Once you’ve got a firm grip on composition and exposure you’re well on your way to taking professional-looking images. Here are 10 easy ways to help take your photography to the next level.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 01. Lose the clutter
1. Lose clutter
Take a look at the average professional photograph and you’ll notice that there’s nothing there that doesn’t deserve to be.
Any extraneous detail is avoided or removed to allow the viewer to concentrate on the most important elements.
If you’re shooting a landscape this may mean picking up a bit of litter or shifting a couple of dead twigs, while it could mean taking pictures off the wall in the background or clearing up a few toys for a portrait.
Items that can’t be removed at the time of the shoot should be cloned out post-capture.
2. Attention to detail
Small details can make a huge difference in an image. You may not notice that a necklace has slipped off-centre when you’re pressing the shutter release, but it will scream for attention in a framed print.
Try to get into the habit of scanning your eye around the frame checking all the details.
Make sure that the model’s clothes are unruffled, backgrounds are clean and uncreased, any jewellery is correctly positioned and make-up is perfect.
Still life subjects should also be in tip-top condition, damaged petals or foliage for instance, won’t cut the mustard.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 03. Lighting
3. Lighting
There’s a reason why landscape photographers like to shoot at the beginning and the end of the day, it’s because the low sun creates beautiful warm light and long, soft shadows that bring out the shape of the land.
At lunchtime however, when the sun is at it’s highest point in the sky, the light is very harsh and shadows are very short and dense.
The ‘right’ light can also make a huge difference to other types of photography.
Portraits, for example often look better when the light is soft and overcast conditions can frequently be better for macro photography.
In order to take great photographs you’ve got to have great light and that either means waiting or creating the light with flashguns, studio lights, reflectors or diffusers.
4. Timing
Cartier-Bresson is credited with coining the phrase ‘the decisive moment’, which describes the ideal time to take a photograph, the point at which there is maximum interest.
Deciding this moment is a key skill in photography and it can involve spit-second timing.
When photographing a footballer taking a shot on goal, for example, it’s usually better to capture the point that the foot strikes the ball (or very shortly after) rather than for their foot to be in mid-air after the ball has been kicked out of the frame.
When taking a photograph, keep an eye on any developing action or changes in the weather or light and try to anticipate what’s going to happen so that you are ready to press the shutter release at the decisive moment.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 05: Level horizon
5. Level horizon
In the heat of the moment, when you’re concentrating on the main subject it’s easy to forget about the horizon in the background.
There are a few occasions when a creative slant may enhance an image, but as a general rule the horizon should be level — especially where there’s water involved.
This can call for a little creative licence where islands and shorelines come into play as they can make a level horizon seem wonky.
If your camera has an electronic level view, use it. If you don’t have one, slip a purpose made level into your camera’s hotshoe or use your tripod’s gauge. As a last resort straighten (or realign) in Photoshop.
6. Remove dust marks
It’s a fact of photographic life that sensors get dirty from time-to-time. It’s no big deal provided that you check and retouch every image that you publish or share.
To be certain that you’ve cloned out every last speck, view images at 100% and work methodically from the top left corner to the bottom right using guides to mark your progress so that nothing is missed.
If you find that you’re regularly cleaning out the same marks, it’s time to clean your camera’s sensor.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 07: Tweak and sharpen
7. Tweak and sharpen
Images often look great straight out of the camera, but most benefit from some form of adjustment on your part.
This might only be a slight boost to the contrast, a little lifting of the brightness or a minor adjustment to the white balance, but it can make a significant difference.
A tweak of the Clarity and a dose of Sharpening can also really help bring out details, but it’s important to not overdo either of these as it can make your images look very unnatural.
For the best results, shoot and process raw files and apply sharpening selectively.
8. Keyline
White areas at the edge of an image can be lost or confused with a white background or the paper of a print.
However, adding a thin keyline gives definition and helps make the image clearer.
To add a keyline in Photoshop, simply select the whole image then open the Stroke panel via Edit>Stroke.
Next choose a colour for the line and set its thickness in pixels before hitting OK.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 09: Editing
9. Editing
The impact of a collection of high quality images is significantly diminished when they are amongst less polished shots.
Consequently, it’s far better to show someone 8 of your very best images than 20 with 12 that don’t quite hit the same high standard.
Be critical of your own work and spend time editing collections down until you are sure that you have selected the best.
If you have any sequences of very similar images, perhaps taken at a high frame rate or to assess the impact of different camera settings, be decisive and only pick one to share.
10. Soft proof
Whether you are producing a book or making prints, it’s essential to consider the colour gamut of the output device that you are going to use as it is likely to vary from that of your computer’s monitor. The easiest way to do this is to soft proof.
This involves using the colour profile for the printer to allow your monitor to show how an image will look when it’s printed.
Good labs make their profiles available for download so that you can soft proof in Photoshop and Lightroom etc.
After installing the profile, activate Photoshop’s soft proofing system by clicking on View>Proof Setup and then selecting the Custom option.
Next, click on the Device to Simulate dropdown box and chose the new profile before putting a tick in the Black Point Compensation box and either the Simulate Paper Colour or Simulate Black Ink box.
Simulate Black Ink allows you to check the shadow detail in your image while Simulate Paper Colour displays the image with paper’s white level.
When you’ve finished, click on the save button and name this set-up. In Photoshop you can now use View>Proof set-up to select the printer profile and soft proof the image.
It’s also useful to select View>Gamut warning to highlight when the printer can’t match the image colour.
If necessary, edit your image to bring colours back in gamut or to achieve the level of vibrance and contrast etc that you want.
