A simple guide to elevating your photography. Follow these steps to help improve your photo composition, style and quality and share them with us by entering the Pursehouse Rural Photography Competition: Fun in the Field.
Composition
The position of elements in frame is important. One method for consideration is the Rule of Thirds. Cut your frame into thirds by using four lines, two horizontal and two vertical. Then place your point of interest over the cross sections of the grid.
Background
Use a simple background. A busy backgrund can distract frim the main subject and make or break an impressive photo. If you think your background is too busy, lift your aperture to blur your background and allow for a lovely shallow focus effect on your image. However, if you do change your aperture settings, don’t forget to tweak your ISO and shutter speed accordingly, to make sure your image remains in focus.
Subject & Depth
The aim of the game is to have your photo framing the subject. Play with foreground objects to give your photo a sense of depth. Focus on lines and where the lines lead your eye. For close face shots, focus on the eyes.
Lighting
Time of day is crucial. Use natural lighting to your advantage. The ‘Golden Hour’, around sunrise and sunset, is primed for soft, forgiving tone. Play with your angles and shadows to add intrigue to your shot.
Avoid Zoom
Try to avoid using zoom wherever possible. Walk closer to your subject; zoom can lower the quality of your image and lead to a grainy, undesirable shot.
Prevent Camera Shake
Holding your camera correctly is important in minimising camera shake. Use a tripod, or something sturdy like a rock or tractor tyre, to steady the camera so that your shot is crisp and clear.
Avoid Using Flash
Flash can make your subject look unnatural, so try and avoid it However, during a bright day, when the natural light is creating harsh shadows, flash can fill in the ugly shadow and help create even exposure. Alternatively, playa round with the light settings on your camera. Some have shade shooting mode to accommodate for less lighting in these areas without the need for a flash.
Put it in Manual
Try to move away from the “auto” setting. Put your camera in ‘manual’ and play with the aperture and shutter speed. If you are not fully confident, use the auto setting as base levels for ISO, aperture and shutter speed and adjust the levels just get just the right look and lighting for your shot.
Get out there!
You can’t capture a moment if you’re not in it. Get in the middle of the action. Perspective is everything. Take lots of shots, practice makes perfect. And as you shoot more your confidence will grow. Get your boots dirty and shoe us what you’ve got!
Don’t forget to submit your entries to the Pursehouse Rural photography competition by Friday 31st July. A maximum of three images per entrant may be submitted. All images are screen before they are approved for display on the Pursehouse Rural website. Should the image be deemed inappropriate, too low in resolution, or to fall outside of the theme ‘Fun in the Field’ the image will not be approved. The approval process may take up to three working days. For further information on the competition, or to upload your images, follow the links provided on the Pursehouse Rural home page.
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