How to step up your photo-taking routine

Before we get into this, let me be clear: this article is meant for everyone. Whether you are a beginner photographer, a hobbyist, a self-proclaimed selfie prodigy, or a professional, here are five things I recommend that you can do to improve your photo-taking routine.

Take a moment to figure out why you want to take the photo.

Do you want to depict a model beautifully? Then you’ll want to make your model feel at ease – people don’t look great when they are perplexed and confused. Don’t be afraid to direct them and help them feel confident. 

Perhaps you want to capture an event as it happens – then follow the action. Maybe, the sole purpose behind your photo is to remember and frame a personal moment, in which case you’ll likely want to focus on the varying emotions within the photo.

Knowing why you are taking the photo is half of the journey.

By now we have all seen the Kawhi Leonard Game 7 buzzer-beater photo by Toronto-based photographer Mark Blinch. If Blinch had wanted to capture a personal memory instead of an action filled moment, he might have turned the camera around and taken a celebratory self-portrait. Perhaps instead of using a wide lens he would have shot a closeup of Leonard’s expression. Having determined a purpose for his photos prior to shooting, Blinch could focus all of his attention on the action in front of him.

Determine who will see your photo and if the purpose behind the shot is clear.

This is easier said than done. The web has a way of spreading photographs to all corners of the globe. The general rule of thumb is that everyone, young and old, with professional or intermediate knowledge of picture-taking, can and will see it.

For this reason, every photo you submit for a written story or post on social media should have your unwavering support. Give it a once-over and ask yourself if it visually tells the story you want told. Will it lower or raise expectations? Don’t be scared to ask friends to look over your photo(s) before you hit the “submit” button. We review essays before publishing, so why change that routine for our pictures? Sometimes, all it takes is a second opinion to spur on our creativity.

Recognize that pictures and photos are “read”, so they should have a strong beginning, middle and end.

No, I’m not an English teacher, but it’s true. We have a tendency to look at recognizable features in photos before moving on to their abstract bits. We commonly register the emotion on the face of the subject before we register the colour of their shoe, etc. We consider the central point, or dare I say “focus” of the photo to be, quite literally, the sections of the picture that are “in focus”.

To step-up your pictures, knowing how people respond to them is important. Scientific studies are published constantly, so it is definitely an area worth looking into.

Take ownership over the work you put into taking your photos.

Getting the perfect shot takes time. Use watermarks, or at the very least, start adding your name to the metadata of your pictures before you send them into the web. Adding these details could help you get hired in the future and will make it infinitely harder for others to steal your work.

Finally, don’t shy away from pulling the trigger.

This may be the most obvious thing you can do to improve your picture-taking routine, but trust me, it’s worth repeating. Scratch all of the elaborate rules that you may have learned. If rules get in the way of you taking that decisive shot, or you feel awkward and as a result you shy away from taking the photo, then that’s one photo you’ll never get back.

Sometimes it may seem risky to pull out a camera. It may feel intrusive, selfish, or rude, but at the end of the day… think of the thrill you’ll get when you see the final result on your computer.

Have questions? Want to find out more about Manuel? You can reach him here.

By Manuel Baechlin, Vice President (Marketing)