Japan Photo Guide

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This may seem obvious but I see it many times with travel snap shots…especially when I ask some stranger to take a photo of me at (insert famous place here). Pay attention to what is in your frame and don’t crop off half of somebody’s body, or somebody’s feet. Of course there are sometimes when you may want to do this because there is no other way to make the photograph work, but a lot of times body parts are cropped out of the frame for no other reason other than laziness. Take a look at the photos below. Both times there is plenty of space at the top of the frame so my feet could have easily not been cut off had the photographer paid attention.

My advice to you is… Read the rest of this entry and see more photos »

Just like in real life, it is not good to always have your subject in the center of your frame. Actually, it is almost always better not to have your subject in the center because it usually makes the photograph more dynamic. Of course there are some situations when you want the subject to be in the center, but in general you should avoid putting your subject in the center to make your photograph more interesting. Here is an example of Himeji Castle where one of the photographs has Himeji Castle pretty much in the center and one where Himeji Castle is not.

Basically imagine if you divide the the photo into 9 sections with 4 lines (2 horizontal and 2 vertical). Like the example below. A good rule of thumb is to put your subject at one of the four intersections 1/3 of the way from either side. Of course you don’t have to aim exactly for 1/3 of the way from the side but you get the idea. Check out another example below from cherry blossom tree in Kyoto.

I actually like both of these photographs for different reasons, but visually speaking the photo of the cherry blossom tree on the bottom is much more interesting and dynamic.

See the rest of the travel photography tips and tricks!