Thursday, September 29, 2011

How to Make Dynamic Canvas Prints

Believe in yourself!

The vast majority of people have a camera nowadays, and the vast majority of those have taken some truly amazing pictures on their holidays, with their families, or just out and about on the streets where they live. The most important thing to remember when making dynamic canvas prints is to always believe in yourself. Somewhere, hidden deep in the realms of Facebook, Twitter, or on your computer's hard drive, there will be some breathtaking photos of you and your loved ones just screaming to be let out! We have a tendency to brush over our own images and think that someone else's are always better - but this is simply not the case! Even if you are not a professional photographer and even if you have had no training in the art, you are sure to have taken some stunning snaps. So why not liberate them and create astonishing canvas prints?

Give your Photos a Unique Twist

Choose a photo taken with a high resolution and with lots of colour and energy, and then simply witness the incredible transformation! A great gift for your friends or family or a fantastic way of adding some creative art to your home décor, canvas prints are flexible and affordable as well as very high quality. You could add a personal message to your wall art to give it an energetic, lively feel, or even use a special technique such as Banksy, Warhol or revolutionary Pop Art Che for an awesome distinctive edge! We can also cartoonify the people or the pets in your images if you choose to give them the canvas treatment. Printed on excellent anti-warping materials for added durability, canvas prints are a timeless and lifelong gift, and if you choose animated, vivid pictures you are sure to create dynamic photos on canvas.

Dramatic Transformation with Canvas Prints

If you are stuck for a present for your friends or family, canvas prints with vivacity and enthusiasm are sure to bring a smile to their faces! So long as you have a happy, bright and colourful image (which we all do no matter how bad we might think we are at taking photos!), your pictures will look absolutely stunning on first-rate canvas, so why not seize the opportunity to create something truly special and give a unique gift today? You really do have some breathtaking snaps, so why not unearth them from wherever they are hiding and give them pride of place in your home? The difference to your home interior and to the atmosphere of the room will be truly unbelievable.

If you are interested in photography and modern gift ideas visit Photo-Canvas for stunning canvas prints designed for all occasions and people in your life. Gorgeous panoramic canvas and photo collage to treasure forever.


http://EzineArticles.com/6505974

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Why Digital Photography?

Technology has changed so many things over the years, and part of this revolution is the invention of digital photography. Some photographers, whether hobbyists or professionals, claim that film photography is still the best way to capture stunning images. They may be right to an extent, digital photography advocates assert that digital cameras can also produce equally beautiful photographs with the right technical know-how. Let's look into the top five reasons why computers can also be a photographer's best friend:

1. Fast

Photos captured with a digital camera can be viewed on a computer screen and printed as soon as they are taken. This is actually one of the best advantages of digital technology - photos are instantly available. Professional photographers can also save a lot of time for each project, considering all they have to do is load their photos on their computer for editing. Wedding albums, in particular, can now be finished half as fast as photos taken with with old-fashioned film. This means more time, more projects and even more income.

2. Manipulable

With digital photography, pictures can be easily manipulated according to preference. Everything usually starts out as colored images, but lighting and color tone can be easily changed with the use of editing software. Flaws in photographs, such as unwanted marks on the subject's face, accidentally captured objects or unflattering shadows can be easily removed. Effects can also be applied to enhance the drama of images, or to create a particular mood. Manipulating comes fast and easy as long as one knows how to use a photo editing program.

3. Cost-efficient

Digital photos do not require film and are simply stored in a memory card, thus, translating to significant savings. No matter how many pictures are taken, everything will be accommodated as long as the technical capacity of the equipment allows. When showing off photos to relatives of friends, one also need not spend money as photos can be easily sent online through email or chat, and can even be posted on an online album. There is no need to spend for each batch of recopied pictures because everything can be reprinted using a photo printer. For those who are less meticulous, even common multi-purpose printers will be enough to print photos at need.

