Often when we pursue a new hobby we eventually develop our own sort of style or a preference for doing things. Especially with artistic forms which are the epitome of looking to express oneself and develop your own unique signature we can often get fixated on our individual style and lose appreciation for the other ways of doing things.
In this, Part 15 of our Basics of Photography Series we’re going to promote the other forms of photography to you and show you how having a go at each of them can help you develop your photography skills.
Black and White Photography- Back to Basics
Black and white photography is a great thing to practice every once in a while as it helps you recognise more detail in a shot. By converting to black and white it means you have to focus more upon bringing out the textures and visible layers in the shot as light and shadows are enhanced making them a lot more dramatic. When photographing people in black and white you will find your viewers are more able to look into the subjects emotional state. As well as this black and white photography helps an image remain timeless.
Macro Photography – See the Small Things
Sometime find yourself only looking at the shot as a whole? It’s time to focus on the little things! Giving yourself a little time to play around with macro photography can help you to bring out and look at your surrounding in a lot more detail. Where you used to capture a whole bubbling brook you could then learn to love focusing upon the way the water moves in and around a single rock. It’s all about perception; images don’t have to have a lot going on or a full landscape, the little things can be just as exciting as well as help you learn to focus.
Panoramic Photography- View the Bigger Picture
The opposite, sometimes we can find ourselves thinking too small when we look through the viewfinder, getting relatively close the subject when they could be a striking feature of a much wider landscape and story. So just take a moment, stand in one spot and see how many panoramic captures you can get from around you.
High Speed Photography- Learn it on the Move
We all experience it; that moment when you have your shot perfectly lined up, and then something moves before your shutter closes. This is where having a go at high speed photography can be great for your overall skills. High speed is obviously focused upon capturing purposely moving object/subjects however getting an idea of how capturing movement works can help you across the board.
After Dark – Subtle, Shadows and Silhouettes
Everyone has heard of the golden hours- those few hours before sunrise and sunset when the lowering of the sun seems to present everything in a better light. Well it’s always worth ticking off ‘after dark’ photography. Venturing into the darkness you will find deep shadows and different levels of lighting to play around with in your shots, everything looks that little bit more striking and mysterious.
Street Photography – Capturing the Candid
Find yourself over planning when out and about with your camera? Try your hand at street photography, with this it’s very much getting your shots impromptu with no planning, no setup, just point and shoot. Street photography is all about recognising a good shot as it happens and just taking it, remaining subtle to your subjects and can lend a lot to your confidence of being able to just go for a photo without too much thought.
Looking for some more photography tips? Check out some more of our Basics of Photography Series https://www.pictureframesexpress.co.uk/blog/basics-of-photography/
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