Mistake 1. Combining Light & Shadow
A
good example of the mistake of combining light and shadow into
photographs can be seen when family photos are taken outdoors. They
might be in a really nice location, but the one orchestrating the
photograph fails to appreciate how the light from the sun, as it filters
its way through tree branches and foliage, is going to impact on the
resulting image.
An example of bad lighting is where you've got
your subject in "some some, some shade" and it just ends up being a
really, really bad place to take a photograph of someone. And this is
what happens with typical family orchestrated portraits, taken outdoors.
The
ideal to aim for is something more neutral, such as taking your subject
(i.e. family members) and placing it/them all in shade, and then adding
light with your external flash - the key is to start with the right
location (such as in the shade), so that you don't have any shadows
falling on your subject and creating a really strong and visually
off-putting combination of bits of shadow and bits of light.
Mistake 2. Wrong Location
This
tends to happen when the elected photographer (again, typically a
family member) is too shy to get their subjects to move to a location
that will help result in a more appealing photograph. They'll tend to
make-do with any old location, if their subjects are suddenly all
together. What then happens is they'll end up with something in the
background that totally ruins what could be a really nice photograph -
such as random cars that aren't out of focus enough to truly stop them
from being a visual distraction. Or, there are rubbish bins, or just
something that detracts from the overall appeal of the resulting
photograph. And, most of the time, all the photographer had to do was
move their subjects (e.g. family) to a spot only a few meters away, or
turn them to a slightly different angle, and they would have had either a
clutter-free background, or at least one that would have blended nicely
behind the main subjects, without being an eye-sore or unwanted
distraction.
Mistake 3. Focus In The Wrong Place
Many
a time, people have managed to compose a really nice photograph, but
the elements you'd want to see clearly just aren't in focus. You have to
be aware that the eyes of those viewing the photos are going to go to
whatever happens to be sharp and bright.
Examples are flowers,
where the head of the flower is blurred and out of focus, but the leaves
(nice as they are, but which most likely aren't the main feature to
show off) are the parts that are in focus. So, the focus was good on the
leaves, but as it was the head of the flower that was meant to be the
main subject, the focus was clearly in the wrong place.
When it
comes to taking portraits (of a person, pet, whatever), it's not
uncommon to see that the photographer has managed to get something
either in the foreground or the background in sharp focus, but then
they've made a total hash of the face and eyes of the subject, which is
frustratingly blurred. When viewing the photos, you want to see the
detail of the person and don't want to be impeded by the facial details
being blurred and out of focus - this is often what ruins an otherwise
nice portrait photo.
When taking a portrait, ALWAYS make sure you
have tac-sharp focus on the person's eyes. If you've positioned the
person at a slight angle to you, using center-point focus, lock it in on
the closest eye to you. The key to good portrait photos is to get the
eyes in crystal clear focus (UNLESS you're aiming for something creative
and artistic, that is!
Mistake 4. Wrong Aperture
Using
a wide aperture (low f-number), to create a shallower depth of field,
enables you to use selective focus to determine what is in focus and
what will be blurred and out of focus. This approach helps you to
dictate what those viewing your photos will look at.
For example,
if you're photographing a pilot standing in front of his or her plane,
you want the pilot in focus and not the plane, because you want to draw
the viewer's attention to the pilot - the one who flies the plane - and,
in this case, not so much the plane. If it were the plane you were
wanting to draw the eye to, you probably wouldn't have the pilot in
foreground of the shot... he/she may be in the plane, but it's going to
be more obvious that the plane is the main subject of the photo, as you
photograph the plane in its environment (such as about to taxi onto the
runway); the background would be secondary to the plane, so you'd allow
the background to become out of focus.
Of course, if you
purposefully wanted to capture both the pilot AND the plane in clear
focus, with the pilot standing in front of the plane, then you'd shoot
with a narrower aperture, such as f11 or all the way down to f22,
depending on how far the pilot was standing in front of the plane.
Learn
to use your DSLR in Aperture Priority mode, to learn how to take photos
with a low aperture number (f-numbers such as f4, f2.8, f2, f1.4,
etc.), as these will allow you to explore selective focus, to get away
from the "point-and-shoot look", where everything is in clear focus.