4. Forever

Photos taken using traditional methods often deteriorate in quality over time, no matter where or how they are kept, while digital photo quality can be preserved forever as long as the memory disk is kept safe.

5. Convenient

Some people love to show their photos to friends and relatives but can't always be bringing their albums around. With digital photography, these photos can be stored in a laptop or even a tiny memory card to be inserted into any computer. In simple terms, it simply makes things way easier.

While there may seem to be that classic, unspoken charm known to old traditional film photos, nothing cannot be rendered in modern form with the power of digital technology.


http://EzineArticles.com/6485432

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Documentary and Interpretive Portraiture

PORTRAITURE: INTERPRETIVE AND DOCUMENTARY

There are several mediums available in which portraits may be created. Most common among these are Photography, Painting, and Sculpture. By far the most popular is Photographic Portraiture. Since Portrait Photography is my particular area of expertise, this article will apply primarily to photographic application.

In Photographic Portraiture there are two primary genres: Interpretive and Documentary. Within these genres there are many types and styles. Types include what I call design parameters such as: Headshots, Full Length, Couples, Baby, high school Seniors, Engagement, Family, Maternity, and so forth.

Styles are really an individual distinction defined by the artists creating the portraits. Black and white and "colorized" black and white can be considered styles, and certainly when an artist works exclusively in one or both of those categories it would be considered their 'style'. However more often, a portrait artist's style is defined by their use of lighting and composition such that when a person views a work they will identify it with the artist by it's distinctive look or style.

By far the most dominant genre of photographic portraiture is that of Documentary. Documentary portraits are in the most elementary way described as portraits where the subjects are looking directly at the camera and smiling. It is the simplest and easiest, (except in the case of two-year-olds), kind of portrait to create.

Pretty much every type of portrait may be made as a Documentary portrait. That is, from family portraits to professional 'headshot' portraits, to Senior portraits, to Maternity, to Baby portraits, all may be created in a Documentary way with the subject looking at the camera and smiling.

Documentary type portraits, while not terrifically creative, are very useful for many applications. Business portraits for example are typically Documentary. It is the type of portraiture all the "Big Box" and "Mall" studios specialize in. And when a parent takes their children to have portraits made two or three times a year, the "Mall" studios are convenient and economical.

Interpretive Portraits, while posed to a certain degree have a much more candid appearance. As indicated by the classification "Interpretive", this type of portrait has the ability to display and reveal the personality and interests of the subject to a much greater degree than Documentary portraits. Often the subject will be engaged in some activity rather than looking into the camera lens and smiling. That is not to say that an Interpretive Portrait precludes the subject from looking at the camera and smiling. However that is just much less likely in an Interpretive portrait.

Many of the paintings of famous artists such as Titian, Renoir, Degas, Lautrec, even da Vinci and Rembrandt and many others were actually Interpretive Portraits. While those paintings are generally viewed as slices of contemporary life, there really is no limitation to the creative possibilities with Interpretive Portraiture.

The creative possibilities are limitless, but creating a successful Interpretive Portrait places a great deal of additional responsibility on the artist. As with all commissioned art, the patron or client must be satisfied with the portrait, so the interpretation rendered by the artist must meet their criteria. To that end the artist must have at least some acquaintance with the subject and their personality.

The desired mood portrayed by the portrait will require forethought and planning. What poses will best display the personality and mood? What props and activity will best suit the subject, their personality and interests? Then the location and the lighting must be considered.

As with all great art, portraits both of the Documentary and the Interpretive types should appear natural and effortless. That is to say the work that goes into planning, preparing and finishing a photograph into a portrait should not be evident. They should be enjoyed as personal, family art treasures.

