Today, I would like to give you another tool to help you improve your images. A photographer was once quoted saying “If you don’t like your photographs, get closer”. Getting closer by either physically moving closer, or zooming into your main subject, is one of the most effective ways to quickly improve your images.
Just as looking down on your subject will help eliminate distracting elements in the image, getting closer will get rid of the clutter. Getting closer also simplifies an image. The more simple the composition, the more powerful the message it sends to the viewer.
Last fall, one of the stems from my wife’s foxglove plant was so loaded with flowers that it fell to the ground. I wanted to photograph it, before the flowers withered. So, I put it in my basement, shined a light on the flowers and took a photo.
As you can see, it is a good photo, and the flowers are pretty. But, it just didn’t jump off the page. So, I zoomed in, and took a closer image.
This image has much more impact. But, it still didn’t really jump off the page, the way I wanted it to. So, I combined the 2 concepts that have been presented so far in this blog; I got closer, and changed my perspective. I got down low, and looked up at the flowers.
This image had a much different look. Because foxglove is normally fairly close to the ground, and the flowers hang down, most people never see these flowers from this angle. It completely changed the photo. They kind of look like the flower from the movie “Little Shop of Horrors”.
People who have seen this image, without seeing the wider shot, ask me what type of flower it is. When I show them the first photo, they are often surprised by how different the last image looks.
The next time you take a photo, and it just doesn’t look as good as you would like, try zooming in, or walking a little closer. I can almost guarantee you that the second image will look much better.
Have a great week.
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