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The rule
of thirds:
An object in the middle
of a picture is not always aesthetically pleasing. Try to divide the viewfinder
into thirds (9smaller rectangles) and place points of interest on the intersections
- for example the horizon of a sunset scene
Surroundings:
Always be aware of what
is in the photo. Before pressing the shutter, see if anything distracting is
in the frame. For example, a telegraph pole, parked cars, litter, people - anything
that distracts the viewers attention away from the subject. Try to spend a little
time removing litter, wait for that person to move. If this is impractical take
the picture somewhere else - or failing that, try to look for another angle
/ viewpoint to take the shot from. It is worth surveying a potential photo and
even returning at a different time of day to see if it looks better ie/ early
morning or late evening or in the rain or fog!!
Photo
Numbers:
Take lots of photos and
try different things as you do so. Don't rely on the one picture of "the gang"
at a party, take three or four - that way you are a lot less likely to have
one where your best mate is blinking! Remember, a film is cheap and developing
is now the same price as the film so snap away. Experiment with styles and see
how they look - try to remember what you did to get a particular effect so you
will be able to repeat it - make notes if you have to.
Portrait:
Try to use about a 80mm lens (50 -110mm)-
this tends to be the most flattering lens - shorter or longer distorts
the face a little - perhaps enough to put the subject off returning for
another picture. Try to use natural light at all times. For us novices,
natural light will improve upon artificial light 10x. Indoor lights tend
to make the subject go yellow or green or worse depending on the bulb
/ striplight, and a flash will flatten out the subjects features due to
the lack of shadow and often leads to very contrasty photos. Use the largest
aperture possible - this will blur the rest of the picture and will emphasize
the subject (the point of focus on the subject=eyes) and not his or her
surroundings. Try to use a backdrop of uniform unobtrusive color and pattern.
This can be natural or artificial. This makes a massive difference to
pictures (note: a white sheet tye-died with two or three pastel colors
is cheap and looks very professional) Only ever focus on the eyes - this
is what everyone naturally looks at.
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