Small changes can make a big difference

So much in photography, as in art, comes down to your own personal preferences and creative style. Yes, there’s a big technical side to photography as well as composition techniques to help draw your audience in to your shot, but once you start to understand those you can use them to capture images in such a way as to reflect your creative vision.

Sometimes it’s the small changes that make the most difference. Take a look at the shot below in comparison to the one above.

They were taken seconds apart. I took the second one first as my test shot to check colors, areas of light and dark as well as scale. I liked the brightness of the greens in the background and around the horse and the contrast those had with the dark foliage closer to me. I also saw the start of some really nice framing using the shrubbery either side of the foreground, but knew I could make more of it and create more of a balance by taking a couple of steps to the left.

As the horse circled round again in front of the gate, I waited for the moment when its head was over the gate and one of its forelegs was off the ground. Of course, I couldn’t be sure that moment would actually happen, but I was ready in case it did! The movement captured in the first shot above makes for a much more interesting image than the second shot where the horse is standing still. I also prefer the candidness of the first shot where the horse isn’t looking directly at the camera. I think it’s a more emotionally engaging image.

Not everyone will agree and that’s fine. But some people will like the shot and more importantly, I do. I love the feeling when I press the shutter and know I’ll like what I’ve just captured. It’s what keeps me picking up my camera again and again.