About the author: Stan P. Cox II runs a Portrait and Commercial photography studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has been a professional Hawaii photographer specializing in portraiture for over 30 years. His web address is: http://www.paramountphotography.com/ This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.


http://EzineArticles.com/6502471

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Better Cameras For Beginners - Budget Is An Issue

Photography is becoming more popular every day. The simplicity of the modern camera and the technology improvement over the last few years has raised the bar for beginning photographers. So many are excited over the newest models, that they are putting aside their point and shoot cameras in favor of more advanced models. Still, rather than investing thousands of dollars, many would rather purchase a cheap digital SLR camera. In fact, sales of cheap DSLR cameras have skyrocketed over the past couple of years. There are actually several reasons for being able to spend less and get much more value for your buck.

One of the reasons the new photographer can spend less is simply because the advancement in technology has raised the quality of the less expensive models. To illustrate, just take a look at three models produced by the Canon Corp. The rebel T3 I, 60 D, and 7D vary in price by a total of about $1000, yet they all have the same image sensor. This means that the quality of the pictures taken will be pretty much identical, depending on the skill of the photographer. Of course, there are other things that make a difference in the costs of the cameras, but these days, less money is getting much better quality.

Another reason beginners are opting for cameras at the lower end of the professional spectrum is the quality of video that less expensive cameras are producing. More and more people are using, not video cameras, but they're still camera for recording video simply because the quality is excellent. HD video at 1080p and 30 frames per second is becoming standard even at the beginners level. If you were to read the reviews at the online stores, you would see that this video capability is one of the top reasons for buying certain models.

Another compelling reason for buying a better camera than a point-and-shoot model is that the learning curve is not what it used to be. One of the reasons for this is that the settings are much more user-friendly, including the fact that some models have a feature guide on the rear LCD panel that explains exactly what each setting will accomplish when selected. Most models also feature a "quick set" button for the obvious reason of finding the most popular and widely used camera settings.

While the new settings of most inexpensive cameras are fairly user-friendly, a new owner can still use the auto setting to take excellent photos. Again, camera technology has advanced to the point that newer models usually get the settings for light and color just about perfect every time. The cameras are getting so good at this that they have the mode setting called "intelligent auto", and when set on this they are indeed intelligent.

Finally, these new cameras are simply better than point-and-shoot cameras when it comes to performance. This may seem obvious, but it needs to be pointed out. One of the things that most point-and-shoot camera owners experience is something called shutter lag. This is the time between when the user presses the shutter button to record the picture and when the picture is actually taken by the camera. It is also very apparent when using the camera's flash. When using a higher grade camera, even if it is achieved digital SLR, shutter lag is practically nonexistent, even when taking flash pictures.

There are many reasons for buying a new camera, but over the last few years, improved technology and lower prices have catapulted many amateur photographers into the ranks of digital SLR owners.

Wayne Rasku is an owner of a cheap digital SLR camera. The features and settings of thhis camera are on par with many of the more expensive cameras on the market. Discover the benefits of moving up from a point-and-shoot model at http://digital-photographic-resources.com/.


http://EzineArticles.com/6508953

Monday, September 19, 2011

How to Create HDR Images

The software I will be demonstrating for making HDR images is Photomatix Pro. There are other pieces of software out there, but I have found Photomatix to be the easiest to use.

Step 1

Take bracketed photos of your subject. You can find the bracketing option in your camera settings. On a Canon it is called 'AEB' (Auto Exposure Bracketing), on a Nikon I think it is called 'Multiple Exposures'. Canon cameras take 3 bracketed photos, but only a minimum of 2 are needed. Although not strictly necessary a tripod is recommended for best results.

Step 2

Load up Photomatix and click the 'Load Bracketed Photos' button (hold down Ctrl to select multiple files). Only two bracketed photos are required as a minimum, but three are better. Click OK.

Step 3

On the 'Preprocessing Options' dialogue window make sure the 'align source images' and the 'crop aligned images boxes are checked. I generally find the align by 'matching features' to be the best option, but if you find the final image is not aligned try by 'horizontal and vertical shift'. (If you have used a tripod there should be no alignment issues).

