The problem with snapshots
Why stop taking snapshots? That's what we do on holiday! Well, tell me something: when you look back over your holiday snaps, do you enjoy them because the photos themselves are good or because of the memories they bring back?
Snapshots are usually quite boring and hold absolutely no interest for people who weren't on holiday with