- I don't believe
that learning rules is the best way to learn photography.
That said,
there are some guidelines that are almost always true.
Keeping your images simple
and eliminating anything unnecessary is almost always true.
Ensuring good focus in the eyes
of a portrait is almost always true, but for the most part,
the better way to learn photography
is to develop an understanding
of what makes a good photo work.
That said, if you're still new to photography,
there are some simple things you can remember
that will usually lead to stronger images.
These ideas are not a substitute
for deeper photographic knowledge, but if say your manager
at work has asked you to shoot a photo for a report
or you've become the defacto photographer
for some volunteer organization,
these tips should help you produce stronger work.
Number one, crop tighter.
As I already mentioned,
less is almost always more in a photo,
and forcing yourself to think
about cropping tighter will almost always lead
to images with less extraneous clutter.
In a portrait,
cropping tighter will create a more personal image
and one that might have kind of a little more attitude
about it.
For sure, a tighter portrait will look far less
like a typical headshot.
Number two, shoot portraits in shade, not direct sunlight.
Bright light casts dark shadows, and on a face,
dark shadows can result in heavy bags under people's eyes,
more obvious wrinkles and hard shadows under chins
and next to noses.
The simple act of stepping from bright light
into a shady area will almost always immediately
improve the quality of your portrait shots.
Be aware though that the auto white balance mechanisms
on most cameras won't do a great job with shade,
so change the white balance setting
on your camera from auto to shade or cloudy.
When you do, be certain to switch it
back to auto when you're done
or the next thing you shoot outside
of shade will look lousy.
Number three, find a window.
When you're shooting portraits,
a window can be a huge game changer.
A window on the north side of a building
on a sunny day will produce a lovely, soft, even light.
Set your subject next to that window
and you'll have a wonderful portrait light.
Try shooting profiles and 3/4 angles
to see what all you can do with that light.
If you've got a window that's getting direct sunlight,
play with putting your subject in front of it
and trying some silhouettes.
When you want something different,
a silhouette is an easy way to create
a striking graphic images.
There's a lot you can do with windows,
so pay attention to them.
Number four, effectively use a wide angle lens.
Wide angle lenses can produce extreme perspective
with strong diagonal lines.
These images can be very eye grabbing
as long as you're careful.
With a wider field of view,
you'll be more likely to get extra unwanted content,
so pay attention to the whole frame
and make certain there's nothing in it that you don't want.
Also, wide angle lenses distort people's features.
So for portraits, be careful
that you're not making your subject look too weird.
As you move the camera around,
you'll find your subject's proportions changing.
So experiment with that until you find something flattering.
And finally,
if your first wide angle attempts go really well,
then you're going to be tempted to shoot
with that look more often.
Don't overdo it, and this is true
for any type of lens or effect.
A good body of work is one that has variety.
Number five, change your point of view.
Most of us shoot most of our images while we're standing up.
This means that most images in the world are shot
from a vantage point that's four to six feet off the ground.
Whether it's a portrait, a landscape,
a product shot, an event shoot, or any other kind of photo,
don't forget to experiment with other points of view.
Get up high, get down low, look behind you.
A good photographer moves constantly and shoots
a lot of different images of any particular subject.
Often the best photo comes
from the place that you least expect it to be,
so it's critical to experiment and move.
Now I called this list Five Ways to Look Like a Genius,
and I chose that title mostly because it's eye-catching.
The fact is, as with any medium,
true geniuses in photography are few and far between.
So this list isn't actually going to make you a genius,
but remembering these things should help you get some images
that stand out from the pack
and that take you from the realm
of casual shooter and deeper into the realm of photographer.
(upbeat music)