Category: CREATIVITY & INSPIRATION

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When you pay attention to light have you ever had a WTF moment when you realize that the background lighting is perfect, but your subject is too dark? Or when you change your settings to correct your subject and realize that the background is now too light? Yep, I’ve been there.

For the best photos, lighting is everything, regardless of whether it is natural or not.

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Always be aware of how much of your subject is in the frame (or not).

One of my biggest pet peeves? Seeing an amazing photo but….noticing that the subject has been cut off at a distracting portion.

How Much of your Subject is in the frame? Why Does it Matter?

Have you ever seen a photo of a person that you loved, but realized that the “full body” image was cut off at the ankles? Or in a close up image they had arms, but they were cut off at the elbow or wrist? Or missing fingers?

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One of the first things I learned about composition in photography was the rule of thirds. I follow it a lot, whether it is as I’m shooting, or cropping after the shot.

What is the Rule of Thirds?

Picture your image with what looks like a tic tac toe grid over top of it. Using the rule of thirds, your subject would be placed on one of the horizontal or vertical lines instead of in the center. You also want to take into account the places where the lines meet (upper left or right, lower left or right) and use these for the most important part of the image.