Mistake 5. Bad Composition
Landscape
photography is a good example where the average photographer tends to
come away with poorly composed photographs. The problem usually stems
from them not knowing what their subject actually is. If you were out at
Niagara Falls, it'd be fairly obvious that your subject will be the
stunning waterfall, and so that is what you would want as the star
attraction in your frame. However, problems can arise when there are
multiple candidates for being the main subject - is it the autumnal
colors of the leaves? Is it the flowing stream as winds its way down
into the valley beyond? Is it the valley? If you know what your subject
is, it will help you to craft a better photo.
You can sometimes
get interesting photos by angling your camera. This is using a technique
known as "Dutch angle", "Dutch tilt", "canted angle", "oblique angle",
or "German angle" photography, to produce a point of view that's pretty
much like what you see when you tilt your head to one side. It is a
technique that can be used to add a dramatic effect to an otherwise
ordinary subject matter.
Another cause of bad composition is not
getting down to the level of your subject to take the photo.
Photographers can get a bit lazy and shoot everything from the height
that THEY stands, regardless of the height of the subject they're
photographing. If photographing, say, kids or animals, you'll often be
rewarded with better images, if you make an effort to get down to their
level - even going as far to lay on the ground, if you have to, in order
to get the shot, so you can portray in the photo what it's like to be
at THEIR level. If you can get LOW, below your subject and shoot
UPWARDS, it has the effect of making your subject look much bigger,
and/or more powerful.
Another composition mistake is trying to
shoot every subject from head-to-toe. This is typical of portrait
photos. Images can be more interesting if you get in close, either
physically closer or with a zoom lens, to photograph your subject(s),
say, from the waist, upwards.
Always centering subjects in photos
is a habit that can create routinely poor photos. If you don't center
subjects in the frame, you get to take your viewer on a journey through
your photograph, which can help make your images a little more
compelling. For instance, you photograph a monument... instead of
placing that monument in the center of the frame, step back enough so
that it can be positioned to either side (where you think it looks
better), and then use leading lines (such as the shape of the land, or a
fence, or a road, or path), to lead your viewer's eye from the far side
of the image, up to the monument (or whatever your subject is), where
they may spend a little while taking in the details of that subject,
before their eyes naturally travel back along the leading line, to where
they started - at which point, they'll either be done looking, or they
may take another visual walk through your photo, if it's compelling
enough to them.
Mistake 6. Don't Shoot Tight Enough
If
you take a photo of someone, for example, and you show the person from
head-to-toe, plus a lot of what's in the background and surrounding that
person, then the photograph tends to be about the environment that your
subject is in - it could be the person is wearing a football kit and is
on the pitch, with the goal posts in the background. If, instead, you
focused in really tight, so that you fill the frame with your
footballer, as much as possible (from the waste up, for instance), then
the resulting photograph will now be more about the person, than where
they are.
It's not that you shouldn't shoot in one way versus the
other (head-to-toe versus up tight), but consider shooting both types,
in order to give you more options - once you get the photos printed or
onto your computer, with a bit of reflection, you might find you prefer
one style over the other. But, if you only shot one way, such as always
trying to get everything in the frame, from head-to-toe, then you're
missing out on achieving a totally different feel or look to your
images.
It doesn't matter what the subject is... if it's a car,
for example, take one photograph showing the entire car, which will
include some of the surrounding environment, and then get in really
close and tight, and photograph an appealing section of the car in
isolation - it could be just one side, or a diagonal shot either taken
from the front nose section looking toward the back, or from the
interesting back end of the car, looking forward.
Mistake 7. The Wrong Use Of Flash
First
of all, a flash unit at full power can be really harsh, which can
result in the loss of interesting features and details of your subjects.
So, if using flash, turn down the power, such as to -1 stop. You'll
know when you've used too much flash, because people will be commenting
on the fact you used flash to take the picture. It should be used to
enhance the subject(s) in the photo, not to become the main feature or
talking point of the image.
