Keep it Simple

 

Sometimes images can be too complicated.  Keep it simple.  Concentrate more on the composition, graphic impact, and visual story telling.  To enhance your image, first make a copy of the images and always work on the copy.  Save the original, and if something so go wrong, or you’re not happy with your enhancements, you can always start over. Photoshop and other image editing software have many different image adjustment and enhancing tools, but they’re not all necessary all the time.  Keep it simple.  Start with levels and get the exposure the way you want it.  Remember, a small adjustment changes a lot.  Then look at color correction.  This seems tricky in the beginning but you will get better with practice.  Then adjust the contrast and saturation.  The trick is to adjust a little at a time.  Do not over do.  Watch for loss of shadow detail and the blocking up of the highlights.  The great thing about digital is if you are not happy with the final image, you can always start over.  Do a little correction at a time and keep it simple.

Inspiration

 

Sometimes we travel far and wide to find inspiration to create images that have impact.  And sometimes we just step out the backdoor and there it is.  The African Daisy was photographed six feet from my backdoor.  Simple Beauty and inspirational subjects are all around you if you learn to see it and not just look for it.  You need to learn to see thru the camera, and not just look thru the camera.  See the image you want first, than see it thru the camera and snap the shutter.  Don’t just look thru the camera for something to take pictures of.  See it in your mind first, and then see thru the camera.  Once you master that, creating great images is a lot easier.

 

Also remember that it’s very rare that a digital image is perfect directly out of the camera.  All digital images need a little improving to make the images great.  Cropping, levels, saturation, and color correction and enhancement, can make a big difference.  It can make an average image something special.