Don’t Be A Lockdown Loser

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As you may have seen from my previous article ‘Nightmare From Downing Street’, England is set to go BACK into lockdown 5th November 2020, 28 weeks after the initial lockdown back in march. Millions of people will again be back in furlough and/or isolated in their homes due to the spread of Covid-19. But once again, we need to see this as an opportunity. When else are you going to have this much time on your hands again? Do not be a ‘lockdown loser’. In this article, I am going to help you use this time productively and come out the other end with something to show for it.

This is an opportunity like no other. Put this into perspective. When have you ever had so much free time on your hands and can do whatever you want…as long as you are at home? When will you have time on your hands again without having to pay for it in the form of vacations? Yes, this is now lockdown 2.0 but this still means we can use this time to our advantage, rather than rot in front of Netflix.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the best out of you without everyday life getting in your way.

Use this ‘opportunity’, for what it is. Take something positive out of this time of grief and devastation. This blog will allow you to take with you a skill that you can take with you no matter where life takes you after the world opens its doors.

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With everyone itching to jump on a plane, train or automobile as soon as this is over, why not practise and improve using something every single one of us has at our fingertips.

It doesn’t matter if its a smartphone, disposable, SLR or DSLR camera. The best camera anyone has is the one in their hands when they need it most. These tips can be practised and perfected while isolating at home. You still need something to post on Instagram still, don’t you?

The fundamentals of photography do not require an expensive camera with all the trimmings. In fact, a little knowledge of the ‘fundamentals’ used by all photographers goes miles. Thus allowing you to create beautiful images every time. Maximising your memories of whatever the occasion maybe!

Many of you may have found this blog via my Instagram page @travelwithcooky and so have already seen some of my photography.

Now before I continue, I don’t consider myself a professional in any way. I don’t have a super expensive camera or a bunch of additional lenses either. I actually use a ‘bridge’ camera rather than an SLR or DSLR.

Cooky’s Cue 💮

A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor.

The difference being, a bridge camera does not have the ability to change the lens. It does, however, have many of the characteristics of a DSLR, without the bulk of carrying extra lenses.

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Composition, is a combination of several guidelines to improve your image each time you pick up your camera.

In this article, I am going to give some of the most basic tips that even the most experienced and professional photographers use to improve their shots. Improving your composition as a force of habit can put your shots in a whole different league.

However, always remember that in photography there are no fixed rules, only guidelines. These guidelines can often help you to enhance the impact of your photo’s, which at the end of the day… is the whole point.

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One of the most natural things to do when taking a photograph is to ‘point and shoot’ at your subject and put it bang in the middle of the frame. However, this ‘rule’ says you should do something quite different.

Imagine that a grid divides your screen into 9 equal segments. The rule says that you should position your most important subject along these lines or at the points where they join.

This adds balance and interest to your photos. It also means a person’s eyes are drawn to the outer edges of the photograph rather than slap bang in the centre. This way a person takes more time taking in the whole of the image rather than the split second to look at the centre of the image.

Cooky’s Cue 💮

Top tip when taking landscape or sunset shots…keep the horizon away from the centre. Aim for the horizon to be on either of the horizontal lines of the grid above.

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At the end of the day, the whole purpose of photography is for someone to look at what we have captured. Due to this, we want people to spend as much time on the image as possible.

Our eye is naturally drawn in by a photograph and by putting subjects to the edge of a scene makes us spend more time exploring the rest of the frame. Another way to emphasis this is through ‘leading lines’.

Subconsciously when we look at a picture our eye is drawn along lines. Keeping this in mind can create a journey for the eye.

It may be a winding road that starts in the bottom left of the frame. Curving and bending through our image and out towards the top left of our frame. Our eye is then drawn to follow the path of the line and so taking in any other scenery that we pass on our ‘journey’.

There are all types of lines – straight, diagonal, curvy, radial, zigzag etc, all of which can enhance your composition

In the above image, you can see a combination of these techniques. See the different leading lines. From the beach in the corner of the image, leading you to the mountains in the distance. Your eyes can then follow the landscape down to the sea. This is just a very simple way of drawing the viewer into the entirety of your picture.

