I have been doing beertography for a few years now, before that I was doing fitness photography, and even earlier than that I was in high school taking embarrassing mirror selfies. Through all of these stages, I have always been fascinated with creating the perfect image. Whether that be of a product, myself, or maybe a landscape, learning to think of a few different factors before clicking that capture button has really taken my art to the next level.
Recently I read Styling For Instagram by Leela Cyd and it put into words things that I was already doing subconsciously from practice as well as gave me new concepts to think about and try. I want to share some of those with you as well as some of my own ideas I have gathered over the years as well! Here we go!
1. Make Time - Scheduling time for photo shoots I think is probably one of the most important things for me. No I'm not a famous photographer, but taking pride in what I do and making time for it is important to me. Leela in her book talks about making sure you have more than enough time in a creative space than you will need. For me this means spending an hour or two at a brewery shooting images instead of walking in and out quickly. Or spending an hour or two in an evening after work at the waterfront, at a park, or in my backyard taking shots. Making sure you explore all your options to get the best image means you will need time to do so.
2. Put your Best Images Forward - Some images are spontaneous and happen to be good even though I quickly took them. But usually these pictures aren't good enough for me. The best ones are the ones I think about beforehand, prepare and visualize in my mind usually starting right when I purchase a beer. Think about what you want the picture to say about you, about the product, or just in general. Only posting your best work is something that has been tricky for me to do as I love sharing all the beers I drink with my friends online, but it really pays off when I look back at my feed and it makes me smile. That's what it is all about! In Leela's Edit, Edit, Edit section, she talks a lot about how to make your page look professional and cohesive. I think the biggest lesson I learnt here was: "Kill Your Darlings". Only post your best pictures.
3. Be Aware of Light - This is something I was doing beforehand and that Leela put into words for me so I can now consciously think of it when I take a picture. Making sure you have the best lighting I think sits closely with my first point, which is making and scheduling time for shooting. I say this because I think the best time for beertography is either early in the morning as the sun is just rising (we all have had breakfast beers, relax!) and also in the evening as the sun is just setting. I say this because, as Leela confirms for me in her book, we want to avoid artificial light as much as possible and use the natural light. Most of my pictures I take outside to maximize this. She also talks about finding shade to take the image in, this is for sure necessary during the day, but I also just find taking images in the morning or evening can create similar effect if you don't always want to be stuck under an umbrella. Overcast days also give you amazing lighting. It is always easier to brighten an image rather than darken it.
4. Make and Break the Rules - There are a lot of rules learnt in photography classes that you can use and also that are meant to be broken. Both using the rules and breaking them create different effects and impressions upon the people who view your images. I like mixing it up and making sure the people looking at my page are never bored. Two of these rules are ones that I think I keep in mind often and that Leela talks about in her book as well. The first is where to place your subject in the image; the rule of thirds comes to mind here and would for you too if you have ever taken an art or photography class. But, then you can also center your subject for a different effect. Negative space is the second thing; I smiled when I saw the title of Leela's section about cropping: "crop it like it's hot". But it's true! Take as much negative space as you can for an image, you can always crop it later if you don't like it. Sometimes negative space can give you a fantastic feeling though, try it!
5. Take into Account the Whole Image - I think a lot of what takes a picture from good to great is taking into account all the elements. It isn't just about your subject but also the background, the hand holding the glass, the dirty napkin on the table, the bottle being centered etc. Make sure you take into account all of the elements to create an image that says what you're trying to say. Leela talks
about this in her "Blending of Ingredients" section and gives ideas about what to change or
alter to take your images to the next level. One that I always tend to notice and try to avoid is tilting horizontal and vertical lines in the background of an image. This could also come into play with a can or bottle if you are shooting beertography like myself. But avoiding putting these lines off kilter is important to making the image look professional. But, then again, rules are meant to be broken! It all depends.
Leela's book was inspiring and such a great read for me; this post is NOT sponsored in any shape or form by her, I just loved her book. It was bought for me as a Christmas gift from my mum and it for sure was my favourite gift. I have written all over it, used, and abused it, Thank you Leela (if you ever read this ha ha) you have taken my beertography skills to the next level.
I hope these little tips help you out, they are things I think about a lot when shooting and wanted to share with you! Let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to share or have comments about what I have said above. I would love to hear if any of these tips helped you or if you think they are silly even; creating conversation and sharing opinions is important to solidifying your truest trues in your own heart.
Bibliography
Cyd, Leela. Styling for Instagram. St. Martins Griffin, 2018.