How to take a cool photo?

Published: 12.05.2020

Desire to take a cool photo - welcome! Great shots can evoke a storm of emotions and delightful comments. Want to take cool photos and don't know how? Read our tips on cool photography.

The photos taken by famous photographers are amazing. We understand that skill and talent are necessary for such photos. But Facebook and Instagram feeds are full of cool images taken by people who are not professional photographers. How do they manage to take such cool photos?

How do aesthetic images come out for people whose names will never be in the same line as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Annie Leibovitz? Want to know? Then use our tips. And your photos will not only be cool, but also evoke aesthetic satisfaction in the viewer.

Come up with a topic

Popular content from different creators has one common feature. All of their photos are consistent in one theme and style. This unwritten rule applies to aesthetically cool images. Photographic chaos is appealing in rare cases. Consistency is what catches the eye. A photographer's style, whether professional or amateur, should be recognizable.

Therefore, the first step to creating cool photos is to find your own style. Yes, it will take some effort. Take lots of photos in different genres. Work with objects, nature, and people. And make it a rule to analyze your photos. Edit them in Photoshop. Choose the best photos and upload them to...Editor Mapi7To print photos on the pages of the Light album. Our tips on how to choose photos for the album will help create an amazing and inexpensive Light album in just a few clicks.

Edit photos

Don't be afraid to edit images. Adjusting the color, exposure, and lighting will lead to the desired result. You can turn a regular dark photo with soft tones into a warm, cool shot. Tools like saturation can make colors pop. Increasing sharpness creates the illusion of using a professional camera, even though you can actually take photos with a simple smartphone.

Always think about the shooting angle

Angles, just like lighting, are a key factor when taking great photos.

Every angle is a different point of view. The same object will look different when shot from above, from the ground, or straight on.

• It is ideal to be at the same level as the object. Even if you have to lie on the ground to achieve it.
• The top-down photo catches the eye because the view from above is not typical for humans. At the same time, the object appears grounded, but there is actually more space in the frame.
• A close-up shot opens a window for the viewer into a world that escapes our view.
• Shooting from bottom to top emphasizes the height, grandeur, and significance of the object. Buildings and trees look monumental. A person appears strong and tall.

Create a Light album from your cool photos. You don't need to print the photos separately for this. We will print your photos directly on the pages of the Light album. Upload your images to the free editor Mapi7 and create a thematic Light album. You can upload photos from your phone.

Make a Light album

Befriend light and shadow.

The play of light and shadow, the contrast between different shades has a significant impact on the composition of a photograph. If you want to take cool and impressive photos, learn how to work with contrasting elements.

Shadows direct attention to a specific point in the composition. They show form, hide flaws that should be made invisible. Shadows add a hint of drama to the image. They evoke interest, provoke different emotions, shroud the photo in mystery. And, of course, shadows emphasize light, draw attention to highlights.

To achieve the perfect balance of light and darkness in photographs, you will need to learn. Here are a few ways to use shadows to create dynamic images:

• Highlight the shadow as part of the focus. Or leave the object itself out of focus and focus on the shadow it casts. This technique works well when the object has clear outlines that are easily recognizable. For example, an animal, a person, a bicycle, etc.

To make the shadow the main focus, tilt the camera. The object should be at the bottom of the frame, with the shadow above.




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• Dilute the light with shadows. Do not be afraid to capture sharp sunlight. It works great when shooting geometry. For example, architecture. The sharp shadows created by the sun give buildings an additional dimension. Buildings look very dramatic. So, walk around during a sunny day among high-rise buildings with a camera or smartphone. Observe where and how the sun interacts with the buildings. Very quickly you will start to see the shadows that the houses cast.
• 50/50. Divide the lighting in half. Using artificial light, illuminate only one side of the object. The other side will automatically be in shadow. This is a very simple technique, as all you need to do is place the key light on one side of the object.
• Use Rembrandt lighting. A special style of lighting, named after the great master, looks so magnificent that photographers have adapted it for their shots.

To create this effect, place the light source above the model's head (higher than the object) and illuminate her at a 45-degree angle. Thanks to this positioning of the light source, half of the model's face (half of the object) will be in shadow. Only a triangle on the cheek will remain illuminated. Once you achieve the "Rembrandt lighting" (the triangle of light), you can consider yourself a master of this technique.
• Shoot in black and white mode. Read more about monochrome photography in our article.Black and white photo.

Static or dynamic?

On the street, in any crowd, there is an endless supply of ideas for cool photos. Capture the movement of the crowd. Single out an individual from the crowd. At first, taking a great photo is not easy. A person may unexpectedly change direction or abruptly stop. But it will be even more interesting and cooler to get a photo when you manage to capture a person in the frame.

Moving vehicles are a whole different story. Transportation vehicles offer the photographer a wide color palette, interesting lines, reflections, and other aspects. To show speed, the composition must be completely blurred. Capturing moving objects involves experimenting with exposure. Only then will you be able to capture a speeding car, while making the rest of the image appear to be accelerating.

The world is full of fun and creative ideas for photography. Try taking pictures.close-upor take photoslevitationAfter mastering the basics of photographing different techniques, you can start developing your own style.

Take pictures of objects that other people ignore. Photograph ordinary objects in different ways. Print the results of your work inLight Albumor createphoto on canvasThe world is full of great photographs waiting to be discovered, which should definitely be preserved in print for future generations!