Photography is an art form, and as such much of it is subjective, but even so, there are some common things that professionals get right in most of their work that can really set it apart from the sea of amateur snapshots. Many of them are simple things that anyone can do if you just knew what they were.
The team over at Mango Street Lab on YouTube just released another great video tutorial, and this time the topic was 10 ways to instantly take your photography from basic to boss. The tips are quick and painless, and as group notes, they can go a long way toward helping you set your shots apart from the rest.
The Tips Are:
- Mind your horizons
- Nail your focus
- Don’t cut limbs at the joint
- Intentional composition
- Don’t over/under edit your images
- Avoid Tungsten lighting
- Use/Understand light correctly
- Shoot with a purpose
- Keep subjects natural
- Don’t carbon copy other photographers
Some of these tips are fairly basic and obvious, but that is really the point here. The difference between a professional and an amateur is not (in most cases) huge, but rather that the professional took time to get all the little things right whereas the amateur just winged it.
The saying, “It’s the little things” applies here. They may not seem like much on their own, but when you add them all together, the end result will be an image that resonates more with viewers. This is, in part anyway, thanks to the image containing fewer distractions because you took the time to get all the little details right.
In the end, all of these are just the opinions of other photographers, you are the one who knows your own artistic vision. If you are accomplishing what you want while overlooking a few of these factors, no big deal. Next time you find yourself wondering how you could improve upon your work, though, you may want to take a look at this list and see what you may be overlooking during your shooting process.
