Adding More Magic To Your Photographs
Magic is that extra ingredient we all need in our lives - whether we're making an attempt at being great cooks, or great engineers it's that little sparkle that changes everything. It's not at all different in photography - more to the point, it's incredibly necessary to add a touch of unique, of interesting to your photographs to set them apart.
Regardless whether you focus on portrait photography or on landscapes or even conceptual photography, that particular piece of magic will certainly set you apart and make you a great photographer. But enough talking in abstracts! How do we identify that sparkle, how do we add it to our photographs?
As a constant learner, you take a look at great photography like the one done by Ansel Adams or more contemporary photographers like Chase Jarvis, Ian Plant or Joe McNally that seem to have that particular ability of being at the right place at the right time - and you know something, most of the time they are.
Professional photographers know that the best photography is done during certain hours, and that their photographs can benefit from a certain kind of light. Not to mention that their eye has already evolved to that point where they see a perfect moment and snap to it - while most of us still struggle to figure out whether we put on the right lens for what we're trying to show our viewers.
It seems like the only solution to this is a lot of practice - but to be honest, there are a couple of tricks you can read about and learn from that will help shorten that forever learning period (a bit of paradox if you think about it).
Learning to work with scattered light or awful reflections is one very important step - this will ensure the fact that your photographers are well built regardless of the objects that normally attempt to ruin your shot. Also, know your camera - if you set up a certain depth of field your camera's sensor just can't handle you might end up doing more damage than good - and this time you were actually trying to build a better image.
Magic comes from within - from playing with given elements and turning the bad ones towards your interest. Think of contre jour - in theory, it's a rather bad moment for photography - but think of how dramatic contre jour portraits have become. It's all about making the things around you work with you and not against you - but for that you actually have to take the time and evaluate them.
Creating a wonderful sense of place works great with your magic act
Most often, photographers forget one important thing - to change their viewer's perspective - a viewer should be absorbed within the image - in a landscape for example, it shouldn't feel like a photograph of a beautiful place, it should feel like a window towards an incredible place.
This means taking the photography-like feeling, that postcard feeling out of the picture and adding in the magic. Think of all those National Geographic magazines that display photos that make you feel as if you were already there.
That's the kind of feeling you should generate with your images as well - help your viewers go "Wow! I want to be there" at your pictures by showing them more than a snapshot of the place - by displaying the magic of the place.
