Basics Of Photography. (I)

Before going into technical aspects of photography let us first see what makes a great photograph.

There are 3 golden rules to be followed.

1) Clear and well defined subject.

Its about someone or something. The subject should be clear and unambiguous. Whenever somebody looks at the photograph he should immediately see the subject. It may even tell a story about the subject.

2) Focus attention on the subject.

In other words, the viewer’s eye is immediately drawn to the subject. It includes those elements that draw the eye to the subject and it excludes those elements that might draw the eye away from the subject.

3) Keep it simple.

It should not confuse the viewer. Keeping it simple is one of the keys to a good photograph.

Let us look at the above photograph and check whether it satisfies all the 3 golden rules or not. Firstly, there is a clear subject ie the man dressed as lord Shiva. Secondly the focus is on the subject. When you look at the photograph your attention directly goes on his face into his eyes. And finally its simple.  

But above all this the most and very very important factor behind a great photograph is you and only you. Nothing will work without your desire and dedicated efforts.

Only reading and listening about photography won’t make you a great photographer. You should practice, practice and practice. You should utilize 80% of your time in practicing and only 20% should be spent on reading or listening etc. 

This 80:20 thing is called Pareto Principle. Of course it has got nothing to do with photography. It is just a management funda. It just came to my mind hence sharing it with you'll. This principle is named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. It specifies an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. The principle states that, for many phenomena, 20% of invested input is responsible for 80% of the results obtained. It can mean all of the following things: 

• 20% of the input creates 80% of the result
• 20% of the workers produce 80% of the result
• 20% of the customers creates 80% of the revenue
•  And on and on

Now coming back to photography, it is like learning to swim. You have to enter into the water, you can’t just read a book " How to swim in 5 days" and learn it. The book will only help you in knowing some principles and do's and dont's. Water will teach you the rest. And by practice and practice you will gain confidence improve your skills and become master of it. Same works for photography. 

Read, learn, and then experiment and shoot a lot – that’s the only way to become a better photographer. Once you become a better photographer, you will know exactly what you need to get the best results.