"To love is to recognise yourself in another.” - Eckhart Tolle
Photographing love in the run up to Valentine’s Day might sound like a cliché but love is the purest celebrations of the feelings that makes us humans. Photographing love and emotions is not something limited to couples, it can also be the love between a person and an animal or between a mother and her baby, love can also be represented by a place, natural or otherwise, that we love or where we fell in love.
However, capturing such an emotion in a photograph is not an easy job, it requires technique, concentration, dedication and a lot of effort; after all, this is a #Good Challenge!
We encourage you to experiment, don't be afraid to try different angles - Kneel or lie down on the ground and try to frame your loved one from below. Or, change your perspective completely and take a shot from above putting yourself in a higher position than who (or what) you are framing.
If you are shooting outdoors it is better to use a wide aperture. This results in a shallow depth of field with the background behind the subject pleasantly blurred. Thanks to this trick, the protagonist of the shot will stand out even more in your photograph.
Keep in mind that posed portraits can seem unnatural, our advice is to keep your camera to hand so that you can capture the spontaneous smiles of your loved one or her/his moments of concentration. Alternatively, if you do want a more spectacular posed portrait, try positioning the subject to the left or right of the frame and ask your subject to look away from the camera to give the scene a more intriguing touch. A person's expression can actually transform a good shot into an exciting image.
This week, get out there and capture that person or that place that makes you feel butterflies in your stomach. Try some of our tips out for yourself and share your best shots with the Excio community!