You should also take time to learn how
to use your camera during the day, as much as at night. If you're
taking photographs outside on a bright sunny day, flash can help to get
rid of some of the harsh shadows that may be present in the background
or shining onto your subject(s).
If photographing someone outside,
in the sun, and you find a small pocket of shade, you might end up with
the sun shining down on them and, while you may get the sun adding a
nice portion of hair light to the top of their head, the rest of your
subject may be lost in a silhouette. By adding a subtle amount of flash,
you can capitalize on the hair light coming from the sun, and kiss just
enough light with your flash, to illuminate your subject from the
front, to take them out of the dark silhouette. The result will be a
nicer portrait, overall.
It can be very effective, when outside on
a sunny day, to position your subject so the sun is coming from behind,
and then you use your flash to help illuminate them from the front.
With the sun shining down from the side, it can tend to add really dark
shadows, particularly around the eyes, giving your subject a kind of
"raccoon look". This is something you can avoid, with the use of a
flash, and simply positioning them so that they are between you and the
sun, with the sun directly behind them.
Another problem with
photographing people looking into the sun, is they all invariably end up
squinting into the camera, which is never a flattering look to have in a
photo.
Mistake 8. Not Aware Of The Shutter Speed
Photographs
that have captured, say, a sportsman in midair as they're about to
touch down and score a try in rugby; where they're frozen, with no image
blurring, will have been shot with a fast shutter speed. Conversely,
when you see a bit of motion blur in the photo, such as the movement of
the arms and legs of a marathon runner, then these will typically have
been taken with a slower shutter speed - the shutter stays open
fractionally longer, giving enough time for the camera's sensor to
record the movement of the limbs at various different points as the
athlete moves along.
It all depends on the speed of the subject,
as to how fast or slow your shutter speed needs to be, in order to
capture either some movement in your photo, or to ensure that there's no
motion blur and the subject is completely frozen in that moment. A
person jogging along might allow you to capture motion blur at 1/40th or
1/50th of a second, as you pan with them. But, a motorbike or race car
may require 1/100th of a second or so, in order to get a similar result.
Mistake 9. Trying To Shoot At Night Without A Tripod
If
you know you're going to be photographing at night, take a tripod
along, as you will most likely be needing to use slower shutter speeds.
You don't want to discover a fantastic photographic opportunity, only to
be prevented from capturing that moment because you didn't have a
tripod - and because you couldn't hand-hold the camera, as the outcome
would have been photo-ruining blurring, due to having to hold the camera
during the slow shutter speeds.
There are some places you go
where they don't allow tripods, in which case you will need to make the
best use of whatever stable platform is available - this could be a
ledge or a wall, or, if you're forward thinking, you might be able to
arrange a mini tripod in a backpack, which pokes out just enough to let
the camera appear like it's just sitting very well behaved atop your
bag... But, in general, if you can use a tripod, it's often the best
choice. Camera bean bags are another option - you just have to scrunch
your camera down into them, to get it level, but that can solve a
problem of not being allowed to take a tripod somewhere, and yet still
manage to get your camera onto a level base, to take your shot.
Mistake 10. Standing By Walls & Bushes
If people know they're going to have their photos taken, they inevitably find a wall or a bush and reverse themselves right up to it and then wait there until you take their picture.
If
you're using flash, or outdoors in bright sunlight, and you let them
remain in front of the bush or wall, this will most likely result in
them having a harsh shadow around them. The bush or wall can also merge
with your subjects and you may not get sufficient separation between
subject and these background objects, resulting in a rather cluttered
portrait.
What tends to happen, when people have their photo taken
up against a wall or a bush is that people viewing the photos will get
somewhat distracted, as they may find their minds are caught between
looking at the people and looking at that bush or wall. By all means, if
the bush is attractive, you can have it in the background, but just
bring them far enough away from it so that you can use a wide aperture
(small f-stop number), combined with a longer focal length, to have the
bush nicely defocused in the background, while letting your subjects
take the starring role, as should be the case.
Graham Wadden created and maintains the Creative Commons photography website, WaddenCCPhotography.com, specializing in creating Royalty Free Stock Photography primarily for home educators and those in education.
