Do you love photography and aspire to click pictures that get a ‘wow’ from its viewers? Today on World Photography Day, Mediavataar brings you photography tips that will take your photography to the next level.
Sharing these tips with us is none other than the master himself – Paul Foster, Senior Director, Creative Content at Getty Images, the world’s leader in visual communication. Getty Images has over 170 million assets available through their sites www.gettyimages.com and www.istock.com. Their army of award-winning photographers and content creators create visuals that appear every day in the world’s most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and online media in over 100 countries.
Top tips on how to take your photography to the next level
By Paul Foster, Senior Director, Creative Content at Getty Images
1.Think hard about what your images are communicating; powerful photography always communicates a message, tells a story or evokes a strong emotion
2.Curate lots of imagery and create lots of imagery; author Stephen King says to be a great writer you need to be a voracious reader as well as to be writing constantly. Collect imagery that you love – from the classics to Instagram – ask yourself why they work and shoot and experiment constantly to build your mastery of visual language
3.When shooting people experiment by getting up close and personal with a wider lens – shoot no more than an arm’s length away to allow the viewer a greater sense of intimacy with your subject
4.Take a simple course in lighting (or find one on-line) – understanding how light behaves and how you can control it will take your photography to the next level
5.Challenge your perspective and point of view – shoot around your subject, not just from head height and middle distance; get up close, get down on the ground, get up high
6.Consider what emotion you want to convey. Try to evoke a feeling, appeal to a sense, immerse the viewer
7.Less is more No.1: Some of the most powerful imagery works because of what is left out of the frame rather than included in it. Build your awareness of composition and how effective clean and simple design can be in your framing
8.Less is more No.2: Don’t fall in love with the equipment rather than the subject; multiple lenses, tripods, flash heads and after-effect software can be beguiling but can distract
9.History can be inspiring – discover the early pioneers of photography and see how that can inform your work
10.Be your own harshest critic when judging your originality – have we seen that approach before? Is it an obvious treatment? Change it up