Best USA Photography Tips
or What makes a great photograph ?
by Randall Tomaras - Best USA Photographer Executive
Director
It took me
twenty years to develop a style of photography that people recognize
and compliment me on. When I finally reached that level, I found I received
far more insults than I did compliments. Nine times out of ten the first
question is “What kind of camera do you have?” The second one is “Who
does your printing?” These are the greatest insults you can throw at
a photographer. It is NOT the camera, nor is it the printer. It is the
photographer who makes all the decisions about the photograph. And there
are a lot of decisions to make. This article will give you over 40 tips
on what makes a great photograph. It is my hope that you will better
understand and appreciate photography.
Does it make that much difference on the photographer
you hire? Only if there is a purpose for taking the photograph. If I
was betting on a swimming race I’d place my money on Michael Phelps.
If I was picking a web designer, I’d choose one that would get me on
the top page of Google. ( I know who that is.) So why would you pick
a photographer who isn’t consistently creating great photographs. Perhaps
because you have never been taught what elements make a great photograph
even though you know when you like a picture.
Every photographer has their own matrix of what a great
photograph is. If you gave 40 great photographers the same assignment
you would come up with 40 different images. And if you asked 100 consumers
which one was the best, there'd be at least 10 number one picks, and
maybe as high as 30. The point here is that the term “great” is subjective
to each individual's taste. It is important for the client and photographer
to know who the audience is. That said, in my matrix there are three
qualities to every great photograph: Light; Composition; and Camera Handling.
Within those three qualities there are subcategories I call guidelines.
To me, photography is a lot like knife fighting - there are no rules.
There are books written on each of the three qualities
and maybe one day, when I create the 36-hour day, I will write my own
books, but for now you’ll have to settle for Randall’s Notes (similar
to Cliff’s Notes, but shorter).
Light - Seeing the light
Without light there are no photographs. My favorite
exercise for photographers is to take a group in a totally dark room
and have someone light a match. Everybody's eyes will go to that light.
The brightest spot wins. So when you're looking at light, make sure
your subject or point of interest receives the greatest intensity of
light. If you have trouble distinguishing intensity, squint your eyes
to eliminate light and then look for the hot spots. This is the very
first thing I do. Of course I wait until the camera is up to my eye
so people don’t think I have a vision problem. (Not the best impression
for a photographer to leave) It also gives you an idea of what will
happen if you under expose your film or a disk. Now that we know this,
let me mention some of the characteristics of light.
Light has brightness. If the Sun does not provide enough
light on our subject we must add it, either with a light or a reflector.
Light also has color. Sunlight has a different color than an incandescent
light bulb and the incandescent light bulb has a different color than
a fluorescent light bulb. White light is an equal portion of red, green
and blue. Please note the primary colors of light are different than
the primary colors of art, which are red, yellow, and blue. Light also
has a contrast. That is, the difference between lightest light and the
darkest dark. This also helps give form and shape.
In addition to the characteristics of light, light also has a size,
a distance from the subject, and a direction. The source of the light
can be direct, diffused, or reflected. To complicate matters further,
different subjects reflect, diffuse, or absorb light. All these factors
affect the appearance of the subject. It takes a considerable amount
of experience to understand how to mix these qualities and factors.
The easiest way to learn light and how it works is to turn off your light
meter. I was fortunate in that my first camera did not have a light
meter and I had to learn to judge light to get my exposure correct.
Learning seems to happen in levels. I thought I had lighting
down and I did when it came to exposure, but when I opened up a portrait
studio it was a brand new ball game. There you have to create the light
you want, not just manipulate what is available. Surprisingly enough,
learning how to create light made me an even better outdoor photographer.
(See Pro Photographer learns a lesson)
Composition - Arranging the pieces
Composition is like the décor of the photo. There
are so many pieces to the photo puzzle and each one of us has the right
to create a masterpiece or NOT. I have around 20 guidelines that float
around in my head based on what fellow photographers have told me over
the past 30 years. Of course many of these guidelines date back to great
artists. There are no rights or wrongs, it’s all about what works under
the conditions. The guidelines are in no particular order and are not
a complete list.
Eyes focus on light - I mentioned above how your eyes
turn toward a match lit in a dark room. You want to eliminate any hotspots
that will take away from your subject matter. You want the viewer to
focus on the subject and not the hotspots, unless the hotspots are the
subject.
