Photography doesn’t have to be just trigger-pressing. It has its rules and its theory. Come join us for a look at photography’s basic means of expression, and learn the difference between a photograph (a photographic image) and a mere camera-powered recording of reality. You should give each photo a distinct subject, and to express that subject creatively, you need thorough work with light, composition, and perspective.

Intermediate photographers often complain about their equipment, and they can really pour a lot of money into it. They’re also always chasing after better photos and mumbling something about “good light”. Photographers are a community and they have their quirks, but are they all the same?

Using a series of repeating objects in a photo’s background can make it compositionally impressive. It gives the photo a rhythm—which you can then interrupt with a properly placed subject. And if you hide the end of the series of objects that form the rhythm, you make the photo feel endless. Your audience gets the feeling that the row of repeating objects never ends.

Your basic light for photography—available to you free of charge—is natural light. But when you’re using that light, you usually don’t have many ways to fully control it, and so you’ll often have to adapt your exposure and your scene to the light. You’ll learn to perceive light and take advantage of its characteristics with some practice…

One very simple and effective way to emphasize your subject is to find a high-contrast background. You can contrast your subject against the background not only visually, but also in terms of its meaning. These contrasts are especially strong when a picture contains two elements that seem dissimilar, but join together to form a surprising composition with a powerful message.

An eye for light and perfectly handled work with natural and artificial light sources are the key prerequisite for a good photo. The right lighting lifts a photo up out of the dull gray average, while a badly lighted picture, no matter how beautiful its subject, will never impress.

When a photo tells a story and uses several objects to tell it, that can be a lot for your audience to digest. To make sure they know how to read the photo, position the different parts of its composition so that the photo forms a single, balanced whole. The photo shouldn’t feel like one side or the other is too “heavy.” Let’s take a look at today’s article at how to use composition to get a correctly balanced picture.

Feeling a little photographically uninspired? Then start up a photo project. With these projects, you can build a variety of photographic skills and have fun doing it. You can also try out things you haven’t found the nerve for before or get your creative juices flowing when you’re feeling uninspired.

Flowers and other plants can be compelling subjects, and you can get fancier than just photographing them the same way every time. Take inspiration from today’s article and read up on the why’s and how’s of composing when you’re photographing plants.

There are several tools you can use to draw your audience’s eyes towards your photos’ subjects. But there are also many ways in which you can accidentally transfix your audience with something different than what you intended. So in today’s article, read up on the right way to get your audience’s attention and keep them focused on your subject. That will give your pictures better, more pleasing composition.