Lighting,color & Gesture

breaks photos down into having three primary characteristics: Light, Color and Gesture. Light and Color are fairly self explanatory, but Gesture is trickier to describe. Gesture in this context is the form, action, or attitude of the subject.

Tips that can help our own photography:

1. “Always have your camera with you, it’s easier to take pictures that way”
2. The 180° rule - take a picture looking one way then turn around and take one looking the other, or shoot the same object from different vantage points. The idea here is to capture opposing lighting or opposing subjects.
3. “Be responsible for every square millimeter of the frame.” In other words be aware of everything going on in your frame to avoid extraneous stuff distracting from your message (i.e. trees growing out of people’s heads) or the flip side is purposefully using those elements for effect.
4. When shooting people on the street, it’s usually easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. If you’re shooting kids however, ask the parents. “They tend to get freaky about that.”