In previous posts which you can find: here, we discussed the first three elements to great photography. Impact, Technical excellence, and Creativity.
There are many more categories that we have yet to cover so let's jump in!
- Style: This category describes how you make your images uniquely yours. It may be that you enjoy a particular technique such as vintage, black and white, or technicolor. The way you apply all the aspects into your images creates your style.
- Composition: This category is how the image is made up as a whole. By putting all the elements together into one image you have created something that guides the viewer's eyes.
- Presentation: Is the way you can give your images an extra something at the end of the process. Be it textures like a glossy finish, or a matte, or by framing your image on a canvas.
- Color Balance: The balance of color within your photography is extremely important. It can make an image warmer or colder. It can also complement each other, by using primary and secondary colors to make things pop. It can also bring a sense of emotion to an image.
- Center of Interest: Is the point(s) in the image that the photographer wants the audience to focus on. Similar to how the composition allows the viewer's eyes to flow through an image, the center of interest is a point where we want the viewer to stop and contemplate. There is no rule here, there could be one overall point, many points within one image, or the entire image could be the center of interest.
- Lighting: The use and control of lighting for any photographer is a key aspect, but how a photography can change the lighting around them, be it natural or manmade, is hard. If you can master this skill it creates a new dimension and shape within the image.
- Subject Matter: Any portrait photographer understands the main focus is the subject you are capturing, but all photographers must keep in mind the story being told. If you are capturing a wedding shot, you must try and tell the story of love within your image.
- Technique: Similar to presentation, technique is HOW you made your image. Posing, lighting, what media you used, how large you captured your image, using RAW vs JPEG, and more can all be explained with your technique.
- Story Telling: To me the most important aspect of photography is the Story. Story telling defines someone with a camera and a photographer. As photographers we can capture a hidden emotion, meaning, or story to express in a stilled image. It invokes imagination, creativity, and inspiration. I will forever be working on the story and evolving who I am as a photographer.
These 12 elements are a TON to keep in mind when capturing any image. To be honest, they are all very important to creating the perfect image, but we are still human behind the camera. The last step and one of the best things to keep in mind: HAVE FUN! No matter how skilled you are in photography, you must always have fun with what you do.
