Every photographer has a unique style, voice and feel. A good photo, however, must be able to tell a story. Getting the best photograph takes a lot of practice, dedication and technical knowledge. Photographers have spent years perfecting their craft, and you can too! If photography is not just a hobby and you want it to be your career and understand how to take professional photos, read on to learn about photography tricks and the qualities of a good photo.

In this blog post, we’ll review some essential photography tips for newbies to help you advance your abilities and produce stunning photos.

What Makes a Good Photo?

A good photograph is one that successfully tells the viewer the photographer’s intended story or message. It should arouse the viewer’s interest and imagination through visual appeal, emotional impact, or both.

A powerful composition, efficient lighting, sharp focus, suitable use of colour, technical excellence, and the ability to convey a story are some traits that make a successful photograph. An excellent photograph should stand out and make an impact on the viewer.

If you want to know how to click a good photo, read on!

Characteristics of a Good Photo

Source: Unsplash

If you’re wondering how to click a good photo, getting specific qualities and characteristics right is essential to focus. For instance:

• A photograph can become more visually engaging by drawing the viewer’s attention to the desired subject, as in the case of a photograph with a good composition.
• The right lighting may give a setting the desired ambience or mood, giving the image more depth and character.
• With a defined focus point, the photographer’s subject can stand out and catch the eye of the spectator.
• The effective use of colour can increase the photography’s impact.
• Artistic elements can pique the viewer’s curiosity and attention, causing them to pause and take another look.
• Technical expertise can help guarantee that the picture is sharp, in focus, and appropriately exposed.

One or more of these characteristics can increase a photograph’s visual appeal, or thought-provoking potential, drawing viewers’ attention and helping them remember it.

Photography Tips for Beginners

Photography is a beautiful artistic expression. You may use a few pointers and techniques to develop your photographic abilities and produce great pictures if you’re just starting out.

There are numerous factors to consider when it comes to photography, from grasping the fundamentals of camera settings to mastering composition and lighting. Let’s look at non-technical and technical aspects of how to take best photos. Here are some crucial photography techniques to remember:

Be Consistent

One of the best tricks to click good photo is consistency. Try out various cameras, formats, lenses, black-and-white versus colour, smartphones versus film, and anything else. And once you find something with which you are 80% content, stick with it.

Photographers can only stand out with a distinctive style or look in their photography. However, consistency is key to developing your own photographic style.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Putting yourself out there is necessary if you want your photography skills to stand out. Social media, your website or blog, word-of-mouth, local exhibitions, picture books, and photo magazines are all ways you might advertise yourself (self-printed Xerox copies of your work).

LightingSource: Unsplash

One of a photograph’s most crucial components is lighting. The image you aim to capture will automatically be bad if you take a photo in poor lighting. Lighting can be done in a variety of ways.

Sunlight is an example of natural lighting. Softbox, ring light, umbrella, flash, and model light are artificial light sources. When taking a picture, you must adjust the camera’s settings so that light will pass through the lens and adjust the image’s brightness or contrast as needed.

Rule of ThirdsSource: Unsplash

The rule of thirds is important for creating good photographs and choosing where to position the subject in the frame.

According to the rule of thirds, your subject should be in the left or right third of your image, which leaves a more open space on the other two-thirds. Although there are alternative compositional methods, the rule of thirds usually results in interesting and well-composed pictures.

The rule of thirds is also applied to improve the image’s appeal to the eye, make it more compelling, and draw the viewer in.

Shapes, Textures and PatternsSource: Unsplash

These elements are found in everyday life and easily catch the viewer’s eye. Most shots will contain one or more shapes, but those in which the photographer has used those shapes in new and distinctive ways stand out and improve already excellent images.

To improve the composition, photographers sometimes add patterns to their images. The recurrence of colours, shapes, and objects makes a pattern. Using a pattern is the key to achieving effective composition in a photograph.

Use Outdoor Flash

On sunny days, the sun frequently casts harsh shadows, which results in high-contrast images with either overexposed highlights or burnt-out shadows. Flash comes in handy here. The flash will act as a fill light, lifting the shadows and giving you a more even shot as long as your subject is within the flash’s range.

Avoid Noisy Backgrounds

Source: Unsplash

Using a plain background emphasises your subject and produces a cleaner shot. A distracting background makes the image look messy and unprofessional, removing focus from the subject.

Conclusion

Always trying new things and innovating your style is the key to making your photos stand out.  To better understand the theory and practical applications and develop your skill set, enrol at JD Institute of Fashion and Technology for a 3-month photography diploma course that will teach you everything you need to know regarding qualities of a good photo, and how to capture one.