First off, let me begin by saying I am no expert photographer. As long as I can remember I have always enjoyed taking pictures. Recently people have started asking me what my “secret” is…what are the things I do when taking pictures? After thinking about it I realize there are four basic rules of thumb that I follow. After having told a couple of people these ideas and getting their wildly positive feedback I thought it would be fun to put together a thread where not only can I talk about my approach, but others can talk about their techniques, tricks and tips.
So, enough with the talky…here are my four simple rules for photography:
Get closer.
Less background “stuff” the better. Even take a moment to move some things or choose a background that is not busy.
This isn’t a perfect example, but it gets the point across:
v.
Turn off the flash!
When you can, use natural light as flash washes out detail
Compare these two shots:
(part 1 of 3 due to the image limitation per thread)
of course, when not using a flash you will get a great many pictures that look like:
Part of the trick to using natural light, especially when there isn’t a whole lot of light (at night with only lamps on like these) is to steady yourself, choose a subject that is not moving (much) and take a boatload of pictures. Sometimes you get lucky!
Take too many pictures.
Statistically the more pictures you take the more likely one will pop out as a “Woah!” shot. With digital photography there is no reason to not take hundreds of shots. Be good about purging the craaaaaap and you will be rewarded with the occasional amazing shot.
I had to take these shots:
to get this shot:
Break the rules
Sometimes having a busy background helps, sometimes using a flash is key…have fun. Try different things, crazy angles. Take a few shots with flash and then turn it off.
Try it out and let me know if it works for you! No need to post examples…just share some things that have helped you get some amazing shots.
I have an interest in photography too, even to the extent of working for Fujifilm for a couple of years. I still haven’t got to the “skilled” stage yet, in fact I am distinctly amateur / holidays, but it’s good to know some theory to help get the best result. That being said, I love candid shots or the completely unexpected result you sometimes get when you’re cropping what apepars to be a very ordinary image. My Fuji S3 is, by today’s standards, huge, heavy and slow but crikey it can produce beautiful pictures.
Having worked for Fujifilm I got a real perspective of digital vs. film. Yes, digital is cheaper over the long term, infinitely more convenient and accessible to the mainstream community, but nothing comes close to a beautifully shot large format (120/220) film / transparency image. I’m hoping to land a Fuji 690 Rangefinder on ebay soon…but it’s hideously expensive.
The one thing I’ll add is that the crappy camera you have is worth way more than the expensive camera at home. So don’t be shy about getting a crappy camera that you always have at hand (that includes camera phones.)
I totally agree gafra. Some of my favorite photos were ones that I thought were junk but with an artful crop become quite beautiful.
See, now you are just making me jealous. Some of my favorite memories from high school and college were spent in the darkroom. Usually by myself, in the dark with a classic rock station blaring in the background I was at my most creative. Trying different exposures, multiple negatives, overlays…a good time. It is the one significant thing you don’t get with digital photography…the absolute solitary time to focus on an image with no outside distractions.
I will agree and disagree with you on this one Pike. Expense cameras do not ensure excellent photos. However I believe there is a baseline threshold to megapixels. The best picture in the world loses something when there is no detail and can only be viewed 1 x 1 inch. I have seen some good camera phone shots, but for the most part they are craaapy due to megapixel limitations. I have a nice Canon digital SLR, but I also carry around my little point and shoot. I have gotten as good if not better shots from my point and shoot, so there I totally agree with you. I would simply recommend a baseline megapixel of 3 or 4.
First off, those are awesome Lucky. It took me a second to realize what the context was and that made your shots all the more powerful.
I agree with you about B&W photography. There are some situations in which having no color punches up the overall impact. I am wondering, do you apply B&W as a post-process or do you take photos as B&W? Meaning, when taking a photo do you think, “This will be a great B&W” change the settings and take the picture? Or do you take all your photos in color and then when you download them convert some color to B&W?
The reason I ask is that I find personally that although certainly there are many shots that in post-processing I convert to B&W for impact, my best B&W photos are taken when I physically change the setting on my camera to B&W and I am constantly thinking, “This is a B&W shot” as I am composing.
It is actually an educational exercise that I recommend to people that I do not do nearly enough: Once in a while set your camera to B&W and don’t turn it off. Look at how the pictures are turning out as you take them…it will teach you what works well in B&W.