Step 4

This stage of the process is difficult to teach. I would recommend choosing a result from the preset pictures at the bottom that looks close to your desired and then tweak it from there. I usually find that the colours are a little over saturated so I decrease the saturation and luminosity by a small amount.

Make sure you have the 'preview' box checked so any adjustments that you make can be seen (if your computer is slow you may wish to keep this unchecked, checking it only as needed). The best way to learn about what the individual settings do is just to play around with them and get a feeling for how they affect the picture.

Step 5

When you are happy click the 'process' button. (Again this stage can take a few minutes on slower computers).

The final result is a blend of the original pictures with the foreground, subject and background all correctly exposed.

It is worth noting that if anything moves within the frame while you are taking the bracketed photo there will be some blur in that spot in the final result. For example if you are taking a picture with some trees in the frame and the leaves/branches are moving in the wind, the leaves will be blurred.

Photomatix can be downloaded here: http://www.hdrsoft.com/

To learn more about other options available for making HDR images, or tips and tricks for Canon EOS DSLR cameras (including how to take bracketed photos) please visit my website: http://www.usemycanon.com/


http://EzineArticles.com/6446977

Friday, September 16, 2011

Choose the Right Digital Backdrops for Photography

Previously with the analogue pictures you had to go through a long process to change the background but now with digital photography things have become easier. Today you can easily put your favorite background in your picture with the help of the computer and software programs.

You might be well aware of the popularity of Photoshop which is widely used to edit the photographs. But the question is how do you get the backdrops for photography? You need not worry because there are various websites which can offer you series of backdrops for your photographs.

You can choose the backdrops according to your choice and requirement. You can order for a single series or multiple series to use in your photography. Some of the popular series available are flower, Christmas, Halloween, birthday, wedding, winter, studio as well as classic series.

Each of the series consists of 20 backdrops for photography of size 6000-4800-300 dpi. These backdrops are usually available in jpeg image file or tiff image file. You just need to search for the right website which can offer the best backdrops for your pictures.

Even if you take photography as a hobby you can use the editing software and the backdrops to make your pictures more interesting and beautiful. You might have an idea about the fact that you can sell unique pictures on the internet which can help you earn some dollars.

This is one of the best ways to make your picture unique. The samples of backdrops for photography are always available to you and you can order them just with a click. But before you choose a website you need to make sure the website is authentic.

This should be done specially before making the payments. If the payments are processed through click bank or pay pal then you have nothing to worry. Check out whether the website offers a money back guarantee if the customer is not satisfied with the product.

While choosing the program on the internet you need to consider certain things. First of all, you need to make sure that the website offers best features. Check out the main features offered and then compare it to the other websites.

Other than comparing the features you should also compare the prices quotes by the other programs on the internet. Search for the programs which offer a variety of backdrops. There are some programs which might concentrate on a particular type of template, it is better not to choose such programs.

The more the variety the better the chances are to make your photographs look brilliant. While choosing the program you should also make sure that it is user-friendly. If the program is difficult then changing backdrop would be time-consuming.

Use backdrops for photography and transform ordinary looking photograph into amazing, studio-quality masterpiece. You can use these backdrops easily even if you have zero graphic design skill.


http://EzineArticles.com/6509727

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Two Tricks Of The Trade Used By Product Photographers

Experienced professional product photographers have a whole range of tips and tricks they use every day to achieve the sort of end results which not only look incredibly simple to reproduce, but which actually get the job done of making people want to buy the product. Often it's those photographs which look straightforward and relatively simple which require the most amount of work, planning and preparation. It's only when you try to recreate those sorts of images yourself that you start to realise that there really is much more to professional product photography than meets the eye, or even the lens.

For example, you may have a product which you want to display standing up, such as an iPhone for example. Having it flat on the table makes it look less real, and so you think, almost certainly correctly, that by having the product standing up it looks more three dimensional, more real and therefore more tangible and appealing.

