A participant in a recent workshop asked specifically about making stronger images while traveling with her family this summer. Photography, like any endeavour takes practice. But more importantly, making good pictures also requires a shift in the way we think about image making.
There are two common mistakes photographers make when traveling that result in some rather unremarkable pictures. Firstly, they often photograph landmarks – a famous building or bridge or statue from the same vantage point that countless other photographers have taken in the past. Try to get into the habit of looking at a particular subject, let’s say it’s a statue, from different vantage points.
Don’t be satisfied with just making a record of the statue from the most obvious position. Try getting in close and shoot a smaller detail – a crack in the figure, a chipped corner, details of the eye. Try lying on your back and shooting straight up, try shooting the statue from behind with people looking at it.
The results from this little exercise will almost always result in more interesting pictures. Often the difference between a good image and a great image is simply vantage point.
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