10 Tips to Improve Your Photography
There are so many ways to get creative and improve your photography. In this blog, I’m going to give you 10 tips you can try right away to improve your photo taking abilities.
Follow good lighting. Start by finding how lighting looks and you can even take photos from all directions as test shots to learn which angle or perspective is best for the look you aim to achieve. Also, make adjustments to your positioning and setting as conditions change.
2. Incorporate Motion. Motion brings life to imagery. It makes you stop and think about an image. It starts to tell a story. Good imagery moves people and provides a hint of story — motion helps you to achieve that. Have a fast shutter if you want the movement to be crisp and a slow one for motion blur.
3. Provide feedback. As you take photos, show the model for feedback and adjustments. It’s sometimes easier to show than to explain for certain posture, angles, and lighting. This also makes the model more confident in your photography by making sure to create shots you are both happy with.
4. Set the Tone. Discuss your ideal imagery beforehand so that you have a concept for the shoot. Have the model think of something funny, serious, or whatever mood you are trying to portray. Running through scenarios also helps. For instance, think about a happy moment and have that moment in mind when looking straight through the camera. Eyes and facial tension or lack thereof can speak volumes for an image.
5. Eyes Open on 3, 2, 1. If you want eyes wide open have the model close eyes and open regularly as you countdown. This allows wide eyes especially when dealing with the model looking into the sun and to prevent blinks in your images.
6. Knees slightly bent and legs staggered. Having a slight side angle can complement most folks. What helps even more so is the slight bending of the knee. Locked knees often show up as awkward and bring any nervousness or tension to the forefront of the imagery. Prevent awkward photo ops by asking the model to stand staggered, shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent.
7. Bring jokes or puns. My jokes are just plain puns that are so bad that end up making folks laugh. Like that I had some cheesy jokes but then I remembered that I better not say them cause i’m vegan. Anyhow, find ways to make the experience enjoyable and stress-free. Roll out those shoulders, take a deep breath, and be at ease so that others can be too.
8. Get The Shot. When you think you got the shot, take a few more so that when you sit down to go through final images you can choose to include only the best of the best. When the perfect shot comes up, you wouldn’t want to go home, pull it up on the computer, and then see that an eye was a little bit out of focus. Take the time to refine and focus on the shots you are trying to get instead of rushing. Better to have too many good shots to then narrow than not enough.
9. Vary your work. Don’t just shoot the same type of shot all the time. That means you are comfortable with certain shots — great; but, this could be holding back your creativity. Instead of sticking with certain settings and poses, get a few safe shots and then change things up. The same thing = the same results. You’ve got to make changes to see growth.
10. Find your niche. Build a portfolio around the type of work you want to get hired for. That way clients can ask you to create imagery that you enjoy creating and have mastered. You start to get creative when you get excited; so, shoot things that make you want to pick up your camera. Don’t simply copy ideas; think for yourself and innovate. Have a big Pinterest board of inspiration and IG accounts that encourage you to take cool images and aspire to it; but, don’t forget to bring yourself to all that you do in photography. What distinguishes you is who you are and what you offer as well as your experience, refined eye, and type of imagery you excel at.
