1. Learn your camera
Have you ever noticed there is a bunch of dials, buttons, and menus on your camera that you never use? News flash… they are there for a reason. Learning how and when to use them will dramatically improve your photography. Take the time to read the instruction manual that comes with your camera. Yes, it is probably boring and will use terms that most of us will never fully understand, but it will give you a clue as to when you should use certain settings. Also take the time to do some online research and see how others are using your model of camera.
Understanding how your camera works will allow to do things with your images you never thought you could do. You will be able to take that really cool portrait of your family and have the out of focus background, or be able to capture that pivotal moment during the game in crisp clear frozen action. Most cameras today are very good at doing what they are designed to do, it just takes a bit effort on the shooters part to make them do it.
2. Find good light
One of the most important aspects of photography is locating and understanding what is “good” light. The reason good is in quotes is that the image and the subject can dictate the lighting, but for our purpose we are going to assume that the shooter wants to flatter the subject.
So, what is good light? Without getting to technical, good light is soft, low contrast, and creates pleasing shadows (Light at sunset). Bad light is the exact opposite, harsh, high contrast, that creates hard shadows, and or light that comes from the wrong direction (high noon). Good light is generally produced by a large source (relative to the subject) that is close to the subject, and bad light is a small source (again relative to the subject) that is further away.
Sources of good light include
- The Golden Hours - The sun 1 or so hour after sunrise and 1 hour or so before sunset. The sun is low enough in the sky to produce soft shadows and the light color changes to a really nice warm tone.
- The edge of shady areas during the harsh midday sun this includes porches, well foliaged trees, and shadows of buildings or other large objects.
- Cloudy days provide a really nice and even light. Basically the entire sky has become a diffused light source. This keeps the highlights from being too bright and the shadows from being too dark and de.
- My personal favorite window light. A large window that does not have direct sun coming through provides an excellent light source. Moving the subject forward and back, closer and farther to the window can provide some really nice and interesting lighting effects.
Sources of bad light
- On camera flash, this is especially true for point and shoot cameras and pop up flashes on DSLRs. This is a very small source of light that is very bright coming from directly in front of your subject, which will give them the pale washed out look you see in most family snapshots.
- Mid-day sun or other direct overhead light. Can you say raccoon eyes?
- Light from a low direction also known as the spooky light. We humans enjoy light that comes from the side or higher. As soon as the light’s direction starts travel upward on the subject we see it as unnatural and become unsettled to it.
3. Get Closer, Make the subject more important
If you have chosen to take a picture of something, then take a picture of it. Not of all the other stuff that is around the subject. One good example of this is the family vacation photo at Disney World. Everybody wants the castle in their image, so they zoom way out till the family is only 10% of the image and you can hardly see their faces. Another is Christmas morning, Mom or Dad is taking the pictures of little Johnny opening his gifts, but includes the entire room in every image. Think about all the clutter that is in those images. Where does the viewer’s eye want to go? Since humans are relatively curious by nature it will travel all around it and try to discover what each little thing is.
By getting closer (or zooming) in both of these examples a much more impactful image can be made. You don’t need the whole scene for the context to be there. By getting closer on the family you may not be able to get the entire castle, but since it is a widely known landmark (and I am sure someone will have mouse ears on) the context of the image will say “Family at Disney”. The same applies to Christmas morning, pajamas plus opening presents plus tree = Christmas.
Photography can be at times the art of subtraction, taking all the unnecessary things away but leaving context to create a stronger more impactful image.
4. Composition
Dead Center Middle (DCM) the absolute most used composition in all of photography and probably the most boring. This composition is used a lot with the reason for the previous topic. If you get closer, it makes using DCM much harder and this is a good thing. Getting closer requires you to start filling the frame with your subject and this leads to…wait for it…The Rule of Thirds (RoT).
The RoT is basically this, take your image and divide it up into nine equal rectangles. The two horizontal lines are for the horizon and the verticals can be used to place a subject. The intersections are where the most important pieces of the subject go. This works for both horizontal and vertical images.
This is not to say the RoT is the be all and end all of composition… actually it is far from it. I encourage everyone to research leading lines, S-curves, and other compositional elements. The RoT is just a starting point that can immediately give you more interesting images.
5. Change the perspective
Almost every adult on the planet sees our world from a perspective between 5’5” and 6’5”, with some outliers on either side, every day of their lives. Give them a new and refreshing look. When shooting landscapes shoot from a low level, and then shoot from a high one. It will completely change the way you and your audience sees the world.
When taking pictures of the family and friends shoot from just below their eye line. This will make them seem taller and more elegant. Images of children should always be shot from their eye level or below. Otherwise the camera will make them look small and have the viewer looking down upon them.