I still consider myself a newbie blogger with my nine month old blog, but if there is one thing I've learned so far, it's that high quality, interesting photography can really elevate a blog. And it doesn't matter if you have a point and shoot digital camera or a DSLR with a handful of interchangeable lenses, there are plenty of tips to help anyone with any camera improve their photography techniques. I've asked one of my good friends, Haley to model for me to show you a variety of elements of composition.
To improve the quality of your photographs, think about lighting and composition. Incorporating these techniques into your outfit photos will them become stronger and more compelling images.
Perspective
Same location, different angle with camera. The first of these two is the strongest. It's cut off a bit here, but you can view the image by clicking on it to get to flickr to see the whole image. The lines in the first photo draw your eye to focus of the picture: Haley.
Repetition
The repeating columns add more interest
Depth of Field
Whether it's a wide shot with lots of details in focus or a detailed shot with the background compressed, depth of field can add a lot to a photo. I prefer to shoot details with a short depth of field.
Symmetry
I centered Haley in the center of the doors. I don't normally do a lot with symmetry, but it was actually a lot of fun to incorporate these different elements into my photography. It's something different for readers to look at as well instead of the same shot over and over again.
Space
For me, this can be tricky. I wish I didn't cut her off so much in the second image, but it's all about trying and seeing what works and having fun with outfit shots.
Framing
I'm a huge fan of framing. You can frame anyone using anything. In this case, I stood on the side of a door and asked Haley to stand on the outside. I like the lines on the windows and wanted to frame her within them.
You can also play around with color, texture and lines. The example images for perspective is also a great example of utilizing lines.
One of the best ways to get beautiful images is playing with light. You can use natural light (what's coming through your window or shooting outside), available light (your lamps and other sources of light that aren't natural) or artificial light (using an sort of lighting kit.) Natural light is my absolute favorite. Most of my outfit shots are taken outside and if they are taken inside, I utilize window light. This is all personal preference of course. My advice with light would be to not take photos in direct sunlight. It's harsh and unflattering. If you must shoot on a super sunny day, find some shade or shoot earlier in the morning or later in the evening before the sun reaches its peak in the sky.
Taking a variety of shots is just as important as the shots themselves. Make sure you take full body shots, portraits and detail shots of interesting pieces of your clothing.
And if it's a moment captured, it's ok if it's not technically sound or following any rules. Sometimes, it's just important to capture the fun stuff.
If anyone has specific questions, feel free to email me at kerbuski@gmail.com. I'd be more than happy to help! A lot of you may already know most of this, but hopefully it was useful for a couple people!