PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS
PHOTOGRAPHY |
Here are 5 tips for you to take better pictures now :
- Allow learning time
- Observe light
- Make use of your histogram
- Give your subject somewhere to go
- Critique your image
1. Allow learning time :
It takes time to think about and explore new ideas and techniques. Do not skip this part of your development as a photographer. What is it that makes a great picture? Study other great photographers in your field. Think about why they chose their subject, who or what inspired them, how they took the picture. It is always best to be influenced by other photographers than to copy them. And use that influence toward your own style and thinking.
2. Observe light :
Everything starts with the proper direction and quality of light illuminating your subject. Colour, degree, softness versus hardness, or the origin of the light—all should be taken into consideration.
Hard vs. Soft: Harsh light creates strong shadows. The time of day that natural light is the most harsh is during the middle of the day hours. If you are capturing images in bright light, try to make use of the shadows in your frame as a way to add interest in your image. Soft light produces soft shadows and usually is preferred for portraiture and most other photographic subjects, as well. Normally it is generated by the bounce of light from a large, light-coloured surface. Easy reflectors are concrete, walls, and for example a flash bounced off a white ceiling. Or you can use a large piece of semi transparent fabric between your subject and the light. On a partly overcast day when the sun is shining through a thin layer of cloud the sunlight is automatically diffused or softened.
3. Make use of your histogram :
The histogram—a graph with peaks and troughs, which helps you set your exposures with accuracy is what guides how the light is distributed across your exposure. If it advances on the right, with a gap to the left of the histogram, your photograph will be overexposed. If it looks like the reverse, your image will be underexposed. But before you press the shutter release, you can verify and modify your exposure by looking at the histogram on the LCD or in the viewfinder of your camera.
4. Give your subject somewhere to go :
Make great use of the space surrounding the subject. How much of your surroundings do you want to include in your photograph? They need to be there when they interestingly are adding to the image or give context to your story or heighten the feeling you wish to invoke in the viewer. If you want your subject to be the focus of the shot, then cut down on the surrounding content to a minimum.
But don't cramp the shot if your subject doesn't have room to stretch their arms and legs. Of course, the viewer's gaze naturally follows the direction of the subject's gaze into, or his/her movement into space. Allow much more space in front of your subject than behind to achieve the balance in the shot composition.
5. Critique your image :
Critiquing your images is an excellent way to improve at it. That doesn't mean you come up with a justification for not liking an image after seeing it. Take a good look at your photos, in particular, the ones that you are partial to. Is there a reason as to why the picture draws the eye to it? What would you change if you had to reshoot anything? Get critiques from other people as regards your work.
It may be a bit daunting to throw your images out there for criticism at first, but it will help you in having a second pair of eyes go at them.
Conclusion :
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