How To Take A Nice Photo

Taking nice photos is hard.

I’m often asked about how I think through taking a photo. With out giving this a lot of thought, I had no answer. I mean, there is a distinct difference between taking a photo of something pretty and taking a pretty photo. One requires being at a place with pretty things, another is knowing how to capture it.

There are thousands of professional photographers who’ve created countless hours of how-tos and don’t-dos when it comes to photography. Frankly, that’s how I learned this fine craft; YouTube and trial and error.

However, I’ve gleaned some information through this excessive trial and much error to comment on the subject. This is by no means a step by step process to ensure your photos are featured in National Geographic. I’m simply looking to communicate my learnings over the years on how I think about capturing a scene.

For starters, photography is an artform. It is an expression, it is something that communicates to its viewers. It is birthed from creative eyes and appreciated by those sharing in a similar perspective. That is a complicated way of expressing that everything I say in the following paragraphs can be completely ignored. Great images can happen completely by accident. You can literally do the opposite of what I’m about to say and you may still end up with far better photos than I could dream of taking.

Disclaimer aside …

How do you take a nice photo?

There are three things I focus on when I’m out taking photos; subject, context, and lighting. Order does not matter. I need something to look at (subject), within its environment (context), that is appropriately visible (lighting).

I will dive deeper into each of these three topics. However, it is worth noting that you are likely to take a picture because you saw something. Profound, right? There is something you are experiencing, something you are noticing, something that is catching your attention and provokes you to attempt capturing its significance.

Imagine with me that you’re taking a hike up a mountain. You get to the top and are overcome with emotion while your eyes wander over the vast landscape. Someone turns to you and says, “Wow, you should take a picture of that.” My dad is the ultimate culprit. Every time we are out together he will see something pretty and immediately rely on my financial irresponsibility and mediocre photography skills to capture it.

My typical response sounds like, “Why don’t you get your own camera and take it yourself.” Loving, I know. But the point is I didn’t see what he wanted captured. I could be far more distracted by a dead tree 500 feet back on the trail. I can try to see what he sees, and take 50 shots trying to encapsulate it. However, needless to say, the one who saw the beauty is best equipped to capture it.

These tips are to help you capture that thing in its entirety.

What is your subject?

Surprising still, you need to take a picture of a thing. That thing is your subject. In its simplest form, your subject is what you’re intending the individual inspecting your image to look at first. Hopefully they look at the whole photo at some point, but the subject should answer the question, “What is this a picture of?” That thing should be properly positioned, exposed, and obvious.

Photo Below: The “obvious” part was something I struggled with personally for years. Constant feedback I received was that they liked the picture, however, they didn’t know where to look first. The thing might be pretty, but not obvious. Below is an example of a photo with a clear subject. Hopefully your eye is immediately drawn to the man sitting on the bench.

Now come back with me to the top of the mountain. You see a view that is breathtaking. You point your camera at it and snap a photo. You even dialed in your manual settings only to be underwhelmed with the outcome. It looked better in person and everyone knows it. Why is that?

The view from the top of a mountain is not a subject. The subject is that thing about the view that draws your attention. Maybe it is the layers of fog between the valleys, maybe the meandering lake or river that cuts through your scene, maybe its the clouds that seem to encircle the tips of another mountain range. Whatever that thing is, it is best to focus in on that particular feature.

Photo Below: This is a picture taken at the top of Mount Jo in the Adirondacks. My hope in taking this photo, and the only reason it still exists in my library, is how the clouds are interacting with the mountain. That should be the focus as the rest of the image is fairly blah.

At times, having something in between my camera lens and the miles of wilderness that was so encapsulating helps the viewer understand how vast the landscape truly is. This not only gives a point of emphasis and something to look at, it also creates depth. Depth is a topic all its own. The best way to explain this is with images I consider to showcase depth.

