You see all the photos from famous or less famous photographers on social media that make us all go, ” Wow! I wish I could take photos like that!” well, if you stick long enough with photography, eventually, you will be able to close the gap. But there is another thing: you need to be able to read a photograph. The more you train your brain to understand photography just by looking at it, the more you will be able to implement newer techniques in your processes. In this article, I will explain some of the techniques frequently used by photographers to create better photos.
Camera Angle:
You do not see many photos shot from eye level these days. Most are either taken from a low angle or a high angle. This little consciousness about the camera angle is so simple yet so important to take your photography to the next level. With the rise of drone photography, high-angle shots are becoming the new normal. The high angle is not exactly a bird’s eye view. That is why they do not seem as foreign to our eyes as bird’s eye photos. The high angle is mostly used for landscape photography to cover larger areas. The low angle brings the ground surface more into the frame. Both of this angle creates a sense of adventure & discovery in the viewer’s eyes.
Composite Photo:
Have you seen that most popular photography accounts have a common mountain shot in their accounts? I am talking about the photo where you see some beautiful flowers in the foreground, smiling above the grass. Then you look a bit further and see some mountain top with exquisite detail, with sunrays or clouds hanging over their heads. Maybe you have wondered how they took this shot! Or what camera or gears they used! I am here to tell you that this is not a single photo. Whenever you see a photo that has focus on the foreground as well as the background, you should know that these are composite photos. Having multiple focus points in a landscape is scientifically impossible. I am not going to go into the science here, so do not worry. To take photos like that you need at least 2 photos. One is to capture the foreground by focusing on the flowers or whatever you want to focus on. Another one is to capture the subject in the distance. Then you bring them together in Photoshop, and voila! You have the magical shot!
Timing:
Timing is everything in life, isn’t it? Same for photography as well. Every time you wonder how someone captured that exact moment with the clouds or sun rays on the exact spot or the flowers in the foreground, you need to understand these are no fortunate photographs. At least most of the time, not. Photographers scout their location thoroughly. They study the weather patterns and seasonal advantages. Trust me, it sounds like tedious work, but that is what makes those photographers better than you and me. They go the distance to please our eyes. So, even if you do not have time to do a lot of groundwork before traveling to a place, you need to at least consider the weather. I have written about this in another article. When you have the weather in mind, you instantly become a better photographer, trust me!
If you can train your eyes and mind to see these 3 things in a photo, then you will be able to use them as well. Always try to explain a photo to yourself first. The more you practice this, the more you will become a better photographer.
