1 - Lighting Trumps Background
So, so, so much can be said here about good lighting, (especially considering "photograph" literally means "image of light"), and I would highly recommend studying light and shadows if you want to learn photography. But for this tutorial, start by learning about open shade. For starters, don't let your subject look into the sun when you take their picture. Place the sun behind or to the side of the person/thing you want to photograph, so nobody's squinting and the lighting is even.
Remember, the background of the photo is not as important as the lighting!! If there is something you really want a picture by but the lighting is poor, try taking the photo from another angle or at a different time of day.
Family reunion shot posed in open shade (the trees were behind us, not above us) so the lighting is even across everyone's faces (no sun spots or harsh shadows).
2 - Look for Catchlights
A catchlight is a gleam of reflected light in the eye of a person or animal in a photograph. It is what makes the subject look alive. To achieve catchlights in a photo, the subject needs to be facing the light source. This takes practice! Look for the catchlights in their eyes before you take the photo and move them around until you see the sparkle.
My favorite way to light my kids indoors is to open the curtains when the sunlight is bright but not coming in directly, stand with my side to the window, and have them face me. The light reflects in their eyes without blinding them.
3 - The Rule of Thirds
Above anything else, practicing this tip will dramatically improve your photography!
Placing the subject in the lower left of the photo draws your attention to her immediately and is more pleasing to the eye than if she were sitting in the middle. You see her, then you look around the photo.
If you can't get the subject to be in one of the four power positions, at least push them to the outer quadrants of the photo instead of centering them. It still directs your focus to the subject first.
A person's eyes are the subject of a portrait. Do your best to place their eyes at the top line of your tic-tac-toe board. Here, her right eye is at the top left power position.
The flag in focus is on the lower left power position.
4 - Simplify.
Pay attention to extraneous things in your photo before you snap the shot. Remove anything in view that does not contribute to what you want to convey in the picture. The saying goes, "If in doubt, take it out." If there is a garbage can in the background or a light pole that seems to be coming out of a person's head, move the garbage can or move yourself or your subject around until it is no longer in the frame. Look around the whole area before you take the picture.
There is nothing in this photo that does not tell the story in it.
5 - Framing
Put things in the foreground of your photo to create a frame around the subject.
Looking through the wagon wheel and keeping part of it in the photo adds a frame around his face.
Framing the temple with greenery (and placing it in a power position!).
6 - Change Your Perspective
To me, this is the most fun composition tip. Look at things a different way. Shoot from high above, down below, far away, or whatever you can think of and try to think out of the ordinary.
Walk right up to the trunk of a tree and look up. Don't worry about getting the whole tree in the photo.
Look through their eyes.
Pay attention to shadows.
7 - Place Heads at Different Levels
When taking photos of groups, place their heads at different levels instead of all lined up.
The slant from lower left to upper right of their heads creates direction in this photo.
8 - Squish together!
People need to be closer than they think. There should be no background showing between people when they are posing close together.
Leaning in and scooting close shows the family's relationship.
9 - Cropping
Cropping photos is fun. But here I'm not talking about cropping with software on the computer; I'm talking about purposely cropping things when you compose the photo to create the look you want. Look at things more closely. Fill the frame with your subject. It's okay to crop out a person's forehead but be careful to not cut out their chin because it will make you wonder what happened to their body. Try to crop limbs well away from joints so they don't look amputated.
Cropping out the dad puts focus on the son.
10 - Put Men in Masculine Positions & Women in Feminine Positions
There are books on posing, so this is just scratching the surface on this topic. Masculine positions include: the face leaning toward the body to create a 'C' shape, the body facing the camera straight-on to show power and strength, hands/arms in more harsh or straight angles, and showing the back of the hand to the camera. Feminine positions are the opposite: the face leaning away from the body to create an 'S' shape, the body turned at an angle to the camera for an instant slimming effect, hands/arms softened and light, and the side of the hand facing the camera.
My favorite part about this tip is that females can do feminine or masculine poses (depending on what you're trying to convey), while men should stick to masculine ones.
Tip Inside a Tip: If someone wants to take your picture and it's not for a passport, please don't face the camera directly. Step one leg back and lean on it. Lean your back shoulder toward the camera just a little. Tilt one ear back an inch and smile.
His head is leaning more toward his chest than his back. If you drew a line from his head, through his body, to his feet, it would be a 'C.' (If his head were leaning back over his shoulder, it would put him in more of an 'S' shape and make him look feminine.)
Facing the men straight at the camera adds power, intensity, and masculinity. They are each naturally leaning their heads towards their chests in the 'C'-shape.
After my hair was cut tragically short, I spent months growing it to this length where it finally laid down. Wanting to take a self-portrait that conveyed the strength I desired to feel, I purposely leaned in a 'C'-shape, put the back of my hand to the camera, and put my left arm at a right angle to add just a touch of masculinity to the pose. (See how I also cropped part of the image and placed myself in a power position?)
11 - If it bends, bend it.
Repetition gets boring so if something repeats, make it different. (That applies to music as well.) What this means for photography is "if it bends, bend it." Keep arms from hanging down at the sides by bending one or both of them. Lean on one leg and bend the other. Change things up! Also look at how this tip was put into action in the group shot under tip #10 above.
Let people pose themselves comfortably.
12 - Try something besides "Smile!" or "Say cheese!"
You will have to get creative in order to get genuine smiles out of people. Be the clown. Make funny faces. Ask them to do them with you. Dance around. Be silly.
Here I called out, "Say stinky feet!" and clicked the camera when she laughed.
13 - Shoot from above to flatter just about anyone
Whatever is closest to the camera will look larger, so if your eyes are closer than your waist, you will look skinnier. Taking pictures from up above makes just about anyone look good. (The first photo under tip #10 was purposely shot from above.)
What pregnant woman wouldn't have you look in her beautiful eyes and see her smile over her ever-growing belly sometimes?
14 - Shoot at or below eye level, especially with kids
If you're short like me and can't always shoot your subjects from above to flatter their figures, the rule of thumb is to shoot at eye level. For children, that means squatting down to their height. I also like to shoot from below to make them look taller.
I was laying in the grass looking up at her.
15 - Take it with a grain of salt.
Wait, I thought there wasn't supposed to be space between the subjects or heads at the same level?
So much for keeping the subject out of the center!
Look, photography is an art, which means it is judged subjectively.
What makes a "good" photo is up for debate and a matter of opinion. So
take pictures of what you like. Feel free to break the rules if that's
what you want to do. Express yourself and don't worry too much about what other people think.
