On a recent photography assignment, I was capturing lots of smiling faces and street portraits. Later in the evening, when I was discussing with a friend of mine, he suggested that since I was already photographing on the streets, why not capture sadness and despair. So, here are a few photographs that try to show those feelings too. I’ll also try to decode the photograph itself to show why it gives those feelings.
Today, it is raining outside. Lounging around at home, remembering all the recent photographs that I have seen, some common mistakes come to my mind. Are you committing any of these common composition mistakes? If you are, then these are the things that are preventing your photographs from becoming great. Learn about these mistakes and avoid them in your future compositions.
KISS… Keep It Simple, Stupid!
A girl-friend had once told this to me. Quite a famous line and I don’t even know where it originated initially. Little did I know that after so many years, this will become the opening line of this article.
Keeping the compositions simple is one of the easiest ways to make them powerful. A strong composition which is easy to understand and conveys the point across in a straight forward manner, is the best gift that you can give to your viewer. This is minimalism in photography.
Do you recall the sketches from your childhood? Recently, my parents shared with me some of the sketches that I had drawn as a kid. The most common sketch was a landscape done with crayons. It seems I was quite fond of it. There was a row of mountains, a river flowing down from the mountains dividing the foreground into two parts. One of these had a simple house and the other part had a tree growing. Behind the hills, on one side was the sun and on the other side were birds flying. I am sure many of you created similar sketches. Now even my daughter creates similar sketches.
Following up on those days, this is how I have started to balance out my compositions. Now I am learning to let the creative side of my mind, loose. The results seem more pleasing to me now.
On one morning, I ventured out with a couple of my friends. Aim was to photograph some of the rural India. It was a photowalk combined with some quality time with friends. Little did I know that this would let me understand the pains of farmers and help me in my photography-journey.
Maini's Mind 