Friday Photo Tips

A mixed bag of tips this week dealing with creativity, slowing down and just plain hard work. To get the best out of your camera and yourself, somewhere on your photo journey these tips may well stand you in good stead and its a long journey full of highs and lows. But if you're passion is to get to that next level, its one worth taking. Anyway on with the tips.

36. Patience

This is a word that can be used a lot in photography, whether its waiting for that perfect sunrise/sunset or people to walk into your frame at the perfect moment, all valid, but that’s not what I’m thinking here. After shooting is over, don’t be tempted to quickly apply the first black and white filter or whatever to hand when editing, take your time and look at what your photo really needs to get the best out of it. I personally can leave my photos for a couple of months before editing them and even a couple of years sometimes! Why? Because in the flourish of the moment taking that shot we all have a sort of emotional connection with the scene, depending on how strong that connection is, will dictate how we edit the photo. After a shoot, I will instinctively know how certain shots are going to be processed, others though, I need time to figure out. So be patient and don’t rush to make a potential great photo average.

37. Foreground Interest

When shooting landscapes, we tend to focus on the majestic mountains rising from a valley (other scenes are available) but, forget to put anything in the foreground to add a lead into the picture. Ideas for foreground interest could be rocks, flowers or grasses, small pools of water or cracked ice, even people the list is a long one. Once you’ve found that interest make the most of it by getting down low and make it another focal point of the composition, if you take the shot at standing height you’ll overlook the foreground and lose the impact it can add.

38. Shoot a Lot

The best way to improve your photography is to shoot every day. It doesn’t matter what you shoot just the act of doing it can improve your use of the camera and what settings will give you a certain effect. You’ll also get better at seeing good compositions, because you’ve figured them out on previous shoots, it all comes down to time and effort. So, go out and shoot, shoot a lot, then shoot some more.

39. Light

You’ll hear experienced photographers talk a lot about light and with good reason, without it we couldn’t take photos. Generally, however they’re on about the quality of light, where the shadows and highlights are and the colour. This is something all photographers should look for when deciding to take a shot and the good thing is it can be practiced with or without a camera. Wherever you are look at the light around you, it could be coming through a window or gaps in tree’s. Also note the shadows and how dark or diffuse they are. Flat light is not good for photography, if you get great light though your photos look great and knowing how to spot it is the key.

40. Break the Rules

Photography is full of rules, rule of thirds, hyperfocal distance rules, rule of odds, and on, and on. But rules stifle creativity and after all we’re photographers, we are creative so, we need to break the rules, right? Well yes and no, we can only break them if we understand what the rules are for in the first place. Learning how the rules apply when taking shots is the first step and getting to know them well will help in understanding how to break them. One thing to recognise is, that although the word rules is used, a better word would be guidelines and you’re going to get great photos by following them, to be creative however, means going beyond them. A simple example would be Light trails, this is where you intentionally lengthen the shutter speed to catch vehicle lights that streak across the image, it’s a creative choice and you’ve broke the rule that everything in the frame should be sharp. This is just one example and there are lots more photos out there that show just how the rules can be broken.