It is no secret that I love photography. As I close in on the four-year anniversary of my photography journey, I have taken six photography classes between high school and college.
However, most of my learning has come from YouTube, Google, personal experiences and interactions with other photographers. This isn’t meant to discourage photography classes or belittle my teachers and professors. But, after completing my first photography class in high school, I spent hours on YouTube to learn the technical skills of photography and practiced every day.
I believe learning the technical aspect of photography is one of the easiest parts of photography, and studying the settings on a camera is only step one of a great photo. Composing your image, in my opinion, is the hardest part of photography.
There are many things to consider when framing your shot. Is the background distracting? Is your subject in focus? Is the photo straight? Is the angle unflattering?
The background of your photo is sometimes out of your control. In sports photography, with fast-moving subjects, you can’t choose where they move with your background. However, if you are doing portrait photography, you have more options on where your model stands in relation to your background.
The angle of your photo is the biggest factor in photography. In sports photography, shooting from a low angle makes the athlete appear larger and stronger, whereas shooting from a higher angle makes the athlete appear smaller. Changing your angle is the easiest way to change the background of your image.
Photography is an easy hobby to start. Moving from a hobby photographer to a professional photographer is more difficult. I encourage everybody to start a photography hobby.
Once you nail the basics of composition, your photos improve for the rest of your life. Framing your photos becomes second nature, you will never forget how to do it.