Would you like to take better pictures? Yes?
Would you like to take better pictures and be able to tell why it is better? Yes?
Thanks for reading my posts. My last name is ‘Lim’, my first name is ‘Peng’ and my middle name is ‘Heng’. In the Asian world I am Lim Peng Heng while in the Western world I would be Peng H. Lim.
This is not a place to learn how to shoot pictures like a professional. There are many websites, courses, clubs and you can google them all. This is about everybody and anybody on the street. So the first most important thing is to enjoy bringing out your camera and take pictures; anything else does not matter. You need to enjoy it; actually you need to enjoy pretty much about everything you want to do, else why are you doing it.
This is going to be as simple as it can be; if you have a short memory (like me) – just remember 2 things:
- eyes, and
- 3×3 grid
That’s it, so what are they …
Eyes
if you have people in your pictures, focus on the eyes. It is said that the eyes is the window to the soul. In any picture with people, if the eyes are not focused (not sharp) then the picture does not look good. Most cameras today, even point and shoot ones, will allow you to focus on the person instead of the centre of the whole picture – read it up on your camera manual on how to work it on your camera.
3×3 Grid
This would be a little tricky to explain. So I’ll bring in examples to demonstrate my point. Which picture would you prefer? the first, second or third …
Make your choice before reading on …
My best guess is that most people will not like the Second one. Those who like waves may choose the third one, while the first picture is preferred for slightly balanced skyline. So where is this 3×3 grid guide. Well it is in all digital cameras, one of the the display modes will bring out a 3×3 grid display and what i did was to align the base of the skyline with either the top (third picture) or the bottom (first picture) line.
So what about the vertical lines, we use them for align objects or people. The following is a beautiful picture by Mr Matt Crypto (Creative Commons) mapped onto a 3×3 grid.
Here are a couple of portraitures images belonging to Creative Commons …
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