Rule of thirds - Like
I said before there are no rules in art. But some famous artist called
this the “Rules of Thirds” so it stuck. I like to think of it as; “When
in doubt where do I place my subject.” Take your format, and divide
it in thirds with imaginary lines both horizontally and vertically.
Any place where those lines intersect is a good spot for your subject.
More important is the reasoning behind this rule. A good photograph
creates an action or movement. When the subject is smack dab in the
middle, our eyes do not subconsciously create movement. Asymmetrical
balance creates movement. symmetrical does not. Remember, these are
just general guidelines and there are always exceptions to the guidelines.
Choosing your format - 95%
of all photographs taken in the world are horizontal format. That is
because your typical camera is set for a horizontal format in the viewfinder.
However by simply turning the camera on the side you can have a vertical
format. (I know, I shouldn't have to say that, but I used to teach photography.
You'd be surprised at how many students told me that their camera didn't
take vertical pictures.) 99.9% of all magazine covers are a vertical
format. Are you starting to see one of the reasons to shoot vertical
every once in awhile? Conversely, computer screens are horizontal. However,
the format should be chosen for its psychological purpose. Studies show
that the vertical format gives strength and dignity, whereas the horizontal
format portrays peace and tranquility. Most portraits are designed to
give strength and dignity as many landscapes are horizontal for peace
and tranquility. In fact, many computer software companies don't call
the formats vertical and horizontal but portrait and landscape.
Keep an eye on the horizon – There
is nothing worse than having a great sunset shot with the horizon
tipped so it looks like your subject is falling off the page. This is
not the problem that it used to be because you can always straighten
it out in Photoshop. Who wants to spend their time in Photoshop
correcting mistakes that can easily be solved in the camera? Many cameras
have a viewing screen that gives vertical and horizontal lines to help
you keep subjects in proper alignment. Higher end digital cameras offer
this in the menu of tools.
Keep the background simple - So
many times people don't even look at the background. That is one of
my primary considerations in composition. When I was very young the
master of industrial photography, Arthur D'Arazien, said to me; “Take
each photograph as if it were the cover of a magazine and you have to
place copy on the cover. Do that and you will always be able to sell
your photographs.”
Frame your shot - Many times it's that little something
in the foreground that enhances the picture. This can be overdone, so
be careful. I tend to look for objects that will help tell the story
or give it more meaning.
Leave room to move - You don't want your sailing ship
falling off the edge of the page. You want to have room for motion.
Sometimes that motion can be shown by showing where it's been. For example
a hydroplane with a big rooster tail behind it.
Search out camera angles - I
don't always get this luxury, but I try to arrive early at an event or
location to scout out various camera angles. Most of us walk down the
road of life somewhere between 5 and 6 feet and 95% of our photographs
are taken from that perspective. I make a conscious effort to change
my perspective at least 20% of the time. Remember, there's more than
one way to skin a photograph.
Look for the unusual - The
unusual can come in many forms. It could be color, behavior, deformities,
patterns, light, or close up, just to name a few. That means having
your camera ready at a moment's notice or sometimes at asecond’s notice.
Given the time of day - A
great creative exercise is to photograph the same subject at different
hours in the day. Now try it four times a year. Light changes and the
sooner you understand light, the better you'll be able to position yourself
for that great photograph. I am currently working on a book of old barns.
I can look out the window of my house at the cloud formations and weather
conditions, and I can tell you which of the 50 barns would be the best
to photograph at that particular time. You can only do this if you have
the experience to pull from. Try this exercise, you'll be happy you
did.
Photograph odd numbers - For some reason all the psychological
studies show that we like odd numbers when it comes to repeating subjects.
For example one, three, and five ducks are okay to photograph but two,
four and six are not as pleasing. Of course there are exceptions and
one of those is “couples in love.” Oh, isn't that darling.
Letters that spell success - Look for the formation
of pleasing letters. The ones I like to look for are: S, U, C, V, H,
O, X, and Z. when you look at the strong lines in composing, you will
find these pleasing letters. Sometimes they may be at a different angle
or inverted.
Look again – I often take the picture as quickly as
I can because it's there. This is good because I have something, but
most of the time it gets better because I have more time to process the
guidelines floating around in my head. So instead of taking one-shot
and putting the camera down, I look and see how I can improve. I’m bound
to find something.
The power of repetition - You can say that again -
The power of repetition. I didn't say that for a joke. Okay, well maybe
I did, but the truth remains that we learn a lot more by repetition.
If you read this article twice you'll learn more than if you just read
it once. The same is true for a photograph. You'll have a more lasting
impression when you see repetition.
