Four tips for aspiring photographers

Talented Paris-based photographer Jim Rosemberg shares his four tips to help home photographers get the right shot, and how to make subjects feel at ease:

1. Know your gear.

It’s very important. When you’re taking a picture, you don’t want to have to think about the aperture or the specs, you just want to take your picture – even if you’re shooting with an automatic. The most important thing is the moment you’re capturing – not the picture itself.

2. Get to know the person you’re shooting.

Before my photoshoots I take half an hour to an hour – sometimes even more – just to get to know the person I’m shooting. Otherwise I’m just shooting what the person wants to show me, not who I think the person is, or how best to represent them.

3. Don’t ever shoot something that’s not moving.

The beauty of photography is capturing a moment. If you take the shot even just a few seconds later than your subject expects, there’s probably going to be some sort of movement. Working with movement is working with something that’s unique. Even if you ask somebody to move their hand, it’s never going to be the same as a static shot – we’re not robots.

4. Pay attention to every detail.

For example, models know how to move – they know how to look at you and interact with the photographer. But, it can also be a problem because sometimes when directing the model, he or she will give you the exact same thing that they’ve given to some other photographer. So you always just have to pay attention. If you’re shooting somebody who’s painting and he looks at you and does something you really like – for example with his eyebrows. You need to ask them to do it again so you can shoot it. You have to pay attention to what movements make up someone’s personality.

Do you have any great photography tips to share? Tell us your best advice for novice photographers in the comments below.