8 Essential Photography Tricks
1. Play the Numbers game. Just as your odds of winning the lottery increase with each ticket you buy, your odds of getting an outstanding photo from a photoshoot also increase with the more photos you take. It is not uncommon for professionals to only use 1% to 10% of the photos taken. If you take 100 photos of a subject, the odds are, you’ll have 1 to 10 great ones. Digital cameras are perfect for this, as you can take unlimited photos- as long as you have unlimited hard drive storage and continue to recharge your battery. While you want to take lots of photos, you also want each photo to be your 100% best.
2. Think Simple. Less is more. When you ‘notice’ a neat scene and decide to take a photo of it, try to determine the exact elements which made you ‘notice’ it. For example, you drive by a park and see something that looks cool. You see a duck, a pond, a playground, light rays from the trees, background fog, grass, a bucket, and some neat grooves in the sand. Analyze what caught your eye and test each item to see exactly which combination of elements made it look good. First determine which is the main dominant element? If it’s the duck, then you may want to avoid the playground and bucket from the scene. Perhaps combining the duck with the background fog is what you noticed. Or was it the light rays coming down from the trees. Once you narrow down and decide what you ‘saw’ you can then start shooting and taking various angles, playing with lighting, and foreground, background options, etc. Do not include any extra elements you do not need. If, by adding them it does not improve the scene, then remove them. Less is more!
3. Avoid ‘hot spots’ in your photo. Our eyes tend to be drawn to areas in a photo that are bright or high in contrast. Make sure you don’t have unnecessary hot spots detract from your main subject. For example, if you take a photo of a bridge, but see a white bucket on the ground, make sure you position yourself so it does not appear in the photo. You can always crop or edit such things out later in Photoshop, but it is far easier to recognize and avoid them before you even take the photo.
4. Use the rule of thirds. Rather than having a subject directly in the center of a photo, make it either 1/3 or 2/3 from the left and either 1/3 or 2/3 from the top.
5. Use creative angles. Diagonal lines tend to be more interesting than ‘normal’ horizontal or vertical lines. Showing perspective or depth in a photo also creates interest and impact.
6. Make lighting your friend
a. Take outdoor photos in the morning or late evening for most interesting lighting and shadows
b. On overcast days, take photos which do not include the sky or clouds. Taking photos of foliage or flowers is nice to do on an overcast day for smooth, consistent lighting and to bring out the vibrant colors of green grass or red flowers.
c. Avoid using a flash as the dominant source of lighting. If possible
7. Always hold the camera still and or use a tripod. If you are without a tripod and cannot get a photo to expose properly at 1/60 second or higher, try to find something you can rest the camera on and use its self-timer. A fence, table, branch, or the hood of the car- anything that keeps the camera still, but does not block the camera’s view works just fine.
8. Think smart when taking travel photos.
a. Want to get some ‘postcard’-like photos? When traveling, check out the existing postcards from local convenience stores or gift shops. By looking at enough postcards, you can learn where the most photogenic scenes are in a given area. For example, it can be difficult to find where to get a good city skyline view. By looking at enough postcards, you will find that some reveal where the photo is taken from. Then go there, get your shots and save time!
b. Looking at existing photos may also inspire you to do something new. What angles of a certain monument have not been taken? What works well and what doesn’t?
c. When traveling, remember to bring your chargers, laptop or portable hard drive, and power converters if you travel outside the country. It’s nice to have the comfort of knowing you won’t run out of batteries or storage space.