Dynamic color - We are
attracted to bright and vibrant colors. I am always accused of manipulating
color in Photoshop. That's interesting because I was getting dynamic
color before Photoshop was around. There are a number of ways to get
dynamic color. Let's consider some of them: type of film, intensity of
light, distance of light, exposure of the film or a disk, contrast of
the paper, and filters on the camera, just to name a few. For starters,
just try a polarizer.
Know your subject - It
is extremely helpful if you can predict the movements of your subject
matter. When I was National Public Relations Director for the Wrestling
Division of the Amateur Athletic Union, I was always asked by the Sports
Illustrated and ABC photographers how I got such great shots. My answer
to them was that after wrestling for 15 years I knew the logical progression
of most wrestling moves and their counters. I also knew the styles of
each wrestler on the American teams. From that I learned to study the
techniques of other sports. In nature your subject is light. Study
how light affects color. Every subject has something you can study.
Work for position - This
is not always easy, but it helps. For events I don't like to stay in
one spot, I like to move with the action. When you stay in one spot you
have the same background and the viewer will get tired of too many shots
with the same background. On events that are going to be crowded I will
sometimes bring my one or two-step stool, which allows me to be
7 to 8 feet tall. It also creates a camera angle to eliminate some
hot spots in the background.
Arrive early – When I'm
photographing events I always like to arrive early. Some of my better
close-up shots are people getting ready. They're in a little more natural
state and you can get some great candids.
Ask questions - If you're photographing people or you
are around people that own something you're photographing, ask questions.
It's always better to ask questions before an event than after. By asking
questions you can discover personalities, features, and benefits. Find
out how they got to where they are today. When you ask questions early
always say you may have more questions later. In doing so you are now
accepted and recognized by this person. This gives you a leg up when
the event is over and there are many that want to talk to the new celebrity.
Camera Handling
Camera handling can be broken down into two categories; controls in your
camera; and what you do with your camera. You’ll notice I did not say
what kind of camera you own.
Controls on your camera
Exposing your film or disk Or what I like to call “The
Three Bears of Photography.” And just like the original Three Bears story
you have to find the combination that is “Just Right.” I know, my students
used to tell me I sounded like Mr. Rogers. If you don’t understand exposing
your film backwards and forwards, you’ll never be a great photographer.
Hence, I have developed a separate article on exposure, but let’s talk
a little bit about the Three Bears. If you do not expose your film right
you have nothing or next to it. (Even though I have switched to digital,
I still call it exposing the film.)
The names of the Three Bears are: ISO (Formally named ASA, kind of
like Prince), “F-stops, and Shutter Speeds. Together they control the
light hitting your film (or disk) to look just like the image you are
seeing. If you get too much light your print will look dark, if not enough
it will be too light. Not all cameras have variable controls. Some are
just fixed and either you can get the correct exposure or you don’t.
If you don’t they will tell you to use a flash that alters the light
in the picture (Boooooo). So you want a camera that you control and
not one that controls you. Whether you are shooting at midnight or high
noon there is a certain amount of light. The goal is to match that amount
of light.
ISO refers to how sensitive your film
or disk is to light. With digital you can change that anytime before
you expose your disk. With film it is a fixed characteristic to the type
of film you buy. Film normally ranges from 32 to 3200. 32 is not very
sensitive to light. This is like your stone-cold killer. 3200 is very
sensitive or what I call high maintenance. For you college dudes it’s
waking up to bright sunshine and loud music after drinking till 3 in
the morning. To give you an idea of the sensitivity, 200 is twice as
sensitive as 100. That means you need half as much light to get the correct
exposure on 200 as you do on 100.
F-STOPS refers to how big the hole in your lens is that lets light through
to the film or disk. All cameras let some light through. You want a camera
that has “hole” controls. These are called f-stops. They are numbers
like 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, and 32. A lens usually has seven
f-stops. 2 lets in MORE light than 2.8 by twice as much. Each time the
number gets higher it lets in half the light. So at lower light levels
you may be at 4 or lower. So why do higher numbers mean less light? In
real simple terms, it's a mathematical formula. F-22 which is a small
opening means that 22 of those diameters could fit in the length of the
lens. F2 means only two of those diameters would fit in the barrel of
the lens if placed end to end. So now you should not be confused which
f-stop lets in more light.
SHUTTER SPEEDS refers to how long the lens opens up, to let light in.
