3 Tips for Faking Photographic Competency

or Picture Adventures on Wisconsin Point

^ Read by a robot trying to impersonate me. Forgive the delivery, it’s doing its best.

TLDR: Put things in front of the subject, crop things funny, take pictures of fast stuff.

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Every amateur photographer, at one point or another, wants to find their 'look.' Something more than Instagram or VSCO filters to stand out in the social feeds. 

And finding your look takes time. More time than many amateurs (like me) have dedicated to the craft. 

I break out my camera only a handful of times yearly, and each time, I ask myself why I do it less often. But that's not the point. I'm not evolving as a photographer because I’m not putting in the time. So I've got to use tricks and shortcuts to stand out.

Here are my 3 favorite tricks for faking competency.

[1] Put something in front of the subject.

Lighthouse through vegetation on Wisconsin Point

Having something in the immediate foreground provides more composition options than taking photos straight on.

This technique works best when you can introduce a shallow depth of field throwing that foreground out of focus. Use a fast aperture f4 or larger if your lens allows to achieve the effect.

Blades of grass.

[2] Use Uncommon Crops / Aspect Ratios

6:7 crop of a burnt branch on the beach.

I prefer not to use freeform crop ratios but look for uncommon standards around the photographic world instead.

My favorite ratios include:

• 2.39:1 Cinematic Widescreen

• 6:7 Common Medium Format Film Ratio

• 6.2:9.9 Fujifilm Instax Wide

But you don't have to like my picks. There are loads to choose from.

6:7 Reflections ⬅️ BONUS - Take pictures of reflections. It’s art af.

2.39:1 in-camera double exposure.

[3] Take Pictures of Fast, Chaotic Things.

Gentle waves lapping over a submerged log.

I’ve recently fallen in love with little waves along the shoreline. Get in close with a fast shutter speed, and amazing shapes reveal themselves.

If you happen to have a macro lens you can capture even more interesting everyday moments with this trick.

Bubbles appear and pop in the blink of an eye.

[BONUS] Print Otherwise Unspectacular Photos with Something Lo-fi for Extra Cred

Instax Wide print.

There are cool Instax printers in 3 sizes: mini, square, and wide. If that’s not your jam Canon has a cute little zink printer called Ivy.

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📷 Check out my Flickr (yes, Flickr) to see some photos I’m happy with.