Pushing yourself to the front of the crowd can often get you into a good position. ~ Hanging Rock Picnic Races

This article is contributed by Peter Hunter OAM,ARPS,AFIAP, a member of the Lismore Camera Club

Many of the great photos taken by serious and professional photographers are good because they were “in charge of the situation”. What do we mean by this? In effect the photographer acted like a motion picture director where subjects and other things were arranged and organised.

Organising the Subject

Working with animals is difficult - it is rare that they will both look at the camera at the same time.

People who are not shy make the best job of organising photos. If you look at a good wedding photographer in action you will observe that he or she will carefully arrange the bride and groom and others into the desired positions before taking the photo. The same goes for professional photographers, whether they are shooting still life or gorgeous fashion models. The facial expression or direction of a head or a foot can make or break an image.

If you take photos of family or friends at a simple dinner party get partners close to each other. Use the red eye reduction and face detection, and get them to look happy or smile on the count of “one, two, three”. Children are hard to organise so it’s often a good idea to let them take a few photos on your digital camera, see the results on the back of the camera and then join into the fun of photography.

Animals are even harder, you need a very cooperative owner or handler and well trained animals. having an empathy with animals helps a lot.

Removing Distractions

Many times it is easy for the photographer to remove some litter, cut away some vegetation or move a distracting sign. It comes back to what has been written many times… that you must look beyond the subject in the viewfinder and check the background in the viewfinder before taking the photo.

Look at that distracting pipe near the bottom of the photo

Covering the pipe with a few rocks really improves the photo.~ Lake District England

Choosing the Viewpoint

When there's a blank sky look for some trees to frame and fill the space ~ Bodiam Castle, Sussex England

As most photographers acquire their own style, they also develop their own sense of composition or creativity. The more photos you take and the more critical you become of your own work, the more you will progress. Almost automatically you will choose a vertical or horizontal viewpoint. You will zoom your lens to frame the subject properly. Also becoming second nature will be whether you use a low angle or get up high. Seeing a blank sky will make you look for a tree, an arch or something to frame the subject and cover the sky.

Taking Portraits

Getting your subject to look at the camera lens will make her look right at the viewer

Almost every photographer has to take a portrait at sometime or another. Books have been written on the subject so it’s only possible to summarise some main points here. A willing subject, suitable clothing and a place to work are essentials. It may be a good idea to tear out pages from magazines and newspapers to keep in a scrapbook to give you and the subject ideas. Many good portraits have eye contact and a happy look but like every idea they are not always necessary. If the subject looks right at the centre of the camera lens the viewer sees that subject looking straight at them.

Related posts:

1. Easy tips to shoot great group photos