Photography Tips

We love beautiful, unique photos. Our team of expert photographers compiled a guide of photography tips with hopes to help aspiring Utah Life photo contributors feel more prepared as they journey across the state. We are grateful for your creative work. The best way for you to learn about the types of photographs is to subscribe our magazine and see our images in print.

  • Photograph during the magic hours (one hour after sunrise, one hour before sunset) when the sun is at a low angle creating a warm color balance, long shadows and stunning effects.
  • Avoid photographing outside in cloudless, midday sun when light is harsh, heavy in contrast and washes out color.
  • Use natural light whenever possible. Other than fill flash, avoid flash, which can flatten images.
  • Minimize clutter and distracting elements in the backgrounds and at the edges of photos by re-positioning subjects, adjusting composition or using a wide aperture.
  • Give us options in depth of field.
  • Be mindful of the rule of thirds, while also keeping an eye out for layers of strong foreground, middle-ground and background subjects.
  • Look for leading lines that take viewers’ eyes through images. Include interesting textures, symmetry or complementary color combinations.
  • Be bold. Know your subject and get close, filling as much of the frame with your subject before clicking the shutter.
  • Sometimes the winning photo is the one that comes after you think the photo shoot is done. Stay a little longer. It almost never fails.
  • Include people or structures in landscapes to give sense of scale and to help the reader imagine himself there.
  • Anticipate and capture decisive moments of peak action.
  • Seek out and capture human emotion.
  • Seek out and capture people interacting with each other or with nature.
  • Look 360 for the unexpected story: shoot landscapes, wildlife, street scenes, interiors, restaurants, portraits of compelling characters and cultural sites.
  • Stop action with fast shutter speeds and continuous frame rates. Or, communicate motion with slow shutter speeds and blur.
  • Mix a wide range of angles and perspectives (upward – looking from the ground; downward – looking from overlooks; and eye level) while using several different lens types (wide angle, normal, and telephoto) during a photo shoot.
  • Finally, have fun. Enjoy where you are, what you are doing and who you are with. It will show in your photos.