The three main elements that make an eye-catching photo are subject, light, and composition. A photographer must combine the three and capture the right moment to evoke a viewer’s interest. To learn how to seize the moment and take appealing, professional photos, you can explore this article that provides essential tips and basic compositional principles for beginner creators. Read on!
Four professional photo tips for beginners
The following basic techniques help professional photographers maintain balance between elements in an image and create dynamic artwork.
1. Find a favorable angle
There are two angles to consider: the position of your subject and the viewer or photographer themselves. Changing either can modify how your shot feels, what meaning it carries, and what story it tells.
Professional photographers don’t always default to shooting at eye level; they also test their high and low angles. Once the shot is composed, they evaluate every object in a frame and check whether everything is exactly where they want it to be. A good practice is to take a sidestep or climb up a chair to get a higher vantage point. It’s important to test different angles and find a beneficial one to support the feeling and atmosphere you want to create.
Additionally, you can try to shoot in portrait mode that draws attention to foreground objects or use landscape format for a more natural feel. Take multiple shots in a variety of different ways.
2. Look at the world through your phone camera
A photographer’s biggest challenge is learning how to translate what you see into a still, flat, two-dimensional image. The human brain can easily filter out distracting background elements. However, when you flatten it down to a 2D image, background objects can become more prominent and divert the viewer’s attention from the main subject.
Looking at the world through a phone camera can help you see it framed. It’s one of the most practical tips for taking professional photos. Doing so, you can see how colors transform into a tone. Besides, you can tap different areas of the screen to view how the image would look if shadowed or exposed to highlights.
It’s vital to use different tools and practices to get impressive shots. Think of it as a learning exercise. The more you practice, the better you’ll naturally translate what you see into a 2D composition.
3. Use the rule of thirds in your composition
The rule of thirds is the method of placing your subjects off-center, yielding more natural-looking composition. To apply the rule of thirds, imagine a 3×3 grid that divides your camera frame into nine equal sections. Then, place the focal points along the intersections and lines.
However, it’s crucial to understand that simply placing the subject at one of the grid intersection points won’t guarantee a balanced composition. You should think about your shot as a whole.
You must create visual balance in tone, color, and contrast. For example, make sure that dark areas look heavier than light areas, and that saturated colors are more intense than pale hues. Extreme contrast in photography does a great job at drawing the eye. When composing a shot and lining things up mathematically, look for areas of contrast.
Composition examples
The way you compose an image can tell an entire story. For instance, a viewing angle changes the perception of your subject. Being up high and looking down can detach the viewer emotionally, where they become an observer and not part of the scene. But if you shoot from ground level, you or anyone viewing the photo becomes part of the scene.
A low shot, looking up at the subject, can project a sense of dominance and power onto your subject. Being close to someone’s face can make a picture feel more intimate and claustrophobic. Having a subject surrounded by a lot of space can make it seem more vulnerable and defined by the environment.
4. Use Aperture Priority Mode
Aperture is an opening that allows light to enter your camera’s lens. Adjusting it helps you control how much light passes through the lens into the camera; therefore, you can take a dimmed or highlighted image. Aperture Priority Mode (A or Av) is a perfect option for portraits, macro, or low-light photos. By setting it, you can easily blur the background and make your main object stand out. For this, choose an aperture of f/2.8 or lower.
How to make money taking professional photos
Often, people get into photography for the sake of artistic pursuit. However, even if it starts as a hobby, you can always turn it into a means of income. Uploading images to stock photography websites is one of the best and most popular ways to earn money by taking professional photos.
Depositphotos.com is one of the largest stock content platforms that works with 100,000 international creators. The website offers files under a Royalty-Free License, which means they can be purchased by numerous customers and used for personal, commercial, and editorial purposes. Special attention deserves bgremover online tool which makes background removal from any image in one click possible and let’s you replace it with the desired one.
To start profiting from your photography, visit the platform, submit your images, and pass the brief examination. After you’re accepted as a Depositphotos contributor, create a diverse portfolio, add keywords and descriptions to your files, and receive royalties by selling them to multiple users. The more content you sell, the bigger royalties you get.
Wrapping up
In photography, a little effort can make the difference between a mediocre shot and an absolute masterpiece. To express yourself through a photo and create an impressive artwork, apply the basic compositional techniques explained in this article and be ready to practice them.
Images from MMSCENE PORTRAITS: Elliott Reeder by Hudson Rennan – See the full story here
