Photo How To

Good photographers constantly strive for a creative edge that gives their images something special. This could mean an unusual technique, uncommon subject matter, or even a new piece of gear. And in this quick tutorial you’ll find 10 simple tips for making striking photographs with the WOW factor.

We’re not talking about gimmicky editing methods here, but rather important elements to consider when planning your next shoot and capturing the images. To make things easy, the video includes dynamic photos illustrating the tips discussed.

This episode comes from Mango Street, one of favorite online photo communities, and the theme is capturing “striking” images that make viewers want to take a closer look—whether it's an landscape shot, portrait, or street scene after dark.

After a brief discussion of what makes a photograph compelling, you’ll see how to become more creative by abandoning your comfort zone and shooting subjects you haven’t photographed before. This could mean hiding a model’s face with an interesting foreground subject, shooting from a unique perspective, or coordinating a subject’s wardrobe with elements in the background.

Other tips in the video include the creative use of color, telling a story with your photographs, and techniques for making your main subject “pop” by creating background separation. You’ll also learn some simple tricks for using light, and composing images differently from your typical approach.

None of what you see in the video is difficult to achieve—it just requires a different way of looking at the world before you and capturing what you see.

You can find more helpful tips like these on the Mango Street YouTube channel. And if you missed yesterday’s powerful tutorial on how to shoot super sharp images, be sure and take a look.