Photography’s First Lessons

Some very basic photography rules that I have learnt so far are: Karachi by Night

1. Look for different ways to communicate without words. For example, to show that Karachi’s night-life was blooming, I would photograph the bustling streets by night or a crowded café or a restaurant on a weekend.

2. Photograph children on your knees so you’re not looking down.

3. Keep the horizon very high (e.g. 2/3rd up the picture) or very low (1/3rd at bottom) rather than in the middle.

4. For portraits, get intimate with the subject as much as possible. Faces are interesting. Shoes rarely are. The face is the person. 

Face is the person

Face is the person

5. For vacation shots, put the person in front (close) with the scene (e.g. fountain/statue) in the background over their shoulder.

6. For group shots, make everyone touch someone. It loosens people up and gets them closer together, if just for fun even.

7. To get great shots of strangers, you must earn their trust first. And do share their shot with them in the end; you’ll be surprised how heart warming that can be.

8. Great photography takes time. If you took 50 shots and 10 out of them came out good, you are on the right track; if 40 came out good, you’ve so nailed it! So be patient and keep clicking J

Londons Horizon