Incredible India

by Ion Bhattacharya
(Kolkata, West Bengal, India)

Meghalaya - ION

Meghalaya - ION

Treat yourself to some powerful photography techniques!

This photo was taken at Meghalaya when I was on a short family trip. While taking the snap the only thing I had in my mind was I wanted to show viewers what I saw by my own eyes, at least as much as possible.

Initially I framed the picture almost without the sky just taking the landscape but then I felt something is missing, so before I clicked the picture I made it sure I have as much sky as possible with the clouds with the landscape.

The picture was taken by a Canon Powershot A550 compact camera with flash off zoom minimized with highest resolution and the rest of the settings at default factory settings.

Please suggest if I could have done better and how.

I am planning to buy a mega-zoom camera at least after reading your website page by page. I cannot afford a DSLR right now, so am planning for a megazoom. But after reading different reviews online and after reading your website I got really confused which one to buy.

My priority is not just to have the pictures on my computer screen but am also going to develop a lot of them in big size photograph.

Thank you for everything.


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Ahh, India. I remember travelling through India a few years back. Fabulous place for the photographer. It's almost impossible to return from a trip to India without at least a few stunning photos on the memory card.

With that in mind, I can't help but feel a little cold on Ion's photo here. Don't get me wrong; lovely scenery, but the photo doesn't seem to do it justice.

So what tips can I offer Ion? The first is most definitely the composition. And add into that the shooting angle. There is nothing much here that feels like it's in the right place.

And before I go any further this is a photo where the rule of thirds should be broken.

The focal point here is really the road, and the scenery behind it is secondary. Think of it as the main star of a film, and the supporting cast. The road is the star, the scenery is in a supporting role.

So, here's what could have been done:
  • Stand on the road right in the middle where the white lines are. *CAUTION* this road seems empty but don't stand in the middle of any road unless you have a friend looking out for approaching cars.
  • Get really low down, even lie on the road if possible, and frame the road so that the sides of the road go to the bottom corners of the frame.
  • Angle the camera up a little so that there is plenty of sky, and then take the shot.

Changing the shooting angle like this could really make this a great shot. Read more about shooting angles here.

As a final thought – try converting this colour photo to black and white. The clouds and blue sky would look terrific!

Ion also asked about what sort of camera to go for. I don't normally offer advice on this because camera makers offer different cameras for different prices all over the world. And there's always the brand loyalty issue to contend with!

But what I can say is, if you are serious about taking your photography further, save up and buy a DSLR. Money spent on a superzoom now is money that could go towards a DSLR later.

And DSLRs can be had pretty cheaply these days. There are numerous benefits of DSLRs. Have a look here at the advantages of DSLRs.

I would recommend buying a good photography eBook and practice the techniques with your current camera first. Here's my favourite photography eBook. It's not the cheapest, but it is very comprehensive.

Thanks for the submission Ion and I hope this helps,

Darrell.

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