There are many books out there that talk about the technical aspects of photography and books that help you learn all about photography. When learning photography, it’s important to understand your camera’s functions, as well as its limitations. By limitations, I mean what your camera is and is not capable of doing.
Having an expensive camera with all the latest technology does not necessarily equate to taking good photos.
We have all had those moments where we have waited in anticipation to transfer the photos we have taken to our computers, only to be disappointed by the final results.
So what are the magic ingredients of a good photo?
For me there are 4 key things;
Composition, Lighting, waiting for the right moment, and post processing.
Look at the RAW photo below
It has three of the above elements:
The right lighting and exposure. The right moment, this photo was taken at the end of the day as the sun was setting. If I had been there around mid-day, the lighting and feel of the photo would have been very different. As it stands, I like the picture and the composition. But, we can still improve on this with some post processing.
Check the final image below. I have been able to use post processing to enhance three of the key elements, lighting, composition and post processing. Naturally, I cannot do anything about the moment!
The next time you take a picture, go through a mental checklist, ask yourself, is the moment right, is this the best light for my subject, do I have a strong composition, and how am I going to use the final image?
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