[Guide] Spicing up your photography 2

In this picture, the subject is the girl eating dinner in a kebab restaurant in Paris. It’s the kind of shot most of us would take.



In this photograph, the subject is the same girl eating breakfast at the Hotel Ideal Sejour in Cannes. I used the lines on the tablecloth to give the photograph extra depth. Then when you look at the photo, the lines draw your eyes to the girl and her breakfast tray.



In this photograph, the road draws the eye towards the Louvre Museum. If I could take it again, I would get the girl to walk along the road to the museum and turn her face towards me.

In this picture, the outline of the window frames the face and crucifix of the statue. This was taken at the Sun King’s Palace at Versailles. As you can see, this can be taken with any camera. It’s just a matter of realising there’s a picture there.

Here’s another example.



On the way to the Great Wall of China, the minibus stopped at a “jade factory” (aka tourist trap). Here’s a shot of the “artisan” (aka sweatshop worker) shaping a piece of jade. Her hands and the jade are framed by her body and the machine. It also helps that the jade and hands are more brightly lit than the rest.

This is the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, where lots of famous people are buried. Lots of people come to take pictures with the tombstones of their heroes like Marshal Davout and Molier. My wife wanted a picture with Chopin’s grave. Here’s what most people take:



And here’s what I took:



I used the tombstone to provide some depth. The straight line leads the eye to the subject’s face, and the face is framed by the metal and the roses. You can even see the name "Alfred Chopin" Edit: typo, should be "Fred Chopin", short for "Frederic Chopin". My mind was elsewhere) so you know where this has been taken.