Here are some easy photography tips to add more excitement to your photos. They don’t involve complex techniques -­ just a bit of imagination!

Think about how cartoonists capture the effect of movement. They add some extra motion lines that indicate activity and movement.

And you can do the same with your photos. How? It’s easy, you plan ahead and take advantage of the free extra ‘lines’ that nature can offer, such as:

• Sand ­- photos such as golfers chipping out of a bunker always look good because of all the flying sand (whether or not he or she plays a good shot!)
• Dust ­- a car driving down a dry country road looks much more exciting than one on a tarmac highway because of all the dust that flies up (even if the car’s not going particularly fast!)
• Water ­- crashing waves, surging rapids, a dripping tap -­ water almost always adds a sense of movement. Even pouring it into a glass makes a great ‘movement’ shot.
• Smoke -­ fabulous for enhancing photos of aircraft taking off or landing! Suddenly you can see all the circular swirls and vortices in the air.
• Snow ­- much like the dust effect. Skiers and snowboarders kicking up clouds of gleaming white dry powder make great winter photos.
• Paper ­- remember those old ‘70s TV cop shows with car chases down litter-strewn alleys? The litter was there for a reason ­- to fly up and create the impression of extra speed!

To take full advantage of these photography tips you have to plan ahead and seek out situations where you can make the most of sand, dust, water, smoke and snow.

But if you choose to scatter a bunch of newspapers down an alleyway, make sure you tidy up afterwards…

View our Photography Videos for some handy tips on photo composition and lighting.

For more free photography tips plus information on digital photography courses or one-to-one training days, contact us now.

picture by Mike Browne