Marg’s Tip for February

Have you ever found yourself wondering how do the professionals (Pros) consistently turn out amazing photographs day after day, year after year and what are their secrets.

Experimenting is one of the best ways to shake yourself up out of the doldrums and even pros use it to get their creative juices flowing.  Try something totally out of your comfort zone,  If you are already a master of the golden hours, try shooting a nightscape or even a long exposure in the middle of the day.  Experimenting keeps you on the learning path and when you learn, you grow as a photographer.

Many places on your photography list have already been captured hundreds of times.  What else can you do?  Is there another foreground element you can add or take away?  One of the things that make pros work stand out from the rest, is their perspective and ability to make a place seem like you are seeing it for the first time.  Can you get a different angle, add or detract an element or shoot it differently. (eg. with light trails or multiple exposures?)

Being able to evoke the emotions of your audience should always be a goal.  Keep in mind that the purpose of your photographic story is to interest, instruct or amuse your audience.  Decide how you want the image to affect them, and then how to achieve that goal.  Is it going to be realistic or abstract, black or white or infrared?

In landscape photograph, being more selective with the views you present, tells a more effective story, so pros understand the power of good composition.  One of the rules of good composition is that your image should contain just enough details.  You do not have the luxury of physically moving things around, so you must arrange the elements of an image by changing your position. You can then find the most flattering views and one that tells a different story.

Choosing the important elements to highlight, helps you to decide what to include and what to leave out.  Make your subject dominate by accentuating it with one or few related elements, remembering to declutter as much as you can.  As a general rule, if the element  doesn’t  enhance the subject, it may be detracting from it.

Ideally you want to get the shot right in camera.  Pros know the importance of post-processing. That is the main reason they shoot in RAW, to capture all the uncompressed image data, which leads to higher quality images in the end.  Digital photography has made it easier to post-process, but it also makes it easier to go overboard easily.  So determine your vision for the final image, and learn to execute it properly, so you produce an image that represents you.

Staying consistent means staying creative or constantly challenging yourself to try something different or learn something new.  There is nothing more amazing than producing a piece that someone can identify as yours, even before they confirm you did.