Photos Below: Imagine each photo without that subject in the bottom righthand portion of the picture. The canoers emphasis how high up I am while taking the photo as well as how far away the other islands and mountains truly are. The log by the waterfall, while not the subject, adds an element of depth to a rather underwhelming waterfall.

Subject, it's the first thing you look at and the obvious answer to the question of what the picture was taken of. However, a subject needs context.

What is your subject's context?

Context is king. Context is what tells the story of your image. Context is the environment in which your subject sits. Your subject should relate to this environment. It should live comfortably within it, not thrust into it like a Halloween bag of candy under a Christmas tree. That simply doesn’t make sense, just ask Jack Skellington.

Oftentimes, for me, the context is the backdrop that initially caught my attention. Meaning, I see the context before I see the subject. I will see a waterfall, take a picture of the waterfall, and the result falls flat. Then I notice the log in the creek bed that adds that depth. Now it is a picture of a log (subject) with a waterfall backdrop (context).

Photo Below: I took many photos of this waterfall my first time around. I tried several different angles and nothing would communicate what I was seeing. This is a lush area, secluded, with a peaceful, serene environment. Incorporating the log and the greenery to the image added to those sensations I was experiencing in that moment.

The reverse is obviously true, but a bit more tricky. You see a subject that you really want to capture, but it's in a weird spot. Ideally you’d like the statue of liberty to be slightly further to the right so you can compose your image exactly how you’d like. In this case, I like to build around the subject with some visual interests or with minimal clarity.

Removing detail from your background helps the subject stand out which works great in portraits, however, it can also isolate your subject and diminish the interest level of the photo as a whole. 

While keeping detail in the background is tricky, it can add a story to frame your subject. Look at specific limbs of trees, clouds, people, lack of people, buildings, anything that can naturally shape your image around the subject. 

Photo Below: This is arguably one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken, mainly because of the context. The background clearly communicates two individuals. The third party is the seemingly unwilling participant, the dog. Adorable and tells a story.

Subject is the main character. Context writes the story. That should be it, right?

What is the light doing?

Light is pretty important. You literally would not be able to see anything apart from light. Light is what caused your eyes to see and be distracted by the subject and / or its context. Light allows us to see the beauty around us.

One thing I have lacked to ask myself in most photos is, what is the light doing? It’s never for lack of any light, it’s more understanding what its illuminating and how to better understand how to capture the light in the scene. It could be backlighting something, creating a silhouette. It could be reflecting, illuminating portions, it could be completely muted by a cloudy day that allows certain colors to pop. But you need to act fast, light can and will change in a matter of seconds.

Photo Below: When I saw this tulip, I literally ran to it with my camera. The background is my parents house and the sun was setting behind it enough to only be hitting the top of this flower. Seconds later the sun would be completely behind the roofline. This is not edited, this is exactly what the flower looked like.

Light can also take something ordinary and make it far more appealing. You can take the same photo at the same spot on different days and have entirely different outcomes. Light can emphasis your subject. It can distract and actually ruin an otherwise great photo opportunity.

Photo Below: This was taken at work. This was taken in the bathroom at work. I walked past this radiator several times a day and didn’t think much of it. However, one day as I walked past I noticed the light perfectly casting across the top corner. The next day I brought my camera with me to work, waited till the exact same time of the day as the day prior, and took this photo. Yes, this is a picture of a radiator in a bathroom, but the light worked to make this image far more interesting.

Always ask yourself what the light is doing. Light will change everything about your pictures, and the better you are able to capture it the better your photos will turn out. There are obviously skills and understanding of exposure and camera functions that will assist in capturing it more accurately, however, if you are able to harness the light for your advantage you’ll also be able to take pictures of radiators … er, I mean pretty things.

There you have it, a relatively short download of my thought process while I’m out taking photos. There is obviously a lot more that goes into it, but I believe photography is an art and each person will have there own specific perspective and view on the things around them. Capture them how you like. It is your expression and there is no right way to do it.