Getting yourself into the picture

[stephenwagnerphoto.com]

I'm sure we've all been there.

You're taking pictures of a family or friend event, and someone

says "Do you want me to take a picture with you in it?"

 

I have an Elan 7, and although it's not a pro body, I had a hard

time getting average joe's to take even a decent picture with me

joining the action for a second.

 

What do others do? (Assuming you don't always have a tripod in your

back pocket) Do you just let them do their worst, forbid them from

taking a picture, or are you better equipped than me at explaining

to someone (who's never held a SLR) how to take a simple picture?

 

Any "helpful" suggestions appreciated.

[stefanovandelli]

Set the zoom appropriately and put the camera mode on "Auto" (which incidentally should enable all 7 focus points). Hand the camera over and tell them to press the button. Voila'. Helpful?

[panos_voudouris]

You can also focus before you give them the camera and then set the lens to manual. They will always press the button all the way and the lens will not have time to focus.

[jon_austin]

This is another of the great things about digital: you can instantly review the shot, and see if the willing, helpful, feckless volunteer has any clue what he's doing.

 

I've rarely gotten satisfactory shots in such circumstances, but it strokes the friend- or relative-in-question's ego that you let him handle and operate your pricey camera gear. Even if it's film, let them do it: they'll feel better, it'll prevent arguments/hard feelings, and you can always claim later that the incompetent developer destroyed the frame during processing...

[brambor]

Another option is to buy the remote switch (RS something) that will take pictures in predetermined intervals. I have such switch for the D30, set the camera on tripod, set switch to snap picture every minute or so and then go back to be with my family. This will take some natural pictures. Afterwards I sift through the snapshots and pick the best one.

[christopher_bibbs]

Last summer at Disney World I had a P&S in my bag along with my SLR. I discovered people had just a hard time with that. Cameras are magical devices to most people and they only learn the ritual to their particular model. If your camera has buttons labeled 'W' and 'T' instead of their's which has a picture of a single tree and a forest, they're toast. I tried setting it up in advance, but everyone has a better idea of how the picture should look.

 

Previous poster probably had it right. Digital camera and ask lots of people to take a picture. You might eventually find someone who has a clue.

[absinthe]

If you have a tripod, use that & buy the remote control. If no tripod on you, then just have them hold it & use the remote. they will probably think its cool & want one for their camera too & ask you about it.

[david choo]

I carry a P&S and have them take the picture with that.

[phule]

Tripod or find a spot to rest the camera on and use the self-timer.

 

Otherwise I put it on full auto and hand it to someone. I might tell them something like "could you take another but move forward a little?"

 

Any location I think I'm going to want to be in the photo for I will try and bring a tripod.

[stephenwagnerphoto.com]

Thanks for your thoughts. Some good answers, - and apparently people who can sympathize with the situation too. Maybe I can use some of this as impetus to convince my wife that I NEED a digital body too :)

[staticlag]

Buy a really simple fixed length P&S for these occasions (stylus epic???).

 

But what I do, is I tell them to stand in place, then I walk to where I want to be. I then focus on them and lock it into manual, then I walk back over and hand it to them. They take the picture, no problem. One time while I was at the Sears tower however, I was alone and wanted a pic of myself, so I just scanned the tourists until I saw a nice Swedish couple with Hasselblads. Not only did I make a new friend, but I also got two excellently compositioned pictures.

 

So I guess you could look for someone else using an SLR to take the pic if you are in touristy places.

[jamiew]

Another piece of advice is to try to ask someone with a digital camera to take your picture. I find that since digital cameras are so slow, these users are a little more cautious with their shots.

[melissa_eiselein]

Stephen, I've found the easiest thing to do is to set up the shot for the person. Using one of the focus boxes, set up the shot. Focus on "Betty's" face--then set the lens to manual focus so that can't change. Remember the metering and set the camera to manual, so the lighting won't be thrown off if Average Joe is a bit off mark. Then, tell him to look through the viewfinder, gently pressing the button halfway until he sees the red box light up, then put that lit box over "Betty's" face and push the button all the way down. This way, you've got the focus and metering preset...and you hope your red box directions help Avergage Joe compose the shot.

[andrew robertson]

The trick with the wife is to just GET the digital body. You then have all the time in the

world to convince her you need it.

[melissa_eiselein]

"The trick with the wife is to just GET the digital body. You then have all the time in the world to convince her you need it."

 

Or he could do what my brother-in-law did. He bought my sister a digital camera for her birthday a couple weeks ago. She hates computers and isn't the least bit interested in photography...so she lets him use it for her. I knew my sis married a smart man. LOL

[stormfront]

I think the trick is to tell them not to worry. Set the focal length, put it on auto mode, hand it to them and say "It's easy, point and shoot". No it won't be a fine art portrait shot but you should not be expecting that anyway. The worst results come from people who are intimidated by your whizz-bang-gee-whiz camera. They are scared of dropping it, hitting the wrong buttons and not producing stellar shots. Calm them down, seat it in their grip firmly and let them have a go.

 

Especially nice if it is digital, that always gets a smile from people.

[nelson cotrim]

This Christmas I handed over my camera - Elan 7e, 50mm 1.8 and 420EX - to a 8 years old cousin, because he was realy impressed with the camera. The camera was on full auto, including AF. I just told him to beware of the focus, with the 1.8 it's easy to notice. His family (I was with my cousin's family) acted much more naturally than they would for me, because they found him holding the cammera to be funny. He took some 10-15 shots, and his bigger sister (10-11) took a few more. The pictures turned out great. And not just for a 8 year old, but above average. I was pretty surpised when I picked them up at the lab.

 

That was an exception, of course. What I usually do is I hand the camera, full auto, to someone I know is used to taking pictures. If I don't know anybody around, I try to compose first and hand the camera, and if necessary, crop the final picture. And I also chose the background - don't want a tree sticking out of my head, right :) Auto focus or not, depend's on the person. If it looks like someone who willl not see any difference, I focus then set it to manual, but usually just leaveit in AF.