Being Concise in Photography

Photography Tips

You might have noticed how every now and then, now matter what the subject is,  people like to give you their own personal tips and advice. But the funny (or scary) thing is that they aren’t always right. Chances are that they have no idea what they’re talking about. This notion is equally applicable to photography. Beginner photographers are most familiar with other photographers giving them all sorts of tips and advice, but again not all of it ends up being beneficial. In today’s video, photographer James Popsys talks about the worst photography advice he’s come across:

“Pictures are worth a thousand words, and that’s what you should aim for with your photos.”

The quote above was the advice that a supposedly experienced photographer gave to a beginner photographer. So, does this mean that you should aim to take photos so complex that people can write a thousand word essay about it? Absolutely not! In fact, you should aim for something quite the opposite.

Instead of making your photographs complex, your objective must be to simplify them. You’ll know you’re growing to be a good photographer when you’re looking to subtract things from your frame. Having too many elements can be distracting and the viewer can get confused as to what is the focal element of your image. Same goes for the message that you want to convey. You don’t want your photos to have multiple messages. Instead, see how you can convey one clear message and tell a story. This will make your photograph much more powerful.

Forget a thousand words. You’ll know you’ve done a good job if you make people say just one word, “WOW!”. Do you agree?