Stunning photographs to capture a moment in time

Read Susan's interview for Baby World

Taking better portrait photographs

Lighting and composition are the two most important aspects of portrait photography in my opinion. There is little point in having a fantastic family composition if the sun is in people's eyes, or 3 out of the 5 subjects are in the shade. Conversely if you have a fantastic lighting set-up, at sunset for example, but you are too far away from your subject then the shot is useless. So my main hints for taking better photos are:

1. Get in close enough. This is the mistake most amateurs make when taking their pictures. Have a look at your subject and see how much of the image you could do without. If you are taking a photo of your child, then make sure the focus is on your child and not the greenhouse to the left of him. You'll be surprised just how much this simple rule will improve your photo taking.

2. Look where the light source is. If you are outside, always be aware where the sun is. Funnily enough we actually have very good weather for photography in that it is overcast most of the time. This means that a photographer does not have to worry about which direction the light is coming from as you get a lovely diffused light through the clouds most of the time. If the sun is out though, you don't want your subject to be squinting into the light. Conversely if the light is behind your subject then you may have problems unless you can manually alter the settings on your camera, so try to avoid this unless you know what you're doing.

3. Be ready. The best shots are usually when your camera is tucked away in your bag, so have it to hand and set to one of the automated modes to allow you to quickly take a snap without fiddling too much.

4. Props are always good. People, especially children, don't like having to pose for photos as this is a very unnatural thing to do. Therefore you need a distraction to help you take the best photos. Get children to climb a tree or jump in the air. Give them a competition like a race and watch their faces when they come running up to the finish line.

Framing

When framing your photographs you need to give them enough space to breath. It is important to have a mount that is wide enough otherwise your photograph will just look like it's not supposed to be there. If you mount your photo with due respect the effect is amazing, it will draw the eye into the image.

Black and White or Colour?

This is a difficult question. This is one of the reasons I switched to digital as I am not sure if a shot is going to be good in B&W or Colour until I have seen it and tried both on the computer. As a genera-rule-of-thumb I think that if a child is looking rather serious then a Black and white shot can make them look really thoughtful and sensitive. Having said that though, some of my favourite shots in black and white have been of happy smiley faces. So I would advice that you experiment and get a feel for both. Have a look at the Gallery section for inspiration.

Website created by Susan Porter-Thomas

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All images copyright Susan Porter-Thomas Photography

Susan Porter-Thomas Top UK Photographer, London. One of the finest London photographers or UK photographers. Corporate photographer, family photographer, children, baby, infant, toddler photographer, people photographer. who also does weddings, stock photos actors and singers publicity head shots and pregnancy shots...but above all a London photographer. Digital. Susan Porter-Thomas is a professional freelance photographer based in Ealing, West London England and is available for studio and location work around the area, Hounslow, Richmond, Chiswick, Ealing, Acton, Kew, Wimbledon, Cheam, Kingston, Greenford, Hammersmith

This website also contains an on-line picture library of location and studio shots of families, children and actors and singers..This London picture library includes photographs taken in London's Richmond Park, Kew Gardens, and Syon House Gardens,

Top London photographers do not usually come cheap but you will find that Susan Porter-Thomas is one of the more realistically priced London photographers.

Susan's Photography is very experimental and uses a fully digital set up which allows her to create amazing effects on the computer. She has created stunning effects with black and white and colour prints as well as colour modification prints. Some more stylised and modern looks have been well received as families are looking for a more contemporary feel to their portraits. Susan's husband is professional singer and so there has also been a lot of work coming from professional singers and actors for publicity shots of which there are some great examples in the corporate section. Susan has also taken photographs for a company web site also looking for a more contemporary feel.