But if you have ever tried standing an iPhone or other thin, curved item up you'll have noticed that it's very hard. You might try something like Blu-Tac or plastecine, but you can't really get it to stand up straight unless you wedge the product in a ball of it, but then of course this is then very obvious.

In some cases you'll find that the product can't even be supported from behind very well because it's either transparent, meshed or very intricate. The answer in many cases is actually to use fishing line or the cotton thread that's being sold as 'colour matching' because it's actually transparent. By attaching one end of this to the back of the iPhone with BluTak, or tying it around a part of the product, you can have the product standing up, or even leaning at angle. Of course, you'll also have the thread visible, which is where clever post production work comes in. Using sophisticated photo editing techniques it is possible to completely remove the line, even from fairly complicated and busy backgrounds, making it look as though the product is standing up all by itself, seemingly defying gravity.

But this is only one problem that needs to be overcome, and there are plenty more. For example, you may assume that a bottle of shampoo is fairly easy to photograph, until you realise that the bottle is made from a black plastic material and the cap is made from a shiny chrome material. How do you light the product up so that the black bottle is not so dark that it looks flat and unappealing, without making the chrome top shine so brightly it's barely visible at all? If you try photographing such a product it seems that you either have to accept that the bottle will be too dark or the cap too light, but not both at the same time.

Some professional product photographers may be able to create a lighting rig that's finely detailed enough to be able to focus the light or diffuse the light in the right way to overcome this problem but there's another solution that can be achieved even more quickly in post production. By taking at least two photographs of the product, one overexposed so that the black bottle comes out clearly and one underexposed so that the cap looks detailed, it is possible to then blend these twp images together, transferring the cap from the slightly darker image to the over exposed one, creating a photograph which ensures that every part of the product is correctly lit, detailed and appealing.

An iPhone and a bottle of shampoo are hardly unusual products, which gives you just a flavour of the many thousands of tips and tricks which product photographers are using everyday to fool us into seeing the impossible.

If your business could do with the help of professional product photographers then visit The Packshot People for affordable advertising photographers offering low priced photography services to small and medium businesses.


http://EzineArticles.com/6504301

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Why Does So Much Product Photography Fail?

There are countless small and even medium sized businesses struggling to make their mark largely because their advertising photography is simply not achieving much. In some cases it may be achieving nothing at all, and in plenty of cases it is clear to see that the company's product photography is actually having a negative effect on sales.

It's easy to see the product photograph as simply being an added extra, attached to an advert, flyer, web page or other marketing material simply to add a little colour and appeal. But the truth is that the overwhelming majority of people take one look at the photograph before reading any of the text, and then make a snap judgement not just about the product, but about the company itself, based on the quality of the product photograph. That's not the product they're judging - just the photograph.

Because often it is the quality of the picture which gives people the best clue as to the amount of care and attention the company gives to everything else. We've all got good quality digital cameras at home. Photography isn't the privilege of the few - high quality photographic imaging is in everyone's hands, and as a result we've become even better at making judgements very quickly about images used in advertising. A photograph that's little better than the sort of quality we might be expected to achieve on a family holiday is not going to achieve much in the eyes of most people.

In fact on many cases the product photograph isn't even looked at, because sub consciously we've already evaluated it out of the corner of our eye and made a judgement about it that it's either not good quality, or not meant for us. It's crucial therefore to think about how to make sure that product photography is able to achieve several key things. Firstly it must jump out at people and make it itself noticed. This doesn't just mean using bright colours, lurid backgrounds, supersized images or other gimmicks. Often quality will stand out all by itself, without recourse to gimmicks and tasteless trickery.

The second thing it should achieve it to make itself appear relevant to the consumer. For example, if you have two mobile phones, one of which is full of social networking tools, games, video camera and tools and features ideal for teenagers, and you have another phone with a built in 'Qwerty' keyboard, video conferencing facilities, management software and easy PC integration ideal for business people, it makes sense that the advertising photography needs to take these two different audiences into consideration. For teenagers the photograph is likely to include images or graphics which suggest movement, connectivity, excitement, fun and energy, whereas the product photograph of the other phone may offer a crisper, cleaner, more organised impression.

