5 Essential Photography Practices from our Creative Director

Photography is a fun and fulfilling art form, offering endless opportunities for creativity and expression, but there are fundamental practices that every photographer, from beginner to pro, should always keep in mind.

Our Creative Director at Website Success, Dan Mack, takes a look at five of the most common elements of photography that will elevate your photographs - whether it’s for your website, social media or online marketing campaigns:

Composition: The Art of Arrangement

Composition is how you arrange the elements within the frame to create a visually pleasing and impactful image. The rule of thirds, leading lines and negative space are the three main composition techniques to bear in mind. Experiment with placing your subject off-centre. Think of the image as a noughts and crosses grid and place the subject on one of the four intersecting lines, rather than in the middle of the shot. Don’t be afraid to use negative space. Negative space in photography relates to the empty space around the subject. When used well, the large section of emptiness surrounding the subject will enhance the subject further.

Use leading lines to draw the viewer's eye into the image. Leading lines are a great compositional technique where natural lines can be used to lead the viewer through the photograph to the subject matter, which of course would be positioned on one of the thirds.

Lighting: Creating the Right Atmosphere Using Light

Light is the essence of photography. Understanding how light interacts with your subject is crucial for creating compelling photographs. Natural light can be soft and diffused on overcast days, which doesn’t cast any harsh highlights and shadows, and is usually the preferred lighting effect for most scenarios. But harsh and directional light on a sunny day can also be used for a more creative shot. If you need soft lighting on a bright day, then think of ways of naturally diffusing the light, like shooting under a large tree or canopy. Artificial lighting, or studio lighting, is another option and offers a lot more control, but mastering it takes practice.

The real skill though, is knowing which type of light source suits the image that you are trying to capture, and how best to put this in to practise to create a lovely mood and atmosphere within your image.

Point of View (POV): A Change of Perspective

In photography, point of view refers to the position of the camera when taking a photo. The perspective from which you capture a scene significantly shapes how a viewer will perceive it and can dramatically change the way that the viewer interprets that photograph. There are many different POVs in photography, but here are the most popular.

Eye level is probably the most common and the preferred way to photograph people, but also photographing animals at eye level can be very impactful, and not really all that difficult to achieve. By photographing a dog, for example, at the dog’s eye level, it allows the viewer to feel more connected with the animal, because we don’t usually interact with animals face to face like we do humans. This is even more powerful if the animal is making direct eye contact with the camera.

There are two POVs that are a bit more creative. These are bird’s-eye and worm’s-eye views. Bird’s-eye view is when a photograph is taken from above the subject, from a plane or a tall building, or by simply standing on a ladder. Shooting from a high angle can create a sense of vulnerability, but it is also a technique that is very popular in product photography, in particular food. Worm’s-eye view, as it is often referred to, is where a subject is shot from down low looking up and can be the most creative of all the POVs. Looking up at a scene makes the subject look very large and intimidating and have a sense of power about them, even if the subject isn’t at all frightening. This is a popular technique when shooting trees or buildings.

So don’t just point and shoot, have some fun experimenting with different camera angles to add dynamism to your photos.

Depth of Field: Focus on the Out of Focus

Depth of field refers to the amount of the image that appears sharp and the amount that appears out of focus, often referred to as Bokeh. It is controlled by your aperture setting, but other factors do come into play, like the positioning of the subject in relation to the background. A shallow depth of field throws the background out of focus, drawing attention to your subject. To achieve this a large aperture is used (bizarrely the smaller F-stop on your camera) and you’ll also need to position your subject so that they are far enough from the background to allow it to be thrown out of focus. There is a mathematical equation that explains this using the distance to a subject from the principal point, but we’ll save that for another blog! Conversely, a wider depth of field, using a smaller aperture (or larger F-stop!) keeps everything in focus, which can be useful for landscape photography.

By mastering depth of field, you control where the viewer's eye goes within the frame.

Shutter Speed: Mastering Motion

Shutter Speed is the camera’s curtain that dictates how long light floods the camera's sensor, influencing both the image's brightness and its depiction of motion. It is the latter that is arguably the most influential and creative setting in photography, with visually instant results. Measured in fractions of a second, or whole seconds, shutter speed offers a truly creative playground. Faster shutter speeds freeze the action in its tracks, ideal for capturing a splashing droplet or a speeding car. Alternatively, slower shutter speeds allow the motion to blur, and done correctly can transform rushing waterfalls into silky cascades or the lights of a car at night into beautiful red and white trails.

Mastering shutter speed is an ongoing exploration. Experiment with different speeds to see how they affect your photos. Embrace the blur for a sense of speed and movement, or pause time with a super sharp image. The key is to understand how shutter speed interacts with light and motion to achieve the creative vision you have in mind.

Practice Makes Perfect

Remember, photography is a journey of continuous learning and experimentation. Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and try new things. By consistently practising these essential practices, you'll develop your photographic eye and capture stunning images that leave a lasting impression.

Bonus Tip: Review your photos after each shoot. Analyse what worked and what didn't. Self-reflection is a powerful tool for improvement!

Happy snapping!

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