We all must be familiar with the phrase “The devil is in the detail”. Well this holds true for many things but it is damn true when comes to Photography. Have you ever been in a scenario where you fix the frame, look through the viewfinder, pressed the shutter and felt accomplished. But later on reviewing the photos it will be big face palm moment when you realize that you have missed the most important thing in that shot. Well now you are screwed. There is only one way to avoid screwing up this way – Exercise you eye for details!
In this article I will list down ways which improved my eye for detail and how it helped to improve the quality of work.
SLOW DOWN:
If you are the type of Photographer who goes berserk with the Shutter, this is for you . If you prefer to click as many photos as possible in a Photoshoot session chances are you will end up with low quality of photos. Slow down, take time to think about your shot, frame your shot and put your thoughts before pressing the shutter. Once you slow down you will see your eye of detail getting beefed up gradually.
LOOK FOR THE LIGHT:
Photographer’s world revolve around light source be it natural or artificial. It’s your job to make the light work for you to produce some astounding Photos. Always have a keen eye for light. Observe the qualities of light you have like nature of light ( harsh or soft ) , source ( natural or strob ), intensity, tone or directional. Understanding the light will give you a great sense of how to take great photos under given light conditions.
WORLD OUTSIDE THE FRAME:
Often we tend to forget the world outside the frame. Photographers will be so anxious to look through their view finder, often they tend to forget to look outside the viewfinder. Observing the shot outside your view finder increase your chances of noticing tiny details that you tend to miss when looking through the frame. See the world outside your view finder, have a keen eye for tiny details, set the shot and then look into your view finder for the shot.
MENTAL CHECKLIST:
This is probably the most handy tip when you intend to develop eye for detail and this comes with lots of practice. A mental checklist is no different from a normal checklist except for the fact this will be in your mind rather than in a piece of paper. Prepare a list of things that you want to check before taking a shot. It can be anything from focus to pose of the model. Have these things stored in your mind and try to check each things off once when you are ready for the shot.
It’s easier said than being done but trust me it work wonders. You are likely to miss couple of things initially and even forget the things that you intend to check off. But keep practicing, in no time these lists will be in the back of your mind and you will check these things super quick in your mind. Once you mastered this, you will be known among your peeps for your eye of detail.
Hope this article was helpful to you. Keep exercising your eye!