Once you've grabbed people's attention and made it clear that the product photograph is relevant it's then also important to achieve three more things. Firstly you need to be able to provide an unequivocally good quality image. This means that the quality of the product is clear enough that it will easily be recognised if seen in real life, and that people can see clearly aspects of the product which will be of interest and relevance. The next thing it will need to achieve is to communicate to the customer that the product and the company is about quality, and about standing out, being unique and being better than alternatives.

Finally product photography needs to engage the consumer by creating an emotive bond. The image should excite, enthuse, intrigue or otherwise actively engage the consumer so that they start to already imagine using it, having it and being seen with it, without really thinking consciously about it. That's a lot to ask from a photograph, but if you don't ask it, you won't get it and if you don't get it you won't get the sales you deserve either.

For very affordable, high quality product photography contact The Packshot People, experts in advertising photography that sells.


http://EzineArticles.com/6506641

Thursday, September 8, 2011

12 Photo Posing Tips You Need To Know

Picture taking is inevitable. Almost everybody takes pictures about anyone or anything especially when there are important events in their lives.

Most people are conscious about how they look in the photograph. Some will immediately ask the photographer to let them have a look at the photograph after the shot. Sounds funny but it's true. You see, the old saying is always true, that pictures can paint a thousand words. So, we have to look nice in the pictures for people to say good about us.

It would really help if we know the basics of photo posing even though we are not really professional models or photographers.

So here is the list I have gathered to help you and me pose like professionals:

· Act natural. This is the most basic and most important thing to do. Just act natural and everything will be fine.

· Turn slightly to the side when standing. This will help you to look thinner and slimmer especially when you are alone in the photo.

· Cross your arms to draw attention away from stomach. No offense to those who have gifted stomachs out there but this can greatly help you. It will appear that your stomach is flat.

· Don't cross your legs when standing. It will appear like you want to go to the bathroom. This is not a beauty pageant.

· Turn your body slightly to the side when sitting. This will help you look thinner and slimmer in the photo.

· Pull head forward slightly. This can help the body to appear smaller than the head. I mean it. In photos, this can look great.

· Hold arms slightly away from body. This will help your body to appear bigger.

· Chest forward and stomach in. This can imply your personality in the picture. Imagine if your chest is not leaned forward and your stomach is out, it can mean that you are lousy.

· Look away from the camera. You can try this technique to make a "stolen" shot effect. This can help you to be less conscious.

· What is closest looks biggest. Just inculcate this principle in your heads. You know what body parts you are proud of so you can use this technique.

· In group picture, avoid standing at the end, the person always looks bigger. I do not really know but for some reason, the last person in either left or right in the photo appears much bigger than the rest. Try to look at your old photos and see the difference.

· Cross your legs when sitting. This is especially true if its portrait or when you are alone in the photo. It can help you look professional and confident.

Those are just some of the many photo posing tips out there. I'm pretty sure that with a little practice applying those techniques or tips, you can look like a professional model in your photos. Enjoy posing!

These photo posing tips were taken from a caliber trick photography eBook. If you want to learn more, just click here.


http://EzineArticles.com/6504797

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Tips for Getting Great Images Using A Compact

Compact digital cameras today come with advanced technology. So don't ever think that just because you only have a compact, you won't be able to achieve quality images similar to the DSLRs. In fact, some of the best photos you may have seen were captured using a simple compact camera.

On the internet today, you have a wealth of information available on photography tips. There are websites and blogs some with videos that provide tips and strategies on getting the best shots possible.

In using a compact, the manner of holding the camera is very important. Avoid holding it at arm's length as it is likely to cause the device to shake. To ensure stability, what you can do is bend your arms such that your elbows are braced against your body. It's also a good idea to hold the camera with two hands.

