Camera in Tow

View your world in a new light with these photo tips.

by Jen McGuinness

While driving near a corn field on my way to work one day, I noticed within it a large, intriguing silhouette in black, starkly contrasting with its surroundings. My gut instinct was to hit the brakes and pull over to try and figure out what it was. (Luckily, no one was behind me.) As I slowed my car and hesitated, I studied the mass more carefully. There had to be at least a thousand birds— if not more— gathered on the field.

It was the yearly grackle migration.

What makes grackles so appealing to photograph is their feathers. It’s as if they were dipped in iridescent oil that reflects purple and blue glints in just the right light.

After I pulled over my car, I didn’t want to risk scaring the birds by getting out. I lowered my window and began clicking away with my camera. A cacophony of grackle calls surrounded me. It wasn’t the ideal situation to photograph in, but it was pure luck to come across them as I did.

A key factor in creating successful photographs is having access to your subject. When I lived in a city setting, I didn’t have access to fields full of birds. Instead, it was the towering architecture that surrounded me. So, I had to find my subject, nature, in other ways. It was the old oak tree that grew between two slats of concrete sidewalk, or the tomato plants in my grandfather’s garden. There are beautiful natural images all around us. You just need to look for them.

Take a photo like a pro

I’ve seen great photos come from all sorts of cameras. You don’t necessarily need to spend a ton of money on equipment to get good shots. A main aspect of good photography is having an “eye” to see the image. In high school I was taught to fine tune this eye, and spent hours in the darkroom developing and creating images that I shot on film.

Today, thanks to digital cameras, taking photos is much easier, and there’s more instant gratification. But being a good photographer takes practice. I shoot photos every day, even though many of them will never be seen by the public. This daily routine fine tunes my photos’ compositions. It allows me to study and perfect how a subject fills the photograph and how a viewer’s eye may be drawn to it.

If you’re just venturing into this artistic medium, it would be a good idea to take advantage of photography classes in school and pick your instructors’ minds. Also, try reading books on the subject, searching photography blogs and online communities, and browsing Flick.com accounts with photos you admire to see what you like about their compositions.

Feeling inspired? Keep these tips in mind.

• Look at your subject from different angles. That flower looks completely different when you stand 4 feet away as opposed to when you’re right on top of it. Do you always look down at flowers? Get down below them and shoot upward towards the sky. Instead of seeing the plant as a whole, you’ll begin to focus on individual petals, stems and leaves.
• Centering subjects is not always the best thing to do. Sometimes images look far more dramatic when they are off center. This is called the Rule of Thirds. Imagine, you slice your photo with two horizontal and two vertical lines so it forms four intersecting points and nine equal size boxes. Your main subject will look completely different when you place them on the imaginary, intersecting lines, instead of dead center in your photo
• Be a pet paparazzi. Animals are fantastic to photograph because their eyes are very expressive, and people easily relate to them. Get down on their level. See the world from their viewpoint.
• Be conscious of the sun. Where is it in the sky? Is it behind you or your subject? Photos that are taken around noontime in direct sunlight will cause harsh shadows on your subject. Shooting into sunlight can almost ruin a photo, unless you want to go for the look of a silhouette. Try shooting photos in the late afternoon or early morning, which casts a softer light.
• Document your surroundings. Many people don’t have access to your world. What’s in it? What may seem boring and ordinary to you could be unusual for others.
• Carry your camera with you. If I don’t have my camera, it seems as if thousands of possible images pass me by at any given time, and I’m not able to capture and preserve them. One day, it may be that flock of birds that captures my eye. The next, my subject is the old drive-in movie sign that looks abandoned in the hot, midday sun. You never know when inspiration will strike.

One of the best things about photography is being able to show others what makes you passionate. Take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. What are you waiting for? Get started!

Jen McGuinness is a professional photographer. Learn more about her at mcguinnessphoto.com.