Four Simple Photography Tips

I’ve seen some absolutely amazing photography for non-profits. I mean eye-popping, crazy good photography. These images seem to tell the story by themselves, without needing any sort of help.

I’ve also seen some absolutely horrible photography. I mean cringe worthy, why-in-the-world-would-you-do-that-to-me bad photography. I know. Because I shot those photos.

We are a media savy world, and so we know from just a glance if a photo works or if it doesn’t. We know it from our own pictures. We also have this idea that you have to be a trained professional in order to get good pictures. Fortunately, that simply isn’t true. Here are a few tips that helped me get my photos under control. I’m a much better photographer for using them.

Tip #1: Forget About the Equipment

I took this photo using an ancient (even at the time) 3 megapixel Nikon digital camera. There was absolutely nothing special about that camera. In fact, the camera was so undesirable that I couldn’t even find a buyer on eBay when I tried to sell it last year. The one I’m using now I bought for less than $100. What I’m saying is that the camera that you have isn’t important; it’s only important that you have a camera.

Tip #2: The Rule of Thirds

This simple rule of composition did more to change my photography than anything else. It works like this: take your picture and draw two horizontal and two vertical lines equally spaced apart. You will create nine equal boxes, and four intersections. If you line up your subject along these lines or at these intersections your photo will end up looking more natural, more “right” if you will.

I took this photo of my friend Tara and a young girl, Rita, while we were on a trip to Costa Rica. As you can see, Rita is right on one of the intersections and Tara is framed in the top center box. The result is a photo that draws you in – and tells the story of Tara making a new friend.

Try applying the rule of thirds to photos you run across – in magazines, on websites or what have you. I think you’ll be surprised at how often its used.

Tip #3: Get Close

When you are taking a photo of a person, the most important thing is their face. The further away you are, the smaller the face, and the less power the photo has. The closer you get (within reason), the more the viewer connects with the person in the photo. So, unless you are taking photos of landscapes or objects, it works best if you get close to the person you are photographing. In the above example, I physically moved closer to Tara and Rita in order to make the photo about them and not their surroundings.

It doesn’t work all the time – group photos are hard to do well, and if you’re trying to get across the idea that “hey, a lot of people showed up at this event, you should see them all” then this technique isn’t going to work as well. But when you’re telling a story about a person, get close enough to let your followers see who that person is.

Tip #4: Lose the Flash

When you are taking photos indoors, refrain from using the flash. What happens is that you create weird looking, washed out photos of white ghostlike people. This is really not good. Instead, move the person to where you have some light – even if it’s next to a bare lightbulb. Only use your flash if you absolutely must take a photo in the dark and you have no other option.

Admittedly, these aren’t complicated things to do. I’m not suggesting that you’re suddenly going to be taking images that could live on the cover of Newsweek. But if you take these four tips to heart, you’ll end up with much better photos that will draw your followers into the story.