Finding my niche in photography took some time, and I am constantly perfecting it. When you jump into photography for the first time, you tend to be inspired by others, by trying similar concepts and ideas. Once you put yourself out there, practice, and gain confidence, you begin to branch out and take truly unique photos.
My style began to change as I started experimenting, and deciding what aspects I really liked. While studying Graphic Design at UND, we were always taught “Less is Best” and I have definitely attributed the minimalist look to my photography. I have also grown very fond of high contrast photos and different shades of blue, as you will notice in my photography at the end of this post. By making these key decisions about what I liked, I was able to form my personal style of photography.
You should work on perfecting your own style, but here are a few tips that have helped me with my own visions. I hope you can be inspired by my work in some way, try some different things that I try, and hopefully gain the confidence to break away and find your niche!
As a side note, I am not a professional photographer, so don’t take me too seriously. These tips and tricks are my own personal views. If you are looking for more professional advice, you should contact a professional photographer.
Enough talk, here’s my tips:
(1) Don’t be afraid to look stupid
A lot of times, you will be taking photos in public, in places where people are going to see you. I used to be so embarrassed to take photos in public that I would snap my subject really fast and move on. Well, once I got home I had a bunch of photos that were unusable. Eventually, I wanted my shots so bad that I stopped caring about who was gawking at me.
(2) Take multiple shots of your subject
When you take only a few shots, you don’t have much to work with. When I see something I want to photograph, I take TONS of shots.. I will literally take 10 shots or more. You can always delete them later, but it gives you options to work with. Hopefully you will have at least one that you love. If you are using a DSLR, take multiple shots of your subject, experimenting with different aperture and shutter speeds. Record the settings you used for each shot so you can start to learn what settings work best in different conditions, and your personal preferences. You can find charts online to assist you with settings.
(3) Experiment with different perspectives
This goes back to my first tip, don’t be afraid of looking stupid. I like to experiment with angles, which usually leads to some unique shots that I never would have thought of without trying different perspectives. As you may have noticed, my favorite perspective is the worm’s eye view, where I literally lay on the ground and point up. My typical subjects are flowers, so I have a lot of fun laying on the ground, burying my camera into the flowers, trying to get the perfect shot with the beautiful blue sky in the background.
(4) Don’t waste a sunny day!
Sunny days are perfect for taking photos similar to the style that I shoot. This tip is especially important if you are using a camera that cannot adjust for lighting conditions, such as an iPhone, which I use a lot of the time because it’s always in my pocket and readily available. I never waste a beautiful, clear skied, sunny day. When I wake up and see the sun blazing through my window, I am outside exporing for shots. Don’t make photography harder than it needs to be… if you want a colorful, blue skied shot, then don’t miss out on the sunny days.
Thanks for reading! Come back soon.
A Molly Production 