Some people just have an eye for a good photo. Looking
at their Christmas and family vacation photos isn't a boring and tedious task.
The good news is that anyone can take a good picture by following some basic photography
rules--and your family and friends will be grateful that you can take a decent
photo the next time they have to sit through an epic slide show or flip through
albums of your latest holiday.
Rule of Thirds
Some basic math is involved
in taking a visually striking photo, but don't worry, if you can divide a
rectangle roughly into three with your eye, this will be easy. The Rule of
Thirds is a composition technique for creating an interesting focal point for
your photograph. A focal point might be the sun setting on a horizon or a person's
smiling face. Most people, by default, put their focal point in the dead center
of the photo, but if it's placed off-center--one-third or two-thirds from the
left or right, top or bottom--the result is much more visually engaging. If
you're having trouble, imagine a tic-tac-toe grid. The four points of
intersection on the grid are your four options for your focal point, based on
the Rule of Thirds.
Cropping
Many novice photographers
also make the common mistake of including too much information in a photo.
Don't be afraid to zoom in, crop and capture the details that you find
interesting, such as a historic building's crumbling archways, the laugh lines
on your grandmother's face or an intimate moment between newlyweds. The crop is
an executive decision that helps the viewer hone in on the main subject,
leaving out excess or irrelevant information that clutters or distracts the
viewer and lessens impact.
Leading Lines
Leading lines, such as a path
or a row of lamp posts, pull the viewer into your photo. They create movement
in a photo by drawing the viewer's eyes along a line toward your focal point.
Leading lines are most effective when they are diagonal and cut through the
Rule of Thirds points, and intersect with your focal point.
Fly on the Wall
Getting your subject to smile
and say, "cheese" on the count of three can produce amazing results,
especially for in-studio portraiture, but it can also kill the moment you
wanted to capture. If you're at an event or gathering, try being a fly on the
wall with your camera and take action shots of people interacting, reacting and
engaging in activity. There is a seductive and natural quality to a photo in
which the subject is caught unaware. Not using a flash and turning off the
sound of your shoot button will help you to remain in the background.
Experiment
Go ahead and break the rules.
You won't be wasting any film because you're learning new techniques--or you might have a digital camera--so just click away.
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