1.
Look for contrasts
Things in their regular places are boring. Nobody wants to
see a photograph of a boarded up house but put that boarded up house between
two modern sky scrapers and you’ve got something interesting for the eye to
analyse. There’s the sleekness and precision of the metal and glass structures
against the shabby brick or wooden exterior of the house. There’s the effect of
time and how it’s changed the buildings, there’s an untold story within the
image and this is intriguing for the viewer.
Last year the image of a house in China, sat in the middle
of a new constructed motorway, went viral. How do these people live in the
middle of the motorway? What legal battles were fought and how did it escalate
to this point? What types of people were involved in this struggle? The house
isn’t interesting, the motorway isn’t interesting. It’s the questions the image provokes and the
contrast of image which is interesting.
2.
More is more
A good way to describe a photograph is as a moment frozen in
time. Life is a collection of billions of moments and every photograph captures
that moment forever. Unfortunately, viewfinders on cameras aren’t great for
analysing whether you are doing that moment justice. What appears great on a
small screen might not look good in edit.
The subjects in our images are unpredictable, even
photographing portraits can be a challenge. People’s faces change angle and
expression in so many random and uncontrollable ways that the only way to
capture the right one is by taking lots of images. Unless you’re shooting with
film, which literally costs you money, there’s no excuse for not taking as many
photos as you can and hoping the right moment presents itself.
3.
Emotional portraits
Unless the purpose of the photograph is to contrast a lack
of emotion against an emotional environment, more often than not emotions are
more interesting. The reason people look strange in portraits is because they
are usually trying to recreate what they think an emotion looks like.
Emotional responses like crying or laughing occur because we
unable to control them. As human’s we are intrigued by what other people are
thinking. Research into newspapers shows that people’s eyes spend most time
focused on the face on the person in an image rather than reading the article.
For example, sports photographers at a football match
attempt to tell the story of the game through imagery. The way they do this is
by capturing the player’s emotions. If someone is smiling it shows their team
has won, whereas, heads down and hands on hips show the disappointment of a
loss. Your imagery should also tell a story – although maybe a little more
subtly.
4.
Use movement
While still life imagery and landscapes can be great images,
few shots look as dramatic as action. The eye draws imaginary lines across the
image to process and understand what is happening. A shot of a busy street is
interesting because of all the different directions in which objects and people
are travelling. Some photographers prefer to colour these lines in using long
exposure images to create blurs of colour cutting through the image as the
stationary objects remain in focus.
Framing the photograph around movement can also create great
images. Showing a person walking into the frame or just leaving it creates the
feeling of a journey. The fact you can’t see where they have been or where they
are going makes for engaging image than just putting the subject in the middle
of the frame.
5.
Spend time in the editing room
It’s sad but true, you need to spend time editing your
shots. Programmes like Instagram might have turned Facebook into a blur of
sepia burgers and brown landscapes but if you’re not willing to put the hours
in on Photoshop, other people will. Of course, you need to be careful not to
over work your image otherwise you’ll be left with the equivalent of Shane
Warne’s face. The old adage, if something looks too good to be true it usually
is, still rings true.
Generally speaking, good editing is like good cosmetic
surgery - it should enhance the subject, without ever being noticeable. Unless
you’re really proud of your Photoshop skills, then by all means go crazy and
create as many surreal images as you want!
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