Photography is a demanding profession. Therefore, some students may get stuck in their photography subjects. You’re certainly not one of them since the helping hand of professional tutors is waiting for you!
Boost Your Success by Choosing the “Right” Subject
For novice photographers, choosing a subject is a drag! Sometimes, they are the lucky and spur-of-the-moment inspiration. More often, however, they aren’t fortunate enough and spend endless hours looking for the subject they may like.
In fact, things will go much easier if you realize that: ”Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them” (Elliott Erwitt).
The whole vibrant world is waiting to be captured by your camera! So, don’t miss the moment!!!
Emphasize the Subject
Let’s assume that you’ve been the luckiest to find the exact subject; so, it’s high time to emphasize it!
Emphasizing the subject implies following these rules:
- Choose the placement: Placement is the way to draw attention to a particular element or attribute of your photo. For instance, centering the subject emphasizes symmetry.
- Consider the perspective: To put it simply, perspective is the way in which we perceive a particular subject. Perspective is created by the angle that you choose to shoot the object. So, you’re welcome to experiment with the HDR to get the WOW-effect!
- Fix the light: Similar to the angle, light plays a key role in our perception of a particular subject. A simple example is a flower that glows when backlit. The point is: you have to experiment with the light and shades a lot to get an impressive result!
- Tell a story: When they see a photo, people want to know the story behind it, since it’s in human nature to fill the gaps. We want to know the story of Dorothea Lange amidst the Great Depression. And we want to hear the tale of Lightnings Bolts, an unbeaten sprinter from Jamaica!
To tell a story, take a few steps back to show the setting. But if the setting isn’t that important, move your camera closer to the subject, so the audience sees the subtlest details.
- Find things that inspire: The best photo is merely a reflection of things that inspire you! So, every time you see something bewildering, exciting, or at least interesting, capture it!
Train Your Photography Skills
Just like the muscles demand constant exercising, your photography skills need ongoing training! Don’t take creativity for granted, and test your perception of this wonderful world all the time!
There’s a bunch of exercises that can improve your photography skills dramatically. You can try some of these ones:
Exercise 1: Find unique features in non-unique things
If you think that a brick wall or a wooden bench can’t excite your imagination, you should try this exercise. The task is to make two dozens of unique photos while standing at one spot.
At first glance, the task appears to be simple. But what about taking 24 unique pictures of the same object (a bank with coins, as an example)? Not moving your feet? It’s a challenge, I know!
Exercise 2: One location – nine objects
This exercise is opposite to the previous one since your task is to photo nine elements while visiting one location. BTW, you can move your feet:)
When you take photos of nine objects, make sure you show the following:
- Light
- Shadow
- Line
- Shape
- Form
- Texture
- Size
- Color
- Depth
It would be great if you could also show:
- Focus
- Tonality
- Quality of light
- Pattern
- Negative space
Exercise 3: A dozen abstracts
Again, the task may seem easy, as you’re to take twelve photos of some common object. But let’s add a touch of creativity, and (a) make abstract photos of this particular object, (b) use a macro lens/telephoto to fit the object’s size.
Exercise 4: Portable subjects
Photos with favorite subjects are very popular on the web. So, why not create a photo series of the kind?! Your aim is to choose some portable subject and to put it in the frame everywhere you go.
Your task as a photography student is to examine how your portable subject dictates framing and composition.
Consider the travelling gnome for inspiration!
Exercise 5: Mixing bowl
You’ve got a chance to carry out a really interesting exercise!!! So, your task is to fill a mixing bowl with pieces of scrap paper, each containing a word or a phrase. Then you draw a piece of paper and start shooting. If a touch of creativity is added, the result will surprise you immensely!
Exercise 6: Figaro here Figaro there
Leaving a comfort zone and trying something new is a great way to boost your photography skills! So, if you are a studio portrait photographer, you can try your hand at street photography. And being a sports photographer isn’t an obstacle to making amazing wildlife photos!
In photography, being a jack of all trades isn’t bad at all. On the contrary, experience in different fields of photography will help you feel comfortable in a much competitive industry!
Learn from Experts
While all these exercises are very effective, you can combine them with learning from people who have accumulated some experience in the field. Learning from professionals has a number of advantages:
- You get instant feedback from those who are proficient in the art of photography.
- You learn photography hacks to get impressing results.
- You meet new people, and some of them can be really helpful in your career.
- You don’t waste your time reinventing the wheel.
- You enjoy the atmosphere of creativity.
