Tip #4257 - Choosing Your Subject
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Choosing
Your Subjects
Many times, we
are in the wrongful notion that we need to have a studio setting and
a studio subject to take great pictures. The truth is though that
your subjects can be anyone, animate or inanimate. That's what makes
photography so much fun. Here are a few easy tips on finding the right
subjects for your pictures!
Honest
Emotions
This quality is
all appealing. If you capture innocence on your camera, no matter
how badly composed it is, the picture will still be appreciated. If
you spot a pet, a child or an adult with innocence written across
their face, go for it! Capture them in action and you never know what
you may end up with.
Poignant Faces
You need to study
faces before you decide who can be your best subject. Faces that appear
pleasant in person might turn out to be quite non-photogenic and vice
versa. Also, capturing an acknowledged beauty on camera isn’t
always great. What will elevate your skills is if you can find that
grandmother with well defined wrinkles and nerves on her face. A tight
close up of her face in black and white will tell you what you have
indeed captured. It’s these poignant faces that distinguish
a professional from an amateur.
Straight Action
Sometimes nothing
succeeds like sporting action. Whether it's snow boarding, jet skiing,
parasailing, bungee jumping, roller skating, driving, water slides,
roller coasters, it's so fun to capture those kinds of things. In
fact, just about any kind of action shot that’s engaging and
inspirational at the same time will be a winner. With this, the action
becomes your subject and not the person performing it.
Serendipitous Moments
We have many such
moments, but the thrill is in capturing them for posterity and nothing
can beat the serendipitous moments offered by nature. It could be
a pattern in the sand, a set of footprints, the crashing of waves
over a rock, a life saver’s tower, shoes at the water's edge,
sand castles, sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, etc. The possibilities
are endless. All you need is a watchful eye for the serendipitous!
Timing
With a little
observation, you can create photographic subjects. For example, the
start and end of a day can present the best opportunity for shooting
at the beach. For starters, there will be less people there at those
times and you’ll also find that with the sun shining at an angle,
you often get more interesting effects of shadows and colors. That's
especially true in the evening when the light becomes quite warm and
golden. Another timing issue is that the beach can really come to
life on the days when everyone avoids it because of poor weather.
Stormy seas, threatening and dramatic clouds and wind blowing trees
all make for atmospheric shots.
Watching and Listening
Many times, you
don’t have to look far for photographic inspiration. Your subject
could be anything that moves, from tiny orange soldier beetles to
bull elephants fighting. Intimate photographic knowledge can be taught
to a lesser extent from others, but to a far greater extent just by
watching and listening to everything around you. It can be the body
language of your subject that results in a "once in a lifetime"
photograph. For example, a naturally relaxed bird will have its feathers
quite loose, but just before flight, they will all tense. If you see
this and start clicking the shutter at the right time, it can result
in a wonderful “take off” image. It could be a bull elephant
twitching its tail and becoming very agitated just before charging
at another bull and engaging in a tussle. The world is full of great
photo subjects!
Happy picture taking!
~ Zahid H. Javali
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