Photography tips and secrets
Lets face it, everyone loves photography! I personally don’t know anyone that doesn’t take photos with their phone or a camera. Photography has become extremely popular, and you don’t need to have a lot of money to get into the field as a professional, or to do it as a hobby. This however, has made people think photography is easy, but as I have learned taking good photos isn’t that simple. I think back to when I first got my camera and all the stuff I didn’t know. I just set my camera to auto and started clicking, and I thought my photos were amazing, but now when I look back at those same photos I cringe. Luckily, over the years I have learned a lot through experience, taking a certificate course at Mount Royal University, watching educational videos and reading books. I thought it would be nice to share a few things I have learned over the years and always keep in mind during a photoshoot.
“Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase”
These tips can be used whether you are using your phone or a camera, and are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to taking better photos but I think it’s a good beginning. I hope to write more posts in the future that get into more detail. Keep in mind these are tips and rules, and of course rules are made to be broken, just keep them in the back of your mind. I dug up some of my own photos to illustrate my tips, enjoy!
1) Step away from your subject
If you want someone to look good in your photo, stand a few feet away and zoom in instead of getting closer to them with the camera. There is a rule among professional photographers that you shouldn’t take a headshot or portrait of anyone with a focal length less than 85mm. To put this into perspective, when you take a photo with your cell phone the focal length is probably about 28mm, a very wide angle. To keep it simple, when using your cell stand a bit back and zoom in, and if you have your camera also stand back and zoom in as far as that lens will go and stand as far or as close to get the composition you want. This works well mostly for photos of other people but it also applies to object such as a flower. The only time going close to your subject with a wide angle works well is if you are trying to get a comical effect for a photo of your dog or maybe a small child. It can be really cute if it’s done right. Think of the peephole effect, for some it’s funny but the rest of us……yikes! Due to this, if anyone tries to take a photo of me with their cell phone, I run away as fast as I can.
I am too close here, and as you can see my little model’s face is looking distorted and too much of the background is in the photo due to the wide angle. I have the camera right a few inches in front of his face at 24mm, the widest angel so similar to a call camera when it isn’t zoomed in.
This is much better! I am about 3-4 feet away but zoomed into his face at 85mm, so the background is simplified, and his face is the focus.
2) Shoot during the golden hour
This is the hour before sunrise or the hour after sunset. When I am doing a photoshoot, I really try to avoid doing the session around noon or any time the sun is high and bright. This is difficult in the summer when the sun is up at 530am and setting at 10pm. However, it is not unusual for me to ask people to do a photo shoot as late as 9pm for this reason! The problem with really bright midday sun is it’s not flattering, creates shadows in the face, and squinting. Golden hour on the other hand is soft, warm, and makes everyone look fantastic. That’s why they also call it the magic hour! Also, stick around right after sunset and you get twilight, with tons of beautiful tones in the sky. It’s all good!
Looking flat, shot in the middle of the day
Gorgeous sunset tones, shot during that magic hour
3) Cloudy days and shade are your friends
We all think of a gorgeous day as sun filled with a big blue sky. That’s great for the beach but not necessarily photos. Overcast days create even lighting for your portraits, and some clouds in the sky such as those on a partly cloudy day is what gives sunset photos their beautiful tones and depth in the sky. If you’re out on a beautiful sunny day and you want to take a photo of yourself or a friend, just sneak into the shade. If there are nice trees behind you picking up the sun that will make for a beautiful background. Sun spots on the face aren’t good unless you’re doing it on purpose for an artistic effect.
Sun in the eyes, squinting, and shadows on the face
Evenly lit cutie-pie in the shade during a watermelon shoot
4) Don’t oversaturate your photos
Too much saturation done afterwards in an editing program can make a photo look fake, and some of the beauty actually gets lost. Think of a celebrity who was beautiful to begin with but had too much plastic surgery. A little goes a long way here.
Just right, the saturation is bumped up a bit in photoshop
It’s eye catching, but too much
5) Pay attention to background details
This relates somewhat to tip number one, which involves stepping away from your subject and zooming in. When you zoom in to someone’s face it eliminates background distractions. Keep an eye our for unsightly telephone or light poles, wires, garbage cans, cars, and anything that takes away from the beauty of your subject. Of course this doesn’t apply if there is something behind your subject you want to include that is interesting, like a
My two loves, with trees growing out of their heads and a garbage can in the back.
A simple and nice background is best, so all you notice is their beautiful smiles.
There you have it folks! Nothing too complicated, just a few tips that have helped my photos over the years and hopefully you found them useful. I have a lot more tips to come so stay tuned!