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By changing the angle at which you shoot a subject can dramatically change the aspects of the scene. Getting a subject from a lower angle creates the idiology of dominance. This works in the opposite way when taking a photograph from above. Creating different angles can also allow different lighting to be captured which may not have been possible by just standing infront of it. An example of this is actually using the subject to cast shadows, creating a more eerie feel to the frame.

It may be that a different angle actually captures an image in a more distorted fashion, making the viewer spend more time actually studying the photograph, leaving a longer-lasting effect. The image below is of the Titanic Museum in Belfast, UK. I created a feeling of dominance and also that of beauty by capturing the clear blue sky as well as the contrast of sunshine and shadows by taking it from this angle. This angle obviously does not show the subject in its entirety, but by doing so gives off a feeling of just how colossal and aesthetically pleasing this building actually is.

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As I said, these are a guideline. Plenty of pictures break the rule especially of putting the object in the centre. This works well in certain aspects and especially well when creating symmetry or emphasising the centre object is much more vulnerable in its towering surroundings.

For instance, take the image below I took when on my trip to Malta.

The subject of the passer by walking through one of the many beautiful arch ways of the historic buildings helped create a feel of beauty in the symmetry yet vulnerability of the person. Again, by angling my shot and taking from low to the ground helped to emphasis this. This photograph bending some of the rules but following others.

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This technique is one which has been made extremely easy using smartphones. Creating a shallow depth of field is when the subject of the image is in clear focus, while the background or foreground is deliberately blurred.

You know that new feature on most modern smartphones, ‘Portrait Mode’. Essentially, this is exactly it. The technique creates a very powerful image forcing the viewer to see the photo how you wish it to be seen. This adds focus to a subject but also a touch of intrigue and mystery into the image.

On DSLR Camera’s

To do this on camera, you can use either the ‘Macro Mode’, or a specific macro lens. It can also be achieved in manual shooting by using customised manual focus rather than the camera’s built-in ‘Auto Focus’. However, if you are using a smartphone, just playing around with the distance (depth) and tapping your screen on the desired subject, will get you the desired results. This then informs the camera to focus on a certain subject.

You can also half-press your shutter button on you DSLR/SLR/Bridge camera to focus on a subject. once this is done you can then mover the camera to reframe the image. This allows you to then follow the additional rules of composition while still focusing on a subject that is not in the centre of the frame.

This is where the fun comes into it as this requires some practice but looks great when achieved.

Cooky’s Cue 💮

A bridge camera is different to that of a SLR/DSLR in the fact that the lens cannot be changed. Bridge cameras usually have more built in options to make up for this. e.g. much more zoom capacity.

When I travel I carry a group of Gnomes a friend got me as a gift, which I photograph in front of landmarks around the world. All a bit of fun but can easily be practised while locked up at home with any item. Below is an example I took outside the Royal Palace in Vienna, Austria.

Don’t forget to still use the other techniques such as the ‘rule of thirds’ and ‘leading lines’ to enhance your photograph even more.

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It really doesn’t matter whether you are taking a picture with your phone, a compact, a bridge camera or an SLR/DSLR. These fundamentals work no matter what. Taking an extra few seconds to remember a few simple rules will work wonders!

Just follow these simple photography rules to maximise your memories. Is that not exactly what a photograph is… a memory? For me, a photograph is a moment in time captured in a still format, trapping memories that can forever be looked back on.

So why not maximise those memories?

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Nothing is for free. Once this is all over, work places will open back up. Social Venues will open their doors. Taxes WILL rise to cover the costs of bailing out people and business’ during this tough time. Imagine looking back and saying… I used my quarantine time for something, especially if its something that you can take with you on life’s other journeys.

Don’t look back on this time having only accomplished the completion of Netflix series after Netflix series. Improve your photography skills and maximise your memories for life’s next adventure!

Happy Snapping!

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