How not to take photos
I’ve been in the photography game for a while. I’m not a technical expert, but I know the basics and the rules of photography and I have a great eye for composition and framing, which is something people can overlook.
Especially taking snaps on your phone.
So where did I start?
I remember begging my mum and dad for a zoom lens camera when I was a teen, this was in the days of film, and I got a Minolta point and shoot with a fixed zoom lens on it, I loved it. I was crap at photography, but I loved it.
Then fast forward years later, I moved to a pretty town where I knew no one, and after whining to friends about not having a thing to do, someone suggested I get a camera and take shots of said pretty town. I did get a camera and asked on Flickr if anyone was interested in joining me on photowalks. It received a lot of attention and the Bradford on Avon Photography Group was born. That was over 10 years ago.
During that time I learned so much from people passionate about photography, technical experts and hobbyists — I learned as much technical info as I needed to finally use a camera on Manual, and what constituted a good composition and ended up with an Exhibition of our photos every year.
Fast forward some more, I moved from that town, and I began working for Unsplash, based primarily in Canada, but with a workforce all over the world, and they got taken over by Getty Images at the beginning of the year.
*breathes*
—-
That’s about it. So lets get on with finding out how not to take photos eh.
My job at Unsplash is to go through all the photos that come in on a daily basis, we are tasked with keeping them or removing them. We have a standard to uphold and sadly, lots get removed.
I’ll be using photos from Unsplash in this post, because they’re awesome and free!
What’s not so good?
The main things I see;
Over-use of any kind of editing
Apps, Lightroom or Photoshop settings, any over use of these kinds of things is not a good look, mostly. Over saturation, over clarity, over smoothing, over vignetting, over exposure (under exposure), over use of any kind of app filter, you get the picture (no pun intended, maybe).
I whacked up the settings in Lightroom for the one above, too much…too much!
Unclear or blurry photos
Sometimes when you’re using a small device, like a phone, and you don’t view your image at 100% on a large screen you can’t tell how blurry, spotty (lens goo — always clean your lens) out of focus or pixellated your photo actually is. Always worth checking anything you take using a phone or point & shoot camera larger than the device.
I took the above photo with a DSLR and the original is unblurry, I’ve blurred this one up to show how extreme it can get. Blursville.
Extreme angles
Whilst some subjects can really benefit from a jaunty angle, like car shots (e.g) lots don’t, like a seascape or landscape for example. Wonky horizons actually give me anxiety.
To me, a landscape like these are screaming out to be straight, an extreme angle with the horizon heading up to the spirit in the sky, nopes.
Excessive sun-glare / over exposure
I love a sunset/rise, but lots of cameras (like phones) will even blow out sunlight captured during the day, check the edges of the composition, make sure there’s no blown out lighting.
The best way of making sure you don’t have to edit after (as this could ruin the photo all together) is to ensure your exposure setting is right for the scene and position the camera away from the bright lights a little, to compensate.
Exposure on this shot is way too high. Whenever you’re taking shots in and of the sun, make sure it’s either in control in the shot, or edit it so the exposure isn’t too high. Blown out whites are ugly :)
Framing & Composition
One of my favourite things to do is get a good shot with a top notch frame. I don’t mean putting a frame from an app on the photo, but a natural frame.
The best photos in my eyes are the ones that use the surroundings of the photo to frame and compose the subject(s) well.
This interior shot by Kam Idris, the composition is *chefs kiss*. The cupboard on the left, with the hint of the tv and sideboard to the right, with the chair as the subject. The elements are all placed in a very aesthetically pleasing way.
This flat lay I did (I love flat lays) is very simple, but using the polaroids to frame the Airpods, even with some of the polaroids heading out of shot, makes it work really well. Don’t be afraid to experiment with objects when doing flat lays, make sure you give the elements plenty of white space, (space around each other) and are positioned in way that doesn’t irk the eye.
I end up removing everything in the end, I probably started with many more but don’t be afraid to keep it as simple as possible.
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash.
More minimal flat lays, lots of air to breathe around the subjects, nice and simple.
Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash
When there are lots of objects, like a street scene it can be hard to frame right. Especially with a mobile, a quick snap can be hard to angle. But it is possible.
Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash
Here’s a really inspirational collection of well executed mobile shots that I am curating while I go through the photos every day.
Things to keep in mind
Consider how the photo looks before, during
and after you’ve hit the shutter button.
What’s your subject?
Sometimes photos don’t have an individual subject or it could have several subjects. Make sure to frame them well with their surroundings.
Photo by Anna Hunko on Unsplash
Like this photo of a river, with boats, buildings, bridge, cars, trees. It’s framed well with the boats, cars and trees, I guess the subject is the river :)
Is there good natural light available?
Some cameras, like mobile phones don’t take great shots in low light, so be conscious of that when taking shots in the dark. Angle yourself so the light is better, or perhaps take a shot of something else with better lighting.
Is there a point to your photo?
Sometimes it’s not obvious to people that haven’t known the story behind your photo, try and tell the story in the photo, using good framing and making sure the subject is clear.
Releasing your photos to the world
You could just post all the photos you’ve taken onto your socials, OR… you could curate them and only post the cream of the crop.
One thing I see regularly is all the photos posted, with only slight differences this is tantamount to Aunty Maud and Uncle Sid coming back from their holiday in Skegness, getting the projector out and showing you ALL their holiday snaps — no one wants to see slight difference photos, if you curate them and choose only 5 (say), it’s way more interesting.
Honing in on the photos that are the absolute best of the show!
Editing?
Some people edit, some people don’t. Personally, I only dabble lightly for my photos, as over editing ain’t nice mostly, and not editing photos that might need straighting up, or lighting up really need it. Editing isn’t bad. Just do it appropriately for the shot.
In Summary
Consider how the photo looks before, during and after you’ve hit the shutter button.
Take your time angling yourself to get the best shot, take your time angling the camera to get the best shot.
Make sure to frame using the environment around you, what’s in the shot, what needs not to be in the shot, what should be in the shot?
Edit to the level that’s necessary for the individual photo, usually won’t need a lot, but editing is ok, if done appropriately for the shot.
Hello, I’m Nik, I illustrate, design and take photos, I work for Unsplash and I’m passionate about helping people care about their photography, whatever camera they use.