Why it’s important to learn the basics of photography?
Like you before, I used to hate my photos. I used to not even dare taking pictures because I knew it wouldn’t look good. But, since I am trying to build my personal brand and take better photos of my clients, what I do and share better content, I decided it was time to learn to take better photos.
And the opportunity came to me this week. Wildcats, an entrepreneur community I joined in Da Nang organised a workshop to learn photography.
It was lead by Marko Gregovic, a professional photographer who traveled to Vietnam and tries to grow his activity here. His sharing were really interesting. And this article gathers 9 lessons from his workshop.
Photo credits Wildcats | Workshop host Marko Gregovic
Next time I visit a place with my wife, I have no more excuse if she asks to take a great photo. I’ll have to say yes! and better be good lol!
The reason why your photos “sucks”.
Lighting. It’s the lighting. And the photographer animating the workshop confirmed it. Actually, he also said that it’s pretty normal. Because photography comes from the ancient greek and literally means “drawing with light”:
- phos, (genitive: phōtós) meaning “light”,
- and graphê meaning “drawing or writing”.
9 things to improve your photography skills
Here are 9 things I have learned from this workshop and how to improve my next photos I take:
Make it weird and interesting:
All photos nowadays are boring. To stand out, find a new angle, take a weird pose, wear creative outfits.. get out of the norm! Grabbing attention today means giving them a good reason to stop scrolling and watching your posts.
Use the color wheel at your advantage!
Eithe a color is complementary to an other one (blue with orange) or they are compatible (yellow, orange, red). What makes a great picture is when you respect these rules. The eye will automatically like it better.
Identify patterns and rhythms
Again, our brain loves something it can understand. So patterns backgrounds or a something that repeats itself in a picture will make it easier to focus on the “subject” of the photo for the common eye.
Too many variation or too many elements of different composition will confuse the brain and your picture will not get the attention it deserves.
Contrasts for harmony
- Human versus Nature
- Shadows versus light
In a room with only one source of light, it’s actually recommended to shoot from the dark side. If you take a portrait photo, it can make that subject stand out more.
Understand aperture size
This is basically the size of your lense. So a phone has a smaller aperture size than a professional camera. Which means: more lights can come inside and be captured! And again: more light, better chances to see something… and take better photos.
Understand the shutter
This is how much light is let in at the moment you clic to take a photo. So we talk about longer or shorter opened. A longer opener typically creates these blur bubbles or long light lines that we see on some nice arty photos.
That is also why in the dark, you need to stop moving… because your camera shutter will stay longer opened (in auto mode).
Understand focal length zoom
A 16 mm versus 200mm. The nose is bigger, the face is narrower. On the 200mm the face looks more normal.
Understand harsh verus soft light
A harsh light is a strong source of light. A soft light is more polished, produces less contrasts on your photos.
The 7 questions to improve your photo skills
Before taking a picture, try to remember these questions:
- Is it clear what the photo is about?
- Can I make it more weird or interesting?
- Are these colors I can use?
- Where is my light source?
- Do I need soft light or strong light?
- Are there patterns I can use?
- Can I cange the perspective?
- Can I increase contract / conflict?
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