6 intermediate techniques to improve your photos

Following the 5 basic techniques to take better photos that I posted a while back, here I come back with some extra 6 techniques, a bit more than basic, that might improve your pictures, regardless the camera you have.

Check here the first 5 techniques to take better photos – and then follow along with the next 5 below.

Just a remind, I am not a photography professional, but I like to test new things, read about it and overall, consider myself an enthusiast.

So if taking photos is something you enjoy doing, come along and read more below!

FIX THE HORIZON

For me, personally is really important to pay attention to the horizon and natural guidelines on a photo. It just looks a bit weird to have a crooked likes on a photo, in most cases.

I usually try my best to get a straight horizon (where the sky meets the ground/land/water) straight out the camera, by using the grid on the camera itself. But as we take photos on a run sometimes (most of times, for me), then the solutions lies on post editing, which is fairy easy to use.

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RULE OF THIRDS

It is known to generate a better composition where you follow the rule of thirds.

Which is basically dividing any photo in 9 segments and focusing the main subject of your photo, or relevant aspects where the lines are placed.

Of course it does not work for any photo, but it is my starting point when editing some of our photos.

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PHOTO QUALITY

There are many reasons you should try to keep your photos with good quality, both in terms of size and also in intention.

If you want to print them, that is a big reason to keep a decent quality (resolution), because low quality photos obviously won’t look nice when enlarged or just simply printed.

And to use your shots for social media or any other posting, then photo quality remains important, but with the addition to the message you want to express with that photo.

Firsty, watch out for dark, shaded, pixelated or too bright photos. If you are trying to impress with your photos, they should be easy to read and pleasant to look at.

In regards to the moment you are sharing on the photo, not every cute face of your child might be worth posting. I mean, it may be adorable and super memorable for you and your family, but it might not be for your followers/community.

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DISTRACTIONS

Avoiding distractions and non-relevant things on a photo is not always easy.

My example: on the beach, I wanted to register the sunset with one of my kids sitting nicely on the water, playing contently. Better yet, nothing posed, he didn’t even notice I was photographing him.

But hey, the beach was busy!

Well, to make it work, it took me changing position quite a few times, waiting some of the crowd to move along and finally I found an angle that represented what I wanted to show in this particular picture.

Note that I personally prefer “cleaner” photos, but some people might like a busier look. It’s a matter of preference and style as well.

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So, look what’s beyond your subject, pay attention to other things around that might affect your shot and be creative.

PRESETS/FILTERS

I find that light editing a photo can turn a nice photo into a amazing one. And this you may achieve with editing apps or software available in a wide variety.

I prefer light editing, which means working on light, shadows and tones, but not completely changing the core idea of the image. I don’t use photoshop in my photos, for example, nor any other software that could completely change things on my shots.

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Again, using presets and/or filters is matter of personal style and preferences.

I use mainly Adobe Lightroom for editing and with time, I saved some of my favorite settings into ‘presets’.

If you are not familiar with the term ‘presets’ are basically a group of settings on your app or software, that you save for easily reusing in another pictures. It may include adjustments in light, color, effects, details etc.

I have a few saved and I use as a starting point for all my edited photos. You can find some presets online for free and there is a lot of people offering paid packages as well.

Same for filters, that might highlight nice features of a photo, but I find that they are best used with moderation and some tweaking to each individual photo.

INSPIRATION

I understand that not every moment of our lives feels inspiring enough for photoshoots. Specially now with the pandemic, many of us are not doing much, other than staying home and our basic routines.

I find that looking at other people’s photos, those who have similar styles and subjects can inspire me a lot. Maybe looking at things at different perspectives and letting the imagination flow.

Some ideas:

• Look at your own city as you were a tourist. What would you photograph if it was your first time there?
• Did you change your bedding and your bed is look nice and cozy, is there perhaps an opportunity there?
• A nice sunset set and a cup of tea, that may sound ordinary, but could it be more?
• Your child at the playground: maybe his/her feet in the air against that beautiful blue sky is a nice inspiring shot.
• A new dish that you made and the daylight from your kitchen window made the colors pop.

What are your personal techniques? I would love to hear. Please share here or on Instagram @likeanewhomeblog .