Limit your use of presets

Today, anyone with a camera, or should I say, owns a device that is able to capture an image, is regarded as a photographer. The broad sense of this, may be filtered down accordingly to the person that is having fun and capturing every moment, to the more serious or professional photographer who, is more serious about theory-based results, detail and final composition.

Photographers using Mobile Phones and Devices

Nevertheless, what follows is the post and editing after the image has been captured. The example I generally refer to is “the selfie” for instance where most people will apply some form of smoothing of the skin to achieve that fake much loved look, along with reshaping of the body and the face if necessary. As this was the trend up until now, developers of apps and software until now, have profited from releasing these amazing and easy to use presets for mobile phones and devices, many of which are free and available for immediate download. Their time is beginning to slow down, as many photographers and viewers in the social online community are no longer being brainwashed as they now strive more towards the reality of the actual shot. The shot needs to have some meaning, it is important to recognise the person in the shot now.

Learn to take a good photograph

I am not saying don’t use these amazing presets, but what I am advising you to do is learn how to take a good photograph. It is time to start thinking about light and composition as well as the atmosphere, the expression, and the moment. We are very blessed to have a mobile devise which is not only convenient to carry around, but can take great pictures. My advice is to attend a short workshop or a refresher course in photography that is tailored to your needs and comforts. One of the great things about photography is that it allows you to be creative… to get to understand how things work and open those doors. A small truth that one needs to remember, is that over editing just breaks the pixels and as a result destroys the quality of the photograph. Unless you are more of an abstract artist photographer, stick to what you are able to capture through the lens, followed by some minor tweaks for the crop and the colour correction.

Photographers using DSLR Cameras

For those photographers that prefer using a DSLR to capture images, the same applies. Learn to use your settings on your camera by attending a short workshop so you can go out and capture great shots. Alternatively, just learn about how to get the best images in auto on your camera by understanding light and composition and applying the rules to what you enjoy shooting most. The above will help you to enhance a “visual signature” and improve your photography skills. Photographers using the DSLR also make use of general editing software, as well as the likes of professional software such as Photoshop. Do not over edit, it will destroy the quality of the image. Rather learn to use the camera properly in order to just do a basic colour correction and again a crop if necessary. Try avoid using such plugins as HDR, film grain and skin related options to lighten or smooth the skin, try keep it real, this is the trend for 2022.

Finally, try avoid spoiling your image with a watermark, that is definitely outdated, leave this to those companies who sell stock photography. A watermark has always been the one thing that spoils a photograph. It catches the eye and takes the attention away from the actual shot, I am so pleased this is over. If you are worried about someone using your image without permission, change the meta description on the image before publishing, or you can download a tracer software free app to determine the origin of an image you believe has been illegally used. Just know, that the actual size of an online image is so small in file size, that it is actually pointless to attempt reusing.