hopefully the tips below will help you get better results. In years to come you can all look back at those treasured memories!

Photo by Pam Link

Step 1. Keep It Natural

My favourite way to photograph children is in a completely natural environment, in a place where the child is happy with their surroundings and the people present. This will generate a far easier environment to take photographs in, as the child will be happy and playful.

In this scenario, keep equipment to a minimum, as you may need to more around a lot and work with the lighting you’ve got. It might be beneficial to have a nice quick lens to capture those split second facial expressions. Try to position yourself well and have quick reactions to capture that smile!

Photo by David_nt

Step 2. Grab Their Attention!

Kids aren’t the easiest subjects to work with, they can easily get distracted and may not really understand what’s going on, but try to give them a focal point to evoke a reaction from them.

You could try letting them play with a favourite toy, but if you want them to look your way, trying pulling a funny face or telling a joke, grab their attention in some way so their focus is on you.

Try to get down to their level so you’re pointing the camera at head height and to enhance the interaction between you and the child.

Photo by Swami Stream

Step 3. Be Patient

Children behave unpredictably, one minute they are smiling and jumping around, the next minute, they’re in tears and hiding away, so as a photographer you have to be very patient and just go with however the child is reacting.

Having mum and dad close at hand can be a real help – especially when the child needs comforting, but also as a point of interaction that you may even want to include in the photo. Kids will react to those around them, so if you’re not getting results you wanted with the child on their own, try getting someone else involved for those wonderful moments of interaction.

Photo by PhotograTree

Step 4. Formal or Informal?

The other option when taking photos of children is to set up a scene and take it more like a portrait shot. This can produce great results if you can avoid it looking too staged, and keep the child engaged with the shot.

Most children aren’t particularly good at following instructions, so it can be very difficult to get them to position themselves as you’d like. You’ve got to take your chances and be ready to catch that beaming smile!

Think carefully about the location of the shot – if you’re aiming for something more formal, don’t take them to the playground!

Photo by sara.musico

Step 5. Have Fun!

Most of the time, children are delightful to be around (if you’ve got the energy!) and you should be able to capture some great moments and expressions that you can share with family and friends and look back upon.

In the same way that you’d incorporate a person’s character or occupation into a portrait shot, you can try and do the same with a child. If they’re bright and bubbly, see if you can capture the essence of that energy in the photo. If they’re slightly younger or a bit shy, don’t worry – try and exemplify that quality!

Photo by Jer Kunz