How to Improve Your Photography Quickly

One of the quickest ways to improve the look of your photography - especially if you're still shooting on Auto is to master composition. Looking at how you compose your photographs can help improve your photography very quickly.

Whatever camera you have, DSLR, Bridge camera, point and shoot - even your phone camera, always spend some time to think about what it is you are trying to capture in the photo you are about to take, what is your thought processes when it comes to framing your subject? Do you just lift your camera and take the photo without thinking? If so you can really easily improve the results you are achieving by getting into some good composition habits.

Format - Portrait or Landscape ?

Before you click the button and take your photo, think about what format you want your photograph in - which way round best suits the image you want to capture and which way round you are holding your camera, so is landscape, portrait or square going to suit the shot best ?

Look at the whole scene in  - if something is potentially going to be distracting within the image then leave it out, if there is a piece of rubbish on the floor where you are taking your photo, spend a moment to pick it up and remove it from your frame. so have a proper look in front of you, look at what you are planning on putting in the photo, what do you want to include & what you want to leave out. 

If you are unsure and have the time, you can always shoot more than one format and choose your preferred image later. If you do have time, do this anyway as when you get home you can look at how the scene looks in the different formats and see the images next to each other to see what works best.

Viewpoint

Viewpoint is the strongest way to control the composition. I tell my students this all of the time, moving left, right, up or down will change the effect of background objects on your main subject. If you do not feel you are getting the shot you are really looking for, try just moving a couple of feet left or right or if you're close to your subject look at it from below or above. Moving forward and backwards changes perspective. A small change in viewpoint can make a good photo become a great one.

Horizons

Always make sure your horizons are straight, there is nothing worse than a wonky horizon, they can of course be fixed with cropping the image afterwards, but if you get it right when you take the photo, you wont need to crop it afterwards.

Use these tips as starting points and practice your composition, if you are going on holiday to somewhere you have been before, then take photos there again, and see if you can improve on what you previously achieved, try new angles and look for different view points, don't stick to wide landscapes, try looking for close up details of a place that will also give the viewer of the image more of a feel for where you visited.

If you are stuck for ideas, I have my book available for just £10, it has 12 months of ideas for you to try and is full of hints and tips on how to get more form your camera and it is pocket sized so easy to take anywhere with you.

If you would like a book, you can email me for one, if you would like some one to one training, drop me an email and we can work out where you are with your photography and what we can do to progress you as quickly and easily as possible.

Photography should be fun for you, email me: [email protected]