I think I feel a B&W photo session with Lil’ Solai coming on!
I appreciate the thought gafra, but I have been a civilian now for about a year. It’s just that most of my pics that are black and white with an equivalent in color were all from my Iraq picture folder.
I tried editing my pics with a program, but they just didn’t seem to come out right, so if I want the picture in black and white, that is how I shoot it. usually it’s not intentional on my part to go out and shoot the pictures this way, but rather a random thought coming to mind: “hey this would look great in black and white.” Right now I am experimenting with the option where all the colors are taken in brown hues, but I haven’t really found any shots that came out good.
Anyhoo, I really need to get a new camera. The one I have now is pretty battered.
This one I totally agree with! I take a lot of pictures with my Nokia N70 camera phone (2 megapixel, yes). I take it wherever I go (for travel, candid pictures of my friends, etc), and just whip it out for pictures. Lots of pictures. You’re bound to have a lot of out-of-focus shots, but you do get some gems most of the time.
Again, I’m an amateur compared to the rest of the guys here with their different camera specs, but I can say I’ve taken a lot of good memories with my phone. Don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures!
Take lots of pictures. That is the primary rule for being a good photographer. The second one is to only show others the good ones.
I was once on a diving trip with a pair of photographers from National Geographic. They did every dive and took like four cameras apiece with them every time. (This was before digital so everything was film.) Between the two of them they took a few thousand pictures.
The last night of the trip I saw them with a bunch of slides at the light table and asked them if they had any good ones. One of them glanced up at me and said yeah, they probably had two or three publication-worthy shots in the set.
I was surprised. Two or three out of a few thousand? At which point the other one looked up at me and said “Well we do work for National Geographic.”
So why does National Geographic always have such amazing photos? Well, you just don’t see the thousand they don’t publish for every one they do.
Beyond that, the only other suggestions I have are these.
Fill your frame. When all else fails, make sure the subject of your shot dominates your photo.
Try odd angles. Don’t just shoot straight on at everything. Try unusual angles, from near the floor or off to one side.
Beware of your foreground and background. This is one I mess up on a lot. Watch out for anything else in your photo besides your subject that may be distracting. (I tend to leave too much foreground so my subject tends to get a bit lost.)
Remember the rule of thirds. They hammered this one into us in photography class and I still forget it all the time. Don’t center your subject in the frame. Instead, divide the frame into thirds. (Imaging a tic-tac-toe grid (or a naughts and crosses grid if that’s what you call it) superimposed on the frame.) Now, try to line up your subject on one of the lines or (preferably) at one of the intersections. This makes your photos more interesting and less “posed”.
But overall the best way to take good pictures is… take lots of pictures.
Yes, that is the “point” of a Project 365 (if it can be said to have one). It forces you to take a lot of pictures. Many times you find yourself having to “make do” in order to get a shot for that day. It’s easy (well, easier) to get good shots if you can wait for some event or wait to travel to some location where photos are easy. Having to take one daily forces you to look for things to take photos of where you would not normally do so and so helps improve your eye for seeing such things.
I’ll admit that I fall down here because I know that I have four dogs at home and so think “Oh well, I’ll just take a picture of one of the dogs tonight.” I’ve been leaning a bit too heavily on that crutch so I need to start trying to get more pics outside the house.
Giving this thread a nudge given the recent interest in photography over in the 365 thread (and will be transplanting some posts into this thread from there)
That’s a very good article. I just recently picked up a “point and shoot” Canon SD790 so I could always have a camera on me. Carrying around a DSLR, several lenses, and a flash can be a pain unless you’re working on a specific task. I am very pleased with its results.
For best results, perhaps we should consider them “compose and shoot.”
Your tips about NOT using the flash, and focusing in, did help a lot. I use a 5 megapixel camera on my Sony Ericsson G900. People look down on cellphone cameras, but I believe there’s a skill involved in taking good pics with them.
And to Lucky, to have gone to a battlezone and come back in one piece; that counts you as Lucky indeed~! I salute you
hi Gafra,
If you are looking to shoot with a larger format, 120 film, there is a camera called a Holga. You can fin them on line for about $35- $50 , the body and the lens are made out of plastic. They can take some really great pictures and they are great to just play around with. You just have to be aware of some of the problems that come up with this kind of camera. This is a good site to check out
v. 
Don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures!
I salute you