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5 Tips for Picture Perfect Photography
There are many elements that make up the anatomy of an aesthetically pleasing photograph. Subject matter, contrast, juxtaposition, and focus all contribute: but perhaps the most crucial element is lighting. Without a proper understanding of the role lighting plays in picture perfect photography, more often than not you’ll be left with dull, flat, and uninspired photographs.
This is especially true where outdoor photography is concerned and in situations where you have no physical control over the amount or quality of light. Luckily there is a simple way to use natural lighting to ensure that your outdoor photography will look its best.
The Golden Hour
The golden hour represents a time in which photographers of any specialization, whether landscape, wildlife, cityscape, macro or portrait photography, are able to capture the most stunning images.
The trouble is, as the name suggests, this magical time of perfect natural lighting only lasts for around an hour at a time. But there is a silver lining – it occurs twice per day! The first begins just prior to sunrise, while the second starts shortly before sunset and concludes just after.
As time is of the essence, here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Plan ahead: Don’t leave anything to chance. Allow for traffic and know your location well in advance. Ideally, you’ll want to have your equipment set up a half hour before sunrise or sunset in order to make the most of your time.
- Adapt: During the golden hour the light will almost constantly change, making your subject matter undoubtedly look different from one minute to the next. Don’t panic, and make your adjustments slight.
- Take your time: As counter-intuitive as it sounds, avoid taking hundreds of photographs. Emphasize quality over quantity, and choose your moments carefully: feeling rushed can lead to mistakes.
- Focus: There’s nothing worse than thinking you’ve taken the perfect shot only to find out that what you were hoping to capture wasn’t in focus. Set yourself up with a sturdy tripod, set a low ISO, and use a long exposure for best results.
- Aim to get it right the first time: Try not to rely on Photoshop to make edits to your photos later. While post-session editing can make the difference between good and great, photo editing software has its limits. Better to spend the time on the timing and setup of your photo shoot than to mentally plan on heavy edits later.
Improving Your Results
For aspiring photographers and anyone finding it difficult to obtain beautiful imagery, there is one rule you should always aim to follow – consistency. And of course if you need to read up on some insightful information and learn from the pros, you can do that too.
Now that you know more about the golden hour and how you should organize yourself and your equipment to capitalize on getting up early or staying out after dark, you’re one step closer to achieving consistently amazing outdoor photography in natural light.
