How to Make Your Photos Look More Professional With These Tips
I have long awaited the day that the pictures I take somewhat resemble that of great photographers. It took me some time to realize this, but photography, like all art is pretty subjective, there is not just one right way. I’ve been casually taking pictures with my Canon 7D camera for the last few years, sometimes for events, proms, outdoor, professional-ish headshots (the best I could work out at the time) but mostly for personal uses. I have met and learned a great deal over time from people near and dear to me, who are much better photographers than me. Since I have I have always considered myself a beginner to intermediate photographer I have always found myself asking others more knowledgeable than me their tips, tricks, and photo-taking advice. I want to compile and share here a few morsels of advice that I have been given to me from friends, family, and professors over the last few years.
Tip #1
Some of the best advice I was ever given, that wasn't actually advice at all, was from a professor who told me that you don't have to consider yourself “professional” to call yourself a photographer, and that great photos can come from any camera. In fact smartphone cameras now have pretty exceptional capabilities, beyond those of what point and shoot cameras had not long ago. I know. This isn’t necessarily revolutionary. But it is true. He was trying to instill confidence in us, so we could have total creative freedom. He told us to take picture with whatever device and with whatever settings we wanted. I had always struggled with being way too hard on myself or was under the impression that I had to spend thousands of dollars on equipment to take a good photo. I couldn't have been more wrong with this type of thinking. Now you can spend money on a camera, lenses, and equipment, in fact if its your hobby, passion, or profession I say go for it, but it just isn't make or break.
Tip #2
Now on to the more technical advice. I was told this by a number of photographers, but I remembered it best the way my dad explained it to me. He’s been taking photos for about 20 years, never professionally, but its always been a passion. He told me to pay attention to the body of the subject, meaning that limbs should never be awkwardly cut out of the image. For example if our subject is touching their hair in a shot and the image is captured with half of the arm and elbow sitting out of frame, the photo doesn’t look as full. With lines exiting the frame, there is less symmetry and draws the eye to parts of the image that the photographer isn't trying to draw attention to. The photo shown to the left is one that I took, and one that I really enjoy because I think its just a fun photo with the stark contrast between black and white. I also like how it feels like it captures some movement. However what would've even made the photo feel more complete is if the main subject’s hand would've been more included in the photo. Her hand almost feels cut off and looking at the image now I feel that something is almost missing.
Tip #3
Another tidbit that took me a little while to learn was how symmetry and finding your horizon line can really improve the look of the photo. My good friend is a more professional photographer, he’s turning what was once a hobby into his career, and is always willing to share his skills. After looking at much of his work I noticed that he pays close attention to the lines that occur naturally everywhere. The photo below was taken by him. You can see that by lining everything up, he adds a totally different feel to the photo, if it were tilted a little more left or right the water would have a different horizon than the veranda and the green electrical box. But this way, there was obvious thought, attention to detail, precision and focus, and it shows.
Christian Mercado is a student in the Digital Media program at Utah Valley University, Orem Utah, studying Interaction Design. This article relates to the “Pick a Pro and Compositing” projects in the DGM 2320 course and is representative of the skills learned.
