Someone once said that “the best camera is the one you have with you” which is very true. You don’t need a fancy camera to take stunning images in the desert or anywhere else for that matter. What you do need to know, though, is how to compose a picture and read the light in the ‘scene’ you are about to photograph – if you consider your composition and the light in your image before you click – or touch the screen – chances are that you’ll improves your photographs instantly
Framing – the ‘rule of thirds’
Composition is all about framing the picture in a way that makes it pleasing to look at – typically the ‘rule of thirds’ is a good generic rule of thumb for creating a well-composed image. In essence, the rule of thirds divides your image into – thirds – and suggests that you place objects of interest in either of these third-dividers. Typically, the horizon of an image would be at the lower third divider and a face of a person in the upper third left or right
Take a look at the images below to get an idea of how the rule of thirds can be applied
Light is everything in photography
The word ‘photography’ means painting with light (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography) which is key to any good photograph. Think about how the light falls in the images you are about to take – try to walk around your subject or the scene just a little and see how much just slight move can change the whole picture and mood
This image is taken in almost direct sunlight which makes the subject (intentionally) dark and gives the picture a feeling of the sunset
This image is taken at the same time as the 'sunset' image next to it, but my position is a few meters more to the left, giving the picture a completely different light and feel
Mobile phone cameras have ‘exposure control’ where you can vary the light in the scene – this is very useful when you’re taking pictures at night or in very bright sunlight with subjects in the shade
A mobile phone will typically try to compensate the lack of light in a scene like this and turn everything into a 'grey mass' which doesn't convey the feeling of the moment - manually reducing the exposure on the phone gives a more saturated and dramatic image
...and of course, all of the above are nothing but guidelines - and sometimes guidelines must be broken to create the really great and creative shots. Happy shooting!
by Frederik Bisbjerg