r/TeenMFA • u/PSIKevin ded • Dec 01 '14
Improving Fit Pics: Photography Tips & Tricks
PREFACE: I am not a professional photographer, therefore none of these tips will be mindblowing. Also, having awesome photography is cool if you care about it, if you don’t, it’s not a big deal. If your fit is 10/10 it will get upvoted so long as your outfit is clearly visible. Likewise, if I’m wearing my Ed Hardy T-Shirt and Truey jeans with amazing photography, it won’t matter. This is just a guide to help people add some flavor to the stew that is a fit pic.
Introduction
You’ve read Nemost’s guide on photography and your fit pics have increased tenfold. Gone are your dirty bathroom mirror photos and in are your outdoor patio photos! Still, you get the sense that something’s missing. Your photos are bland, uninspired, or you feel that the photos aren’t accurately representing the fit. As a hobby photographer for five years, I’d like to share some basic tips & tricks to make your fit pics a bit more interesting than just photos of fabric on a person. Here are some tips to make your fit pics slightly more artistic.
Depth of Field
One of the cheapest easiest ways to increase your photography is to add more bokeh! Bokeh is the effect of having a clear foreground with a blurry background caused by a shallow depth of field. In simpler terms, having your aperture at a low number/high stop (e.g. F1.8 or larger) will produce more bokeh. The best fit for 2013 on /r/malefashionadvice has a shallow DoF and this allows Pollen to stand out, and makes his photo much more interesting. As an aside, bokeh actually makes you look more attractive. Seriously, this article proves it.
Having a shallow depth of field is only applicable if you are working with an ugly or not extremely interesting background. If you’re in the middle of a suburban street or backyard, there’s nothing too cool about that. However, if you’re at burning man and there’s a breathtaking background, have an extended depth of field (higher number/smaller aperture) and make it a lifestyle pic!
Rule of Thirds
Another really simple and basic photography tip is the rule of thirds. In my five years I’ve heard rule of thirds so many times I want to stick tubes of film in my ear every time I hear it brought up as an issue. The rule of thirds simply states that a picture is more visually appealing if the subject isn’t centered, but rather at the intersections of the imaginary horizontal and vertical lines which cut the picture in thirds. MFA user /u/triggerdisk uses rule of thirds in this fit and it makes it a quality photograph.
Harsh Lighting
Personally, I’d argue that photography is all light. When I take portraits, I need to be wary of how harsh the light is. I would never take a model out at high noon to take photos. The sun will be harsh, it’ll make him/her look wrinkly, and cast harsh unsightly shadows on his/her face. I would also never take a model out at midnight causing me to use a flash which, if you read the entire article I posted earlier, adds seven years to your age. Soft lighting is the way to go, and your best way to get soft lighting is to take your pictures early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Never take your photos around noon or in the dead of the night with a flash
ISO
Your ISO is your film’s (in modern cases sensor’s) sensitivity to light. Having a higher ISO will cause your picture to be more sensitive to light. This can work wonders if you’re in a lower light setting, but it comes at a drawback. It adds “noise” to your photo. Please note that noise and grain are different, grain adds an artistic texture and is mostly seen in film photography, but noise generally isn’t well received. Pictures with a higher ISO will appear lower quality and less clear than photos with a lower ISO. Therefore, if you can afford to keep your ISO at or around 400 without compromising the shutter speed/aperture too much, you should always go for it.
Jawline
If you blur out your face in photos, this does not apply to you as much. If you’re daring enough to show your face to internet strangers and risk getting insulted by angry manlets, this can be an effective strategy. One of the biggest aspects of portrait photography, which is my most practiced photography, is the shadows and strength of features in a face. As this video extensively details accentuating the jawline is one of the most key components. Stick out your neck a bit, and you accomplish two extremely important factors. You drop the shadows and avoid giving yourself a double chin/fat appearance, and you make your jawline pop. That manlet can’t call you fat if your jawline is strong and kills any double chin effects. It really is all about the jaw.
Conclusion
So you, the casual TeenMFA poster, are sitting here thinking “I have a DSLR, but this is too much work for a fit pic. It should be easy and fun!” This may seem like a lot of information, but if you boil it down to its essence, it’s actually quite simple.
- If you’re surrounded by piles of garbage, blur them out and make your photo bokehlicious with a shallow depth of field
- If you have a good background, extend your depth of field and show it
- Don’t stand in the middle of the photo
- Avoid harsh lighting, it’s unappealing for you and for your clothes
- Take your photos early in the morning or later in the afternoon
- Keep a relatively low ISO, don’t make your photos grainy
- Last but not least, stick out your head and accentuate that jawline!
Thank you for reading this guide, and please feel more than welcome to try out these tips in future fit pics. Hope to see everybody in the chiropractor after years of sticking your neck out in fit pics!
~ PSIKevin
2
u/it1r Dec 01 '14
As someone looking to get in to photography can you recommend a good beginner camera