Photos of amateur photographers can be fascinating. Some appear to convey a deeper meaning. But others are a flat and lifeless registration and you lose interest the moment you lay your eyes upon it.

This fascinates me. Because although I instantly recognise such lifeless photos, it’s hard to put in words why such photos don’t trigger any emotion in me. So I instead I’ll sum up some strategies that can bring that deeper meaning in photos.

Interactions

I often attend activities and festivities that attract crowds. The more people, the better. Those events are for me the best environments to take pictures of people. It’s something I really like to do. But how to make a photo that’s more than just a registration? My strategy is to just walk around. And while doing so, I observe people and situations. I especially focus on people who are busy with themselves or interacting with others. Those people are often too busy to mind a photographer. And while doing so, they’ll express who they are and what they feel at that moment. Those moments can feel special and makes you want to be part of them. That’s what I’m looking for. Always take multiple shots while taking photos of interactions as such situations change every second. Hands are moving, expressions change constantly and you need to capture the best alignment of all elements in the scene.

Taking pictures of random people can feel scary but it doesn’t have to be. The most important thing is to not act sneaky. Yes, you need to be unnoticed or at least ignored to be able to make great candid photos but hiding the fact that you’re taking pictures only makes you more suspicious. I always walk around with 1 to 3 camera’s around my neck so my intentions are clear from the start. Also, in this media-intensive world, people are used that there’s somebody taking photos of events. You don’t want to know how often I’ve been asked which media outlet I represent. Try to stay under the radar, though. Otherwise people will become hyper-aware of your presence, ruining the spontaneous moment.

Taking pictures while people are interacting

Contrasts or juxtaposition

Contrast can be found in many things like colour, lightness and size. Contrasts catalyse an already interesting scene. In street photography hard shadows or colour contrasts can instantly dramatise your photos. These contrasts are mostly pleasing to the abstract loving part of our brain though; they do not necessarily add more meaning to it.

Although trickier to find, non-visual contrasts like juxtapositions between the subject and surroundings will introduce more meaning to a picture. For example: a pensive person at a crowded party or a thrown away house plant in an open field in the city. Be careful with such techniques though. You might imply something things that might not be there.

The height difference, together with the body language of both subjects might imply the man is mansplaining. But is it so?

Different perspectives

Lately I started to experiment with more extreme camera perspectives. It’s a way to make sure my photos won’t be the same.

Negative space

This is an old favourite of mine. In regular photos the subject is in the middle of the photo and occupies a lot of space. It’s very functional and works well with -for example- portraits. By introducing a lot of negative space, you create a different dynamic between the subject and its environment. A photo of a building but with a lot of sky in the picture, makes the building small, both literally and figuratively. This is the kind of thing that makes a photo more interesting.

Classic example of negative space.

How does it feel?

While walking around, take a step back and think about the setting you’re in as a whole. What is happening here on a higher level? And what is your opinion about it? Do you get feelings of community or the opposite? This is not a fast and quick way to get interesting photos but it can help you find new angles in subjects.

Train the eye

It’s tricky for me to write all these tricks down on paper. Most of the time I don’t think about contrasts, juxtapositions or negative space when taking photos. I should do that more often. More often I take photos of scenes that interest me. More often than not, I only see a deeper meaning afterwards. Intuitively knowing what to shoot is a skill that grows over time. And talent surely helps.

There’s a cool practice to hone your sense of composition that I’ve never done myself but it really makes sense to me. Have a sheet of paper and a few shapes cut out from paper in a contrasting colour. Then start to position those shapes in all kinds of ways on the paper: aligning, grouping, negative space, whatever interesting composition you can come up with.

Review later

You know that feeling when you encounter an old, discarded photo you took and see it in a totally different light? I don’t do this often, but while reviewing old photos, you can start to appreciate photos you didn’t do before. Also this can definitely train the eye for composition. And of course, regularly looking at work of other photographers that you look up to will greatly improve your feeling for what is a good photo as well.