Photography 101
If you know anything about me you know I usually have a camera in hand. This was not always the case I used to have sketchbooks, pencils, pens, and charcoal in my backpack. Ever since I could remember I liked to capture what I saw. I copied/drew comics from the paper or magazine photos or even things that stood still long enough to capture. Sometimes I would take a snapshot in my head and drew it later. Whenever I did that I would always try to put my own little spin on the subject. I was not what I would call a realist more of an impressionist.
It was in the 1990's that I got into photography mainly by accident. I used the school's Sony Mavica, which stored its files on a floppy disk. I thought it was cool and then I picked up my own digital camera since that time I have had a multitude of cameras up to my latest camera a Canon 5D Mark iii. Throughout that time I have honed my skills with practice and self learning with the help of articles and YouTube videos. I did take a class about ten years ago and learned probably the one or two most important steps in taking good photos.
Photography is in its simplest form an art-form, it uses light to capture an image on what used to be film and now a sensor that then digitalizes the image into a computer file. Instead of a darkroom and chemicals to produce the image a photographer takes the computer image and edits it to the final image that can be printed or used for your computer and/or social media. But I digress from my first question. What makes a good photo great?
What you should know before I start this is that what I say is only an opinion. What makes a good photo? It is hard to say, a good photo to me has an interesting subject whether it is a landscape, seascape, or portrait. Another aspect of a good photo is that it should have good contrast/depth.
A good photo is created by the photographer NOT the camera. I have seen good images that were produced with all different types of cameras including smart phones and tablets. What did all of these images have in common? They had a good photographer. As a photographer grows in their talent they tend to gravitate to better gear because of what it offers. However, if you think the camera makes the photographer then you are mistaken.
One other thing I must say to keep in mind with a landscape or seascape is the sky. Clouds help. They add interest in a photo, try to imagine the above photo without the clouds.
It was in the 1990's that I got into photography mainly by accident. I used the school's Sony Mavica, which stored its files on a floppy disk. I thought it was cool and then I picked up my own digital camera since that time I have had a multitude of cameras up to my latest camera a Canon 5D Mark iii. Throughout that time I have honed my skills with practice and self learning with the help of articles and YouTube videos. I did take a class about ten years ago and learned probably the one or two most important steps in taking good photos.
Photography is in its simplest form an art-form, it uses light to capture an image on what used to be film and now a sensor that then digitalizes the image into a computer file. Instead of a darkroom and chemicals to produce the image a photographer takes the computer image and edits it to the final image that can be printed or used for your computer and/or social media. But I digress from my first question. What makes a good photo great?
What you should know before I start this is that what I say is only an opinion. What makes a good photo? It is hard to say, a good photo to me has an interesting subject whether it is a landscape, seascape, or portrait. Another aspect of a good photo is that it should have good contrast/depth.
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| Good Photo (interesting subject/ good depth) |
There are some things you can do to help with your photos. Whenever you are taking a portrait focus on the eyes (closest one to you) also separate the subject from the background and because we are on the subject let us talk about backgrounds. Backgrounds should NEVER take away from the main subject. Avoid cluttered backgrounds (as I look at the photo above I notice that the background is cluttered). Sometimes you cannot void the cluttered background. The photo above was a quick non-posed capture and I had no time to move them or myself to avoid the blue cooler and other things. But if you have the opportunity to "set up" a shot keep the background in mind. As you try and remember the background for a portrait "remember the foreground" in a landscape. I cannot begin to count the number of times where I saw a landscape whether I took it or someone else that was good but not great and the one thing missing was a foreground object whether it would have been a tree (fallen or not), a boat or car, or whatever to give the landscape interest.
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| The foreground has a fence and adds depth to this landscape of EPCOT |
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| The photo would have been more interesting with a bit of cloud cover, try to imagine how bland it would have been without the posts in the foreground.. |
What nobody tells you when you start out is that there are rules to follow in photography. However, rules are made to be broken and some rules contradict other rules. All I am saying is in photography RULES CAN BE BROKEN. Remember when I said it is all an opinion well so it is with photography rules. If you are shooting for your own enjoyment then shoot whatever you want however you want.
I didn't go into much "technical" talk about photography like aperture, focal length, bokeh, etc. Because I believe the best thing to know about photography is what I said before that it is an art form. You should have a basic understanding of composition, line, color (even if you shoot black and white) and contrast. Your knowledge of the basic concepts of composition are the start of making good snapshots into great photographs.
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