There are other ways you can avoid the common shake issue when using compact digital cameras. One effective method is to lean against a wall or a doorway when shooting. In situations when light is low and your shutter speed slows, you can place your camera on something steady to keep it stable.

Another tip is to use the self-timer so that you avoid shaking the camera when pressing the shutter. And for best results, you can invest in a durable and sturdy small tripod or monopod that you can fit in your camera bag. This way, you can have it handy when you want to take photos on certain occasions whether indoor or outdoor.

Putting your compact camera on automatic mode may not always give you the best results. There are compacts with manual controls allowing you to have more control on the quality of your images. If you don't go for the manual mode, though, there are scene modes available these days in compact cameras such as the focus mode, white balance, colour, sharpening and other settings. These scene modes normally adjust the parameters for the subject you're capturing to achieve the result you desire.

If you're after quality images, one good tip you need to remember is to use the biggest image size. Know that a small resolution may give you more shots but in terms of quality, it's not ideal particularly if you're planning to have your photos printed. What you should do then is bring extra memory cards whenever possible to allow you to capture more great images.

Using the flash is another great way to capture amazing photos. It's a misconception that the flash should only be used when light is low such as when shooting indoors. Keep in mind, however, that you can always use the flash even when shooting outdoors in bright light. This will help you avoid a silhouette in your images. But if you use the flash, it will balance the subject with the background.

Lastly, you can use the macro mode of your compact camera if you wish to get close-up photos. If you're capturing a flower, for instance, it will help you get close by one to two centimeters from your subject.

For information about camera accessories, visit 42photo.com, New York's legendary camera store in business for over 40 years.


http://EzineArticles.com/6510637

Saturday, September 3, 2011

What Makes a Great Photograph?

I'm sure this article will be controversial. I mean, after all, how do you objectively characterise what makes a good photograph? It's not like marking a mathematics paper, where there is always a right or wrong answer. Photography, much like any other art form, is very subjective. That said, I do believe that there are certain elements that all great photographs share in common. Here's my (subjective) attempt at defining them:

1. Great use of Light- I've placed this in position 1, because photography is essentially all about light. As has been said many a time, photography literally means 'painting with light', and to become a true master of this discipline requires that you can read and understand light in the same way that you read and understand language- Metaphorically, it is one of the linguistic building blocks of photography. When taking a picture, great photographers will consider the direction as well as the quality of light. Is the subject side lit, or back lit? Is the light source hard or soft? Will I set up the picture so that it is low-key or high key? Depending on the answers to these questions the overall emotional feel and aesthetic of the image will change radically, thereby changing its meaning. To give you an example, look at some classic pictures taken of jazz clubs in low light. Typically these are low key in nature and they create a very definite 'noir' aesthetic. Play around with light so that it supports the meaning you are trying to convey in the image.

2. Great Composition- As in great art, great photographs generally have a sense of compositional form and balance that is pleasing to the eye. As a starting point it's a great idea to understand the basic rules of composition, such as using the rules of thirds. Once you have learned them though, don't be afraid to play around with them and break the rules. It's a way of establishing your own unique style, and who wants to be limited by rules anyway?

3. A Sense of Timing- Take a look at the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the undisputed master of street photography, and you will notice that, as well as having complete mastery of composition, he was also a master of timing. He knew how and when to anticipate what he called 'The Decisive Moment'; that point in time when all of the elements of the image fall into place and when the emotional 'pitch' of the story is at its peak. Great timing is essential in photography. Practise being patient, and remember to try to anticipate the best moment at which to engage the shutter button.

4. A Clear Subject- Great photographs generally have a very clear idea of what the core subject of the photograph is. If you find that when you frame an image the subject is unclear then try taking out any unnecessary elements. Sometimes simplifying the image is the best way to improve it.

Try experimenting with these different elements to see what works for you. Don't forget you only get better with plenty of practise. Good luck!

Matt Foden Photography is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Croydon in London. You can see more of his work at:

http://www.mattfoden.co.uk/


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