Today we are sharing THREE SIMPLE PHOTO TIPS from a shoot Bethany and Emily recently did. Stay tuned for the full feature coming to the blog soon. If you’re wondering how simple tips and techniques can have a powerful result when photographing, I’d love for you to take a few minutes to keep reading. These easy tips will take an average photo and turn it into one that is visually pleasing and easy on the eyes even if you are shooting with your phone. It’s funny how simple things can feel complicated just because we don’t understand how to start. Taking a pretty photo is like that….a few simple techniques and a photo will go from okay to great.

1. REMOVE CLUTTER

Be a picture director, not only a picture taker. Removing a few objects and thinking about what is in the background will make a big difference in the feel of your photo. Our team enjoys simple and clean photos and we always strive to create that. In this photo, the candle sticks are distracting. Emily is also directly in front of the wreath, which feels awkward.

Here we moved the candlesticks out of the frame and Bethany positioned herself differently. The resulting photos feels clean, more pleasing, and less cluttered. Subtle but so much better.

2. LIGHT

Position yourself and your subject so light is falling onto your subject. Light is the key ingredient that adds pop and softness to a photos. We will cover natural light in depth at the workshop. This simple tip will get you started. In this photo, the light is behind the place setting, causing the entire napkin to be lost in shadow.

Here Bethany positioned herself and the plate at a 90 degree angle to the window. Now we can see the pretty detail and color of the place setting. The light coming at a 90 angle adds beautiful shadows and highlights showcasing the detail.

3. COMPOSITION

There is not a right or wrong in how a photo is cropped. But crops are powerful and will drastically create different photos. We love negative space, giving the eye a place to rest. We also love implementing the rule of thirds. Instead of having the subject centered, it is placed on a third of the photo. In the following diagram following the rule of thirds, the subject is placed on one of the red circles.

This crop is not visually interesting….it feels a bit flat.

Here Bethany changed the crop of the image to include the wall arrangement and implemented the Rule of Thirds. The resulting image is much more interesting, tells a more complete story, and is more visually appealing.

I hope this little tip helps next time you are shooting. If you want to know more about creating beautiful photos with easy to understand techniques register for our Workshop. We will help you Start 2016 by creating and photographing with confidence.

xo