Shutter speeds are a measurement of time. Most shutter speeds that you
use will be 1/60th of a second or faster. While modern cameras let you
choose any measurement of time, there used to be standard shutter speeds
that corresponded with the standard f-stops. The standard shutter speeds
are: 1/2000, 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, and
all the way down to BULB, where as long as your finger was on the shutter
button the film was receiving light.
Why do I call these “The Three Bears?” Because it's a bear to figure
out the combination that will expose your film properly AND allow you
to use certain creative controls, which we will touch on next. It's important
to memorize your standard f-stops and shutter speeds because they are
directly proportional to each other as is the ISO. If I said take three
digits and make them add up to 10, what three would you use? Maybe a
better analogy would be defusing a bomb. Which wire do you cut, the
red, the green, or the black? If you cut everything in the right order
you have a great photograph. If you don't you have a bomb. Below you
will see why it's important to get the right three numbers.
Controlling motion – The
photographer has the ability to make a moving subject look like
it's standing still, or blur that movement and keep the stationary objects
in sharp focus. This gives us tremendous creative control in expressing
feelings and emotion. The motion is controlled by the shutter speeds.
If your shutter speeds are set at 1/60th of a second and the subject
is moving at 1/250th of a second, you are going to have blurred motion.
If your shutter speed is set at 1/250th of a second and your subject
is moving at 1/60th of the second, you will have sharply frozen your
subject in time. Most of the time, you are not going to photograph a
track race at 1/60th of a second.
Controlling depth of field – the photographer also
has the ability to selectively focus on the subject and blur the foreground
and background. Conversely the photographer can make the decision to
keep everything in sharp focus. We call this depth of field and it is
controlled by the f-stops. F-2 gives you a small depth of field with
a background OUT of focus. F-22 gives you a large depth of field with
everything in focus.
Controlling grain or noise - Grain is how close together
the pixels or clumps of silver are. It is a general belief that the
closer together they are, the higher the quality. Some people like the
effects of grain and some don't. You can definitely blow up an image
bigger with smaller grain. The grain is a byproduct of your ISO. The
lower the ISO the smaller the grain. The higher the ISO the larger the
grain.
The above three creative controls make it a little more interesting
on how you get to the correct exposure. Master “The Three Bears” and
you have a good foundation for great photography.
Types of light meters - Many cameras have more than
one type of light meter in them. I was fortunate that my first camera
didn't have a light meter and I had to learn exposure by looking at the
light. (It doesn’t hurt to repeat some things.) Nowadays, I switch between
a spot meter, a center weighted meter, a matrix meter and my hand held
meter. What type of meter you use and what part of the subject you meter
on is critical to your end result. Fortunately with digital you can
experiment and everything you do is recorded, so you can go back and
look at what is best for certain lighting situations. This too is another
article.
Bracket - when I was much younger other professionals
would tell me to bracket my film. That means to expose it for what I
think is right and then add one f-stop more and one f-stop less. Today
many of the modern cameras will do that for you. It's a good exercise
to learn what you're doing, but the best thing is to recognize the light
and “know” what you are doing. You can't get to “know” without bracketing
in your career.
What you do with the camera
Now that you know the basic camera controls and some guidelines about
composition you're ready to take pictures or what I like to call “images.”
The difference between a picture and an image is about 10 years experience.
So here are some tips to help shorten those 10 years.
Don’t ask permission - At least once a week someone
asks me; “Do you ask permission to take the photographs of people?” My
response is; “that depends on if they are paying me.” Do you know what
happens when you ask a woman if you can take her picture? She runs to
the bathroom to see if everything is in place. I'm serious, this is
years of experience. Ask a mother if you can take a picture of a child
and you're going to get stiff little statues and phony smiles. I think
of myself as a photographer capturing life as it is. Don't ask, but I
have to say this with a condition. If you are not in a public place
and not where you have permission to be, you have no right to invade
privacy. If people don't want their picture taken in a public place
they will wave their hands that they don't want a picture taken. You
should respect that even if you have the legal right to take pictures
in a public place.
Start out and move in – How
do you get a natural candid? Well it's tough to get a natural candid
with a wide-angle lens. I prefer a 70 to 200 mm zoom lens. Sometimes
I’m not even close enough with the 200 mm lens so I start shooting and
move in closer to the subject as I shoot. Depending on how close I
want to get, the subject will eventually see me, at which case they will
either turn away or smile. My experience is that 29 out of 30 will smile.
Share with people - Eventually if I get within a few
feet, people will ask me what I am taking pictures for. If they don't
I will sometimes ask if they want to see the images I just took. This
works great in foreign countries where you can't speak the language.
