Getting it right: subject, angles, and composition..

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BertieTBE

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Hello everyone,

Be great if you could help me with this.

I've been asked my a magazine editor to get better images for one of my articles. He says they need to feature "composition, subject and interesting angles".

I'm reasonably new to photography. What does this mean in the context of commercial travel photography (composition / subject) ?

Secondly, does anyone have any tips for achieving interesting angles?

Thank you very much in advance.

Ben
 
I'm guessing your editor means they need to show 'better' composition and more interesting/relevant subjects. That means pretty much the same regardless of the specific industry - a good photo is a good photo, it tells a story and (in this case) supports the information in the article.

What's the set up, are you a staff or freelance writer for the magazine? And do they not employ photographers to provide the photographic content? I would suggest to your editor, if he wants professional writing, employ a professional writer. And if he wants professional photography, employ a professional photographer. If he's not willing to do that, then he should be happy with what he gets given.
 
Without seeing any of your existing work, it's hard to give specific advice, but in general, you could try not to get square on to subjects such as buildings, and avoid symmetry. Capture details and close ups, look for alternative viewpoints - high up, low down go at different times of the day (or go at night), capture events that are happening such as festivals, etc.
 
Jayst84 said:
II would suggest to your editor, if he wants professional writing, employ a professional writer. And if he wants professional photography, employ a professional photographer. If he's not willing to do that, then he should be happy with what he gets given.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more, But he probably wouldn't see the point of employing a professional when he can come onto forums like this one and get free advice on how to do it himself.

Chances are some of the photographers giving the free advice will be the same ones complaining about the decline in the use of professional photographers.
 
BertieTBE said:
I've been asked my a magazine editor to get better images for one of my articles. He says they need to feature "composition, subject and interesting angles".

I'm reasonably new to photography. What does this mean in the context of commercial travel photography (composition / subject) ?

Secondly, does anyone have any tips for achieving interesting angles?
Click to expand...

Essentially there Ben you've summed up being a good photographer, the basic thing is getting the exposure right. Beyond that you learn composition through experience, and practice.
 
Depends if your editor has been doing the job for years or just flew in straight from uni.
If the later, just take poor images and instagram the **** out of them.
But if they're more old school, it's time to start practicing A LOT.
 
I have to ask, why are you shooting for a magazine if you're relatively new to photography? You don't learn composition and other such aspects of photography overnight, you should probably know these things before diving into such a situation!
 
Not wishing to sound discouraging Bertie, but you bought your first camera a couple of months ago, you're still getting to grips with (by your own admission)
Shutter speeds
Composition
Subjects
Editing

Why do you think you have the necessary skill to be paid for photography?

Step back a bit, learn how pictures are made, learn about light and photographic technique. There are books on composition and lighting, and books on camera technique, remember photography is a mix of the artistic and technical (like music). You need both to be any good. Just having an eye for a picture may fail you, if you don't have the skills to capture it. And just having the technical skills will get you perfectly acceptable dull and boring pictures.

Once you've mastered the above you can maybe start selling your services. Or just keep it as a hobby; selling your services successfully also requires other skills too. In fact running as a successful freelance is about 10% photography, but you may have an aptitiude for those other tasks (I don't:shake:).

There's a clue in the forum postings: If you're asking questions that can be answered in 'Talk Basic' you're not ready to be charging!
 
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Thank you all very much for your thoughts and suggestions.

I agree entirely with what's been said here...no offence taken. My non-photographic skills didn't come naturally, nor overnight. So I'm not expecting this to be any different.

In my original post I omitted something for the purposes of keeping it brief. The images I'm taking at the moment are just for fun and practice...I'm still learning!:) The e-mail I quoted was from some years ago when I first started out in the writing game. At the time, I was working for a company that had in-house photographers. Unusually, on that occasion, for lack of a better idea, I had a go at taking my own (with a compact!) Was just using it as a reference, as a way of researching what made the grade, and with a view to seeing whether it was an exact science, or whether there were differences in opinion.

Thank you again. Much appreciated.

Ben
 
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