10 tips to great photos
Before you shoot
10. Paint the mental image first
The
trick to a great picture lies more often than not in the composition.
Composition is the act of visually organizing the elements and details of a
scene into the desired arrangement, by looking through the viewfinder or LCD
display. The act of composition itself is what separates the good photographer
from the merely mediocre. Learn to look at your subjects and surroundings with a
critical eye and build a mental image first of the effect you want to achieve.
In other words, develop your "photographer's eye" and identify the center of
interest for each picture. One good way to get started is to carry around a
cheap plastic mount (obtainable at any good photo-developing lab) and use it to
"frame" your mental image.
It's a common mistake to stand at a comfortable spot and wait for a great
photo opportunity to surface--it almost never does. With your eye through the
viewfinder, move around or manipulate your subjects, if possible, until these
are as close to your mental picture as they can be. For example, if you spy a
flower in full bloom, don't stand at a distance and make do with a wide-angle
shot. Get up close to bring out the details of the flower in its full glory, or
even try a macro shot if your camera and equipment allow. At parties and
gatherings, don’t make do with static posed group shots. Try roaming around to
capture interesting moments and facial expressions such as laughing and
cheering. It makes for more visual appeal, and you definitely won't end up with
an album of people all smiling at the camera.
9. Rules are meant to be broken…
sometimes
Experts and many professional photographers will usually tell
you that they subscribe to a set of composition rules. That's a fallacy--there
is no right or wrong composition in photography, and there are no rules, only
guidelines.
These "rules" are based on recreating similarities in the make-up of numerous
different images that many people have found to be aesthetically pleasing.
However, they should not be taken as hard-and-fast rules that must be observed
regardless of the situation. Many renowned photographs violate all the rules of
composition and are still masterpieces in their own right. This does not mean
the rules are without value--they are time-proven and provide great guidelines
for photographers at any level.
For beginners, the best advice is to follow the rules until you know when to
break them. Develop an understanding of the elements of composition and
familiarize yourself with them until they become second nature. You’ll be
surprised at the marked improvement in your pictures when the rules are applied
correctly. Once you've reached that stage, experiment and break a rule when you
feel the image will work better without it, to develop your own style. Without
that understanding of basic composition, bending the rules usually just results
in amateurish pictures, or worse, something that looks like a mistake.
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