Good morning! So my second daughter turned one this past weekend. Honestly, I am still in shock. Where did all of last year go? And right in alignment with her first birthday, she started confidently walking. She took her first steps a few weeks ago but didn’t have the confidence to really take much more than that before resorting to crawling. Oh my! I now have a toddler and not a baby anymore (tears). Anyways, we threw her a first birthday party and invited close family and friends to celebrate with us. I themed it “Twinkle, twinkle little star” in gold, silver and baby pink. It was so cute …. and we got some amazing detail shots in addition to the normal chaotic pictures of birthday fun.

I love detail shots and I am here to tell you, you should be taking detail shots for every party. Details shots are not just for wedding photographers anymore. And they are super easy to do … here are a few tips to help you capture some amazing details.

1.) Your Lens Matters

First and foremost, yes, your lens does matter. I know I have said this before but a kit lens is just not going to work for, well, pretty much anything. At least that was my experience. Today, I will usually use either my Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 or my Nikkor 50mm 1.4 for taking detail shots. The 24-70mm is a great lens for almost anything and is my go-to lens for probably 85% of everything I do. However, it is a little pricey and can set you back a couple thousand dollars. The 50mm is also great for detail shots, as well as low light situations since it has a lower aperture setting and a smaller focal length (two factors that help get more light into the camera’s sensor). This lens is a prime lens (does not zoom) and is much more affordable at a few hundred dollars in comparison.

Why doesn’t your kit lens work? Well, first, most kit lenses have a variable aperture on their zoom. What this means is as you zoom, your aperture setting automatically increases (the opening gets smaller). With the lens automatically increasing your aperture, less light is being let in and you are forced to increase ISO or perhaps decrease shutter speed to maintain exposure. Also, if you have decided on a particular aperture setting for stylistic reasons, having a variable aperture lens is going to be very difficult to maintain as you move around if you want to use your zoom.

Also, depending on the lens, how close you can physically get in relation to your subject and still have your lens auto-focus properly will vary. Typically, I will stand a little closer to my subject when shooting details than portraiture. My original kit lens could not focus close enough distance to get my desired “look”. I could not focus if I stood too close but if I backed up then my background was not as blurry as I wanted. If I tried to back up and use my zoom, my aperture was not low enough to blur my background. In fact, let me tell you a story about the image to your left. I took that picture with my kit lens after about, I don’t know three days, countless attempts, and hundreds of photos that were just not quite right. I was just starting out in photography and had a  general idea about technique but no idea a lens could make so much a difference in the outcome. I had this vision for the Christmas lights to be blurred in the background, but with my kit lens I had to stand less than a foot away from the baby to get any kind of blur out of the background at all. Yet getting the baby in focus was a challenge because I was sooo close. It was frustrating! Once I got that image, I was so proud of it, even though it took me three days and hundreds of “tries” and it still wasn’t entirely what I had envisioned. In the end, we added a little bit more blur to the lights in post-processing, so … having the right lens for the job really does matter.

2.) Take Detail Shots Before the Party

Be sure to take all your detail shots before your guests arrive. Honestly, this will ensure that they actually get taken. Otherwise, once your guests arrive, your attention will shift to being the host or hostess. Also, guests will start using or eating some of your “details” such as cups or appetizers which may alter their original presentation. And, in photography, presentation matters. Now, you must plan for your details shots. Prep and set things up a little earlier so that you have time to take the detail shots you need in a relaxed setting. You do not want to rushed and stressed because you haven’t taken your shots and the party is about to start and you’re not ready. A little planning and preparation goes a long way. Just like any other photography project, you do not want to be rushed. Take your time, think through your shot, think about your layout, composition, and lighting. This is a great chance to practice some of that skill on a non-moving, 100% patient subject!

3.) Your Aperture May Need to be Higher than you Think

In most cases, for detail shots, you will find yourself standing physically closer to your subject than with a person. Perhaps even within a foot. Can you imagine standing within a foot of a person with your camera in their face trying to take their picture….awkward! But because “details” are so much smaller, to give them the attention they deserve, you will want them to fill a nice portion of the frame and to get down to their level. This usually means you are standing physically closer to them, so lets talk about some of the factors for depth of field … The four factors that determine depth of field of field are 1.) your lens ability – as mentioned above  2.) Your aperture setting 3.) Your distance from the subject, and 4.) your focal length. So lets say you know you want a shallow depth of field but the entire subject in focus. You may have to increase the aperture setting if you are physically standing closer. See the picture of the vanilla bean scones where my focus falls off quickly? I was standing pretty close to the pan of scones and I was using a 35mm lens so I took this with a fairly high aperture setting. I believe this one was taken with an f-stop of 8. Oh, and if these scones look marvelous. They are. I made these because I had a stint where I was obsessed with Starbucks vanilla bean scones so these are my copycat recipe. If you are interested in learning how to make them, I have the recipe posted, here in Family and Food. Yum!

4.) Angles and Composition are Key

Just like any other picture, how you setup your shot is important. You want your eye to be drawn into your subject. There are several techniques you can use when thinking about how you are going to frame your shot. You can fill your frame, use the rule of thirds, or use leading lines. All these techniques will draw your viewer into your subject and make your image more impactful.

To fill your frame, simply move in closer. Allow your subject to fill the majority of the space in the frame while still ensuring your image makes sense. Your eye will be drawn to your subject based on its size in comparison to anything else in the frame. You can also emphasize your subject by controlling your depth of field when using the fill your frame technique. By setting your aperture, you can make your subject the center of attention by making it sharp and the remaining portion of your image fall into bokeh (blur).

The rule of thirds is one of my personal favorite composition techniques. If you divide your frame into imaginary third lines, from left to right and from top to bottom, this technique simply means you are framing your shot by placing your subject on one of these lines.

By using leading lines throughout the image and then placing your subject somewhere on the lines, your eye follows them in to your subject. This can create perspective and symmetry to make an appealing linear image. I love using this technique in portrait sessions with walkways, fences or walls.

5.) Detail Lighting Tricks

Lighting. Lighting is so important its almost surprising I have it listed last in this sequence. In fact, it is such a key element when taking pictures that I have written my Introduction to Photography tutorials from the viewpoint of learning and analyzing light. I am a big fan, for most of my images, of even soft lighting and this includes my detail shots. So this means, I am going to want to setup a light source that is fairly large in comparison to my subject. Window light is always nice but for a lot of my detail shots, which are indoors, using solely natural light may not be enough. Do not be afraid to use supplemental light for detail shots..i.e.flash. However, do not use your on-board camera flash …for like anything. If at all possible, invest in a speedlight. I used my Nikkor SB910 for these shots. The next thing you should know is that when ever you use your speedlight its a good idea to use some form of modification. Your bare bulb, in most cases, is still a fairly small light source in comparison to your subject and so the additional light can look harsh where light fall-off is drastic and shadows are heavy. You can make your light source bigger by aiming your speedlight at a reflector or at a wall or ceiling to bounce it. It will light up the entire surface of what you are aiming it at and bounce softer light back towards your subject.

I hope this post helps you create some phenomenal detail shots. As always, I would love to see some of your images. Please post them in the comments section below or if you have any additional thoughts or feedback on taking really great detail shots, your input is valuable so please comment!

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