One thing for better photos - Simplify

PHOTO 1Less can be more when it comes to improving the quality and impact of your photos. Great photos often have a strong, single point of interest, a specific element that captures the viewer’s attention.

Try simplifying your photos by carefully using framing and composition to “remove” unnecessary elements.

PHOTO 2. Photo 1 (top) is a nice seascape at sunset, but it lacks a clear point of interest. Photo 2 (above) has more impact as it focuses on a single subject: the sunset. Imagine the final photo hanging in your living room and ask yourself, “What do I want people to see in this picture?” Then compose and shoot the image to draw attention to your desired point of interest.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
~ Hans Hofmann, artist

One thing for better photos - Move!

Image 1 - Return Journey by Shane Walsh

Before you press the shutter, be clear about what you want to share in your photo – not just the subject, but the mood and feeling. Now MOVE! Move around, move in, or zoom closer to your subject and frame your composition to capture and emphasize that specific element. Almost any photo can be improved this way – making the difference between an ordinary photo and one that wows.

Image 2 - Wicklow Tress II by Shane Walsh

Try moving yourself to frame the subject to one side of the frame or the other, not always in center. Move your camera from horizontal orientation to take vertical shots and see what works best for the image you want to create.

In these three photos, taken by Shane Walsh, there is a noticeable difference in mood achieved, in large part, by moving around the subject to create the composition and point of view he wanted.

Image 1 - The horizontal orientation is typical for landscapes, and he’s used a few other fundamentals – the rule of thirds and leading lines – to help make this a strong image.

Image 3 - Wicklow Trees by Shane Walsh

Image 2 - He moved in closer and turned the camera for vertical orientation, creating a portrait of the two trees.

Image 3 - By walking around the trees, moving in closer, and shooting from the side, he captures the more dramatic curves and lines of the branches. Black and white post-processing further adds to the impact.

Want to learn more about creating more interesting images? Check out these ViewFinder classes:
Creative Composition for Better Photos
- Saturday, 24 July
Color and Black & White Photography
- Sunday, 25 July

***

Whether you are a beginner feeling overwhelmed by all the functions of your new DSLR camera or an experienced shooter debating over which lens to use, it’s easy to get caught up in technical details and lose sight of simply making good photographs. Our “One Thing for better photos” blog posts each highlight one specific thing to do - or learn - to improve the quality and impact of your images.

*Thank you to Shane for letting us feature his photos!

One thing for Better Photos - Shallow Depth of Field

photo: David Kai Piper

Getting out of Automatic mode and learning to control aperture is one big step toward creating more dynamic and more interesting images.

A lower aperture number – f5.6 or lower – will narrow the depth of field, softening or blurring the background and foreground, leaving only your subject in sharp focus. Even a single, simple subject, such as the farm cat in this photo, can be made more interesting when you shoot with more creative manual control. Our example image also demonstrates another point about making better images: Keep it simple! And it takes advantage of leading lines and framing too.

Higher aperture numbers, f8 or higher, will put the whole scene in focus, as in landscapes. But more about that in another post.

Want to learn more about using aperture? Check out these ViewFinder classes:
Creative Composition for Better Photos - Sunday, 21 November
dSLR Photography for Beginners - Saturday, 20 November