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Train Your Photographic Eye

Tips On Finding Subjects For Photography

Oct 5, 2008 Inka Piegsa-Quischotte

The advent of digital cameras has made photography easier. However, you still have to train your eye to find the perfect subject.

Whether you wish to become a professional photographer, to illustrate your articles or just to capture and share special moments, the basic truth is, that there is no picture without a subject. The art of finding a suitable and enticing subject can be learned and refined by using some of the following tips:

Never leave home without your camera. Make sure it's loaded with either battery for digital or film for conventional cameras and within easy reach. You never know when you will happen upon a particularly interesting subject and you don't want to have to say: "If only I had had my camera with me."
Whatever you do, wherever you go, keep your eyes peeled. Train the habit. Not only will you discover worthy objects for your pictures in the most unexpected places, it will also have the desirable side effect of keeping you safer. You will notice possible danger zones and chances of attack, and be able to avoid them.
Start thinking and looking in "frames". View objects with square eyes, so to speak, and as if looking through your lens or screen. Imagine how the view would come out in a picture.
Let your fantasy run free. Learn to see and imagine things behind things. An example is the paving stone which looked just like a discarded ham sandwich. These things make for good pictures.
Get into the habit of taking many shots of the same object. Use different angles, different slants of light.
Get close. Familiarise yourself with your camera; find the best settings for close-up, and practise. You don't want to have to fumble with your camera and settings when you find an interesting subject which could disappear in an instant.
Picture of people with interesting faces, doing something unusual or wearing outrageous or colorful clothes are worthy objects of photography. However, be respectful. If at all possible, ask permission to take a picture. If not, it's a good decoy to have a friend stand close to them, pretend that you are snapping the friend, then swerve your camera at the last moment. You can always edit the picture later. You will be surprised how many people will readily agree; just make sure they don't start posing if that's not what you want.

Photography is an art, but it's also a craft and as such can be learned and, through practice, perfected.

The copyright of the article Train Your Photographic Eye in Photography is owned by Inka Piegsa-Quischotte. Permission to republish Train Your Photographic Eye in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

paving stone or ham sandwich?