It opens up doors for additional photographs. I have made many friends
this way and even pulled in some clients because they referred me. I've
always found that it is better to give away a low res image than to sell
someone who didn't hire me in the first place. But here's the key -
you give them your card and tell them to e-mail or write you. If they
really want it they will contact you. My experience is 1 in 500 will
ever make contact. There are many publications that require photo releases
of all people. For those you are better off getting their name, email
and phone number so a publisher or editor can confirm the approval.
Take it when you see it - Have
you ever been in a hurry and passed by a scene and said; Oh, I'll come
back and photograph that when I have time? If you've been in photography
for any length of time, that has happened more than once. I remember
a time when I was going to a professional photographers’ convention in
Washington State. The featured speaker I believe was Sherman Hines,
a noted scenic photographer from Canada. As my friend and I were crossing
over the mountain pass to get to the convention we saw the most beautiful
lake we’d ever seen. Half the lake was frozen over and had hundreds
of tree stumps on the edge sticking out of the water. The other half
had a mirror like surface that reflected the snow-covered mountains,
blue sky, and billowing white clouds. It was an extraordinary breathtaking
sight. We both debated if we should stop. But we didn't want to miss
the education of our lifetime either, so we continued on. We got there
on time but the speaker was two hours late. He started off his speech
with; “I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm a photographer and I just took the
most beautiful photographs of my career. I was going across this mountain
pass and I saw this lake.” Need I say more? The conditions for any scenic
will never be the same. If you like what you see, stop and take it.
Where you focus - This one is pretty simple, your depth
of field starts from what you focus on.
Fill in flash or reflector
panel - sometimes when you're
shooting toward the sun or a bright light, you need more light in the
shadow areas. This can be done with either a fill in flash or a reflector
panel. I prefer a reflector panel because I can see the intensity of
the light and the light doesn't have to come from the camera, it can
come from the side giving the subject more shape.
Filters - Filters can
alter the colors of your image or they can produce special effects that
aren't real. Quite frankly, if I want to alter an image I alter it in
Photoshop. The only filter I use other than one to protect my lens from
being scratched is a polarizer. I like the saturation it gives me.
Panning - This is a technique I have a lot of fun with.
It's a technique to blur the background and keep a moving subject in
focus. Basically you place your shutter speeds somewhere between 1/4
second and 1/30th of a second depending on the speed of your subject.
Then you follow your subject as it moves. You have to be moving your
camera at the same speed as the moving object. You take a shot when
you are moving. If you do it successfully, you will have a blurred background
and a sharp subject. A common mistake is stopping to take the picture.
You should continue your motion even after you have taken the picture.
It takes a lot of practice and don't expect to get it right every time.
Low light levels - If
you are shooting in real low light levels, and you must set your shutter
speed below 1/60th of a second to expose your
film properly, here are a few tips. Keep your elbows in close
to your body, hold your breath, have your legs a little bit wider than
your shoulders, place your thumb on the bottom of the camera and your
index finger on the shutter button, press the camera into your face,
now slowly squeeze your thumb and forefinger together. If you need more
help look for the side of a building, or a fence, or a rock and rest
your camera on that. Now that's if you don't have a tripod handy. If
you have one, use it.
Have a wide angle lens - There are some shots you can’t
get without a wide-angle lens because there's not enough room to back
up. However, even when there is enough room you should have a wide-angle
lens ready. Case in point, both the Democratic and Republican parties
have hired me to photograph the President when he comes to our state.
The president and presidential candidates are usually followed by the
White House Press Corps. At the end of the speech the President or presidential
candidate usually has a photo session with local party members. One
of the longtime White House press photographers makes it a habit of putting
on his 18 mm lens and standing as close to the group as he can, making
sure all the photographers behind him can't get a good shot. This is
a situation where you have to match the other photographer millimeter
to millimeter and stand next to him or her. There are some photographers
that are very protective of their turf. They are not all nice like me.
Now whether you are a seasoned pro, a beginning photographer, or just
someone that wants a better understanding of what makes a great photograph,
I hope that you were able to pick up at least one tip that will make
your photographs or understanding of photographers better. It’s not easy
being a photographer and it takes years to put all this information together
so it is done instinctively in split-second timing. If being a photographer
was easy, there'd be more photographers in the phone book than physicians.
If you enjoy this article and you would like more of them
or this article with photographs as examples
click here or the link at the top of the page.
If you would like to be informed of the next photo safari
click
here or at the top of the page. |