How to Take Better Pictures

The Members of Barry Camera Club are constantly striving to improve their photography so the talk by Jennifer Cox BA(Hons) ABIPP ARPS entitled ‘How to Take Better Pictures was right up their street.

Jennifer broke the subject up into sections like composition, how to put atmosphere into pictures and portraiture techniques and illustrated each section with examples of her own work.

Although most of the work she showed was produced using traditional darkroom printing methods, she explained that most of the techniques and effects she used could be reproduced using digital cameras and Photoshop.

Some examples of unusual composition were shown, many of which relied on strong diagonals to give the pictures interest.

Jennifer explained how some pictures could only be taken at certain times of the year. To emphasise the texture of sand on some of the beach pictures, for example, the picture had to be taken in the winter when the sun was low on the horizon. In summer the sunlight comes from overhead and the textures are flattened.

Some of the most interesting pictures Jennifer had to show were of cocklers digging for cockles on a beach. Jennifer explained how she spent nine months developing contacts amongst the cocklers until she found someone who would take her out with them to enable her to take pictures.

Barry Camera Club’s next meeting will be a three-way battle against Merthyr and Rhiwbina at Merthyr on Friday November 20th.