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10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 01. Lose the clutter
1. Lose clutter
Take a look at the average professional photograph and you’ll notice that there’s nothing there that doesn’t deserve to be.
Any extraneous detail is avoided or removed to allow the viewer to concentrate on the most important elements.
If you’re shooting a landscape this may mean picking up a bit of litter or shifting a couple of dead twigs, while it could mean taking pictures off the wall in the background or clearing up a few toys for a portrait.
Items that can’t be removed at the time of the shoot should be cloned out post-capture.
2. Attention to detail
Small details can make a huge difference in an image. You may not notice that a necklace has slipped off-centre when you’re pressing the shutter release, but it will scream for attention in a framed print.
Try to get into the habit of scanning your eye around the frame checking all the details.
Make sure that the model’s clothes are unruffled, backgrounds are clean and uncreased, any jewellery is correctly positioned and make-up is perfect.
Still life subjects should also be in tip-top condition, damaged petals or foliage for instance, won’t cut the mustard.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 03. Lighting
3. Lighting
There’s a reason why landscape photographers like to shoot at the beginning and the end of the day, it’s because the low sun creates beautiful warm light and long, soft shadows that bring out the shape of the land.
At lunchtime however, when the sun is at it’s highest point in the sky, the light is very harsh and shadows are very short and dense.
The ‘right’ light can also make a huge difference to other types of photography.
Portraits, for example often look better when the light is soft and overcast conditions can frequently be better for macro photography.
In order to take great photographs you’ve got to have great light and that either means waiting or creating the light with flashguns, studio lights, reflectors or diffusers.
4. Timing
Cartier-Bresson is credited with coining the phrase ‘the decisive moment’, which describes the ideal time to take a photograph, the point at which there is maximum interest.
Deciding this moment is a key skill in photography and it can involve spit-second timing.
When photographing a footballer taking a shot on goal, for example, it’s usually better to capture the point that the foot strikes the ball (or very shortly after) rather than for their foot to be in mid-air after the ball has been kicked out of the frame.
When taking a photograph, keep an eye on any developing action or changes in the weather or light and try to anticipate what’s going to happen so that you are ready to press the shutter release at the decisive moment.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 05: Level horizon
5. Level horizon
In the heat of the moment, when you’re concentrating on the main subject it’s easy to forget about the horizon in the background.
There are a few occasions when a creative slant may enhance an image, but as a general rule the horizon should be level — especially where there’s water involved.
This can call for a little creative licence where islands and shorelines come into play as they can make a level horizon seem wonky.
If your camera has an electronic level view, use it. If you don’t have one, slip a purpose made level into your camera’s hotshoe or use your tripod’s gauge. As a last resort straighten (or realign) in Photoshop.
6. Remove dust marks
It’s a fact of photographic life that sensors get dirty from time-to-time. It’s no big deal provided that you check and retouch every image that you publish or share.
To be certain that you’ve cloned out every last speck, view images at 100% and work methodically from the top left corner to the bottom right using guides to mark your progress so that nothing is missed.
If you find that you’re regularly cleaning out the same marks, it’s time to clean your camera’s sensor.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 07: Tweak and sharpen
7. Tweak and sharpen
Images often look great straight out of the camera, but most benefit from some form of adjustment on your part.
This might only be a slight boost to the contrast, a little lifting of the brightness or a minor adjustment to the white balance, but it can make a significant difference.
A tweak of the Clarity and a dose of Sharpening can also really help bring out details, but it’s important to not overdo either of these as it can make your images look very unnatural.
For the best results, shoot and process raw files and apply sharpening selectively.
8. Keyline
White areas at the edge of an image can be lost or confused with a white background or the paper of a print.
However, adding a thin keyline gives definition and helps make the image clearer.
To add a keyline in Photoshop, simply select the whole image then open the Stroke panel via Edit>Stroke.
Next choose a colour for the line and set its thickness in pixels before hitting OK.
10 easy ways to make your photos look more professional: 09: Editing
9. Editing
The impact of a collection of high quality images is significantly diminished when they are amongst less polished shots.
Consequently, it’s far better to show someone 8 of your very best images than 20 with 12 that don’t quite hit the same high standard.
Be critical of your own work and spend time editing collections down until you are sure that you have selected the best.
If you have any sequences of very similar images, perhaps taken at a high frame rate or to assess the impact of different camera settings, be decisive and only pick one to share.
10. Soft proof
Whether you are producing a book or making prints, it’s essential to consider the colour gamut of the output device that you are going to use as it is likely to vary from that of your computer’s monitor. The easiest way to do this is to soft proof.
This involves using the colour profile for the printer to allow your monitor to show how an image will look when it’s printed.
Good labs make their profiles available for download so that you can soft proof in Photoshop and Lightroom etc.
After installing the profile, activate Photoshop’s soft proofing system by clicking on View>Proof Setup and then selecting the Custom option.
Next, click on the Device to Simulate dropdown box and chose the new profile before putting a tick in the Black Point Compensation box and either the Simulate Paper Colour or Simulate Black Ink box.
Simulate Black Ink allows you to check the shadow detail in your image while Simulate Paper Colour displays the image with paper’s white level.
When you’ve finished, click on the save button and name this set-up. In Photoshop you can now use View>Proof set-up to select the printer profile and soft proof the image.
It’s also useful to select View>Gamut warning to highlight when the printer can’t match the image colour.
If necessary, edit your image to bring colours back in gamut or to achieve the level of vibrance and contrast etc that you want.
