Good photographs of your Kiwanis event will draw more attention to your club's activities, regardless of whether the photo is submitted to a local newspaper, used in a club publication or submitted for publication here on the District Web Site.

Today digital cameras are most apt to be the ones used to catch shots at an event, so these tips are designed with that in mind.

Here are some tips for getting better photos:

• Get all the resolution you can

  Look at your camera's instructions and set so that it will capture as many pixels of information as it can. This is the setting that results in the fewest number of pictures on a memory card, but the advantage of having higher-quality photos is worth it. Resolution always can be reduced later for uses such as on a web site.

• Check the focus

  This requires that you get out the manual for your camera again. Many digital cameras either auto-focus or have a fixed focus, in which case you don't have to take this step. If you can focus your camera, make sure your subjects are in focus before taking the shot.

• Look at what's in the viewfinder

  Does that lamp behind your subject look like it's growing out of the person's head? Is there something in the picture that's going to reflect your flash and ruin the shot? It's easy to concentrate on the faces in the pictures only to see the other problems when you look at the pictures later.

• Zoom in

  Don't be afraid to get closer to your subject or use the zoom feature on your camera to eliminate area that you aren't interested in shooting. You will get higher quality pictures.

• Take a lot of pictures

  With digital cameras there's no cost for each picture, so take many. Don't trust one picture you think will work, only to find out later someone had their eyes closed. When the event is over, you can select the ones that are best.

• Avoid "Grip and Grins"

  Many photographers think that they are supposed to have everyone looking at the camera when they take a picture. Most often that's a bad idea -- your pictures will attract more attention if they catch people carrying out a project or performing an activity that is not posing for the camera. While posed pictures are appropriate at times, remember that those times are rare and parcel them out appropriately.

  It's best to avoid taking pictures of big checks, people shaking hands for no apparent reason, or a chorus line of people all grinning at the camera. If you want your pictures to be printed in local newspapers, you'll usually find that this type of picture will not be used.

• Take a variety of shots

  Don't miss the opportunity to take a variety of pictures -- close-ups, long range and medium range from the event. Often a close-up of a single person will turn out to be the shot that tells the story, but a wider shot, showing the number of people involved, can supply additional information.