Artful Vacation Photos
Text Copyright Gloria Hopkins - All rights reserved.
Making unique, artistic photographs of your vacation is a snap! Whether you're off
to the deserts of Africa or a tropical paradise in the Caribbean, understanding
a few composition principles can help you bring home vacation memories with style,
beauty and a vision that is all your own.
Clarity of Subject: When we are not available to explain our photographs,
they need to tell their own stories so our friends and family don't have to guess
at what they are seeing. I can't count the times I've critiqued photographs when
I had no idea what the subject was! For interest, our subjects should be as clear
as possible, and the reason for taking the photo should be unmistakable. Evaluate
the scene and focus on that which makes the image special to you and eliminate everything
that doesn't add to the image.
- Make your subject strong and undeniable and it will carry more interest and impact
for the viewer.
Angle and Perspective: While visiting a famous or frequently photographed
location, get the photographs that you want most, then go a step further and shoot
the scene in different ways. In Brian Kennedy's photograph of the Eiffel Tower (Photo
1), he photographed the tower at night from its base to make a unique and very dramatic
image of one of the world's most photographed landmarks. Unusual photographs of
famous places are almost always more interesting than those we have seen hundreds
of times.
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Walk around your subject if possible to see if a different angle, distance or height
would help make the image special and unique.
Subject Placement: If you have a composition with a single subject that is
less than half the size of your viewfinder, it's often visually appealing to place
the subject off-center to avoid a common, centered bulls-eye composition (Photo
2).
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Try placing your subject off-center and including something of interest in the other
side of the image for balance. This kind of composition can add a good deal of drama
and interest to a photo.
Weight, Balance and Negative Space: Photographers will often place their
subject off-center and leave the rest of the photograph empty. What this does is
balance the weight of the subject with the weight of the empty space, while creating
a visually interesting composition. The empty space, simply by being empty, carries
as much weight as the subject itself.
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Many photographs of a single subject look great when the subject is placed off-center,
balanced nicely against colorful or textured negative space.
Simplicity: Jim Erhardt's photo of the single Euonymous stalk against a plain
brick wall (Photo 3) is a beautiful illustration of the concept "less is more."
Although it is a simple image of common subjects, it is a magnificent study in lines
and contrasts. The many horizontal lines against the single strong vertical make
the plant appear to jump out of the image. The fresh and lively round leaves stand
out nicely against the dark rectangles of solid brick. And finally, the contrasting
red and green colors are harmonious and give the image a warm, cozy feel.
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Don't overlook small, common objects! Often they look great in foregrounds, as counter
balances for off-centered subjects, and they can often look great as a main subject
against a plain background of pure color.
Color: Color is important in creating mood in our images. A photograph of
Disney World with its colorful lights and structures will produce a festive image
that could lift a viewer's spirits whereas a dark, foggy beach scene might conjure
feelings of loneliness or despair. Colors can also create an emotional response
in a viewer. For example, big blocks of reds and oranges can give a feeling of warmth
and power. Blues and greens are known to cause a peaceful, relaxed feeling in a
person, and pinks and pastels invoke feelings of purity and innocence.
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Use the power of color to help enhance your subject or determine the overall mood
of your photograph.
Clutter: It's hard to appreciate an image that is filled with unnecessary
clutter. Examine the viewfinder carefully before you take the picture. Look at the
edges to see if anything is protruding into the scene. Look at the foreground and
background as well, to see if there are any distracting objects that can be eliminated
by moving your position.
Light: Light is of the utmost importance to photography. In the old days
photographers would spend years learning how to make good exposures using ambient
and artificial light. Today's automatic cameras do most of the work for us but there
are a few facts about light of which we still need to be aware.
- Light and Time of Day: On a cloudless day, light from the sun is at its brightest
when directly overhead. At this time light colors appear very bright and shadows
appear very dark. Modern cameras are designed to record this range of light, but
when there is too much difference between the bright and dark areas, such as when
the sun very bright, the camera will fail to record the details in the extreme bright
and dark areas. The contrast is too much for your camera to handle and you will get
patches of light and dark that have no detail in them.
-
For many subjects it is often best to wait until the light is lower in the sky and
not so bright and harsh.
- Direction of Light: When the sun is directly overhead, your subject will
cast short, vertical shadows onto itself. This is often undesirable in photography,
especially in portraits of people with prominent facial features. Many subjects such
as large structures, people and scenes with big areas of color are best photographed
in front lighting (when the sun is behind you). In some situations sidelight can
be preferable to front light. Sidelight creates shadows and textures are enhanced
when lit from the side.
-
Examine your scene from different angles and notice how the light is falling on
your subject. Move around until you find the most complimentary angle!
- Cloudy Days: One very untrue myth about photography is that the shooting
is only good when the sun is out. Nothing could be further from the truth! Clouds
act as big light diffusers which can help eliminate dark shadows. Soft light also
helps minimize distracting reflections from objects such as faces, leaves and other
shiny surfaces.
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Colors often appear more vivid and saturated when photographed on overcast days.
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When the clouds are too heavy and it's too dark out, remember that it may be necessary
to use your camera's flash to adequately light the scene.
Using Flash: Most modern cameras have built-in flash units that enable us
to photograph at night or in very low light. If your camera has one of these, it
is most likely programmed to automatically adjust the amount of flash output that
is necessary to light the scene.
If you have a separate flash unit and a more sophisticated camera, be sure to read
the instruction manual so that you fully understand how and when to use the flash
before you make the trip. Too much flash on a scene can render it unnatural or unrealistic
and nobody wants this to happen to their once-in-a-lifetime vacation memories.
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Even though a subject is outside on a sunny day, if it is in dark shade the use
of flash may be required.
Photographing People: When photographing people, it is often pleasing to
have their faces in the light with no heavy shadows falling on them. Unless there
are creative reasons to use side or back lighting, people generally look best in
front light or light that has been softened by clouds or photographic light diffusers
(Photo 4).
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When photographing people, look for objects behind them that may appear to be protruding
from their heads or bodies.
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Try not to amputate body parts. This looks clumsy and awkward. If you must truncate
body parts, try not to cut them off at a joint as this can also look awkward.
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Decide if the entire person should be in the picture or only a part of them.
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Try to situate your subject in a way that is complimentary to them and whatever
else may be in your viewfinder.
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When photographing people indoors or in the shade, remember that it may be necessary
to use flash to help light the scene.
While discussing vacation arrangements with my travel agent a couple of years ago,
she looked at me seriously and said "don't depend on the Vacation Gods to keep you
safe on your journey." She explained that often people get so caught up in having
fun on their vacations that they forget to pay attention to the rules of an unfamiliar
place and get themselves in trouble.
Fortunately, most destinations have Vacation Gods in the form of emergency personnel,
attraction attendants and global signage. Unfortunately, there are no Vacation Gods
assigned to watch over your photographs and make sure they come out as wonderful
as the vacation itself. It's all up to you. Think about each image before pushing
the shutter and you are likely to bring home beautiful and artistic memories that
you can frame and cherish for a lifetime.
About the photos
The images to the right are thumbnail links to larger images with descriptions,
which are presented in a slide show format.
About the Author
Gloria Hopkins is an award winning nature photographer who is driven by passion
and the search for natural beauty. Her photo credits include Nature's Best, the
American Museum of Natural History and various natural history books and periodicals.
You can view more of Gloria's work on her website at www.naturesglory.net.
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