Capturing a Satisfying Image

Matt Considine, one of my favorite photographers, is today’s guest blogger. I’m sure you’ll enjoy his words and extraordinary photography as much as I do.

Matt is a professional photographer, based in Hong Kong, with over 25 year’s experience. He is currently working on several travel photography books.

I’ll turn the post over to Matt:

Thanks Mari for inviting me on as a guest blogger.

I think everyone who has have ever taken a photograph knows the feeling of capturing an image that has that special something that makes it stand out. When you start photography, it is hard to really pin down why you like one image more than another.

There is no doubt that the more keepers you get, the more enjoyment you will get from your photography. The question is how do you increase your rate of keepers. Initially, you might take a lot of photos hoping that sheer numbers will do the trick. This approach works to an extent, and if you are starting in photography it will also help you develop basic camera skills.

However to really increase your rate of keepers, it helps to know a few fundamental concepts and to really think about each image before you take the photo. It might seem counter-intuitive that good images can be analyzed, but it turns out that there are a bunch of factors that can be found in most interesting images.

So what are some of these factors? Firstly, you should know what sort of image you are taking. Is it an image with a clear subject or is the image more abstract. In this article I’ll talk about images with a subject.

For this type of image it helps to ensure that the exposure of subject brings out the features you intend. These features could be from an evenly exposed subject to a shadowed subject or even a silhouette. The point is, you choose don’t let the camera choose the exposure for you.

Avoid cluttered backgrounds and minimize distracting the viewer from the subject. In fact, the background is often one of the most important factors in a good image, so move around until it’s right. Find backgrounds with repeating patterns or interesting textures. Lines leading into the subject can also help direct the viewer to the subject.

Next, is controlling the aperture and thus the depth of field (that is the parts of he image in focus). A wide open (big) aperture (say f 2.8) gives you a shallow depth of field which means that if the subject is in focus the background will be out of focus. This helps concentrate the viewer’s attention on the subject.

If the subject is alive try to capture the moment when the subject is doing something. For example sipping a coffee, growling, yawning…you get the idea.

Consider placing the subject according to the rule of thirds. To do this, divide the frame vertically and horizontally into thirds and position the subject where these lines intersect. Alternatively have the subject fill the frame or perhaps make the subject smaller than normal, to convey a sense of scale.

Something to consider, is that a DSLR or high end point and shoot will give you more control over the aperture (depth of field) and will actually help you take better images. DSLRs have undergone amazing improvements in recent times so even entry level DSLRs are very good tools for acquiring satisfying images.

Follow these guidelines and you will find that the more keepers you get, the more satisfaction and fun you will have with your photography! 

Be sure to have a look at my site at http://www.mattconsidine.com/ and leave a comment on my blog.

Cheers
Matt Considine
Travel Photographer

Matt, thank you so much for this great information and for the guest blog. Also check out Matt’s work at Palau – Micronesia Gallery, Laos Indochine Gallery, Sri Lanka Gallery,  Rajastan – India Gallery and

Varanasi India Gallery. Please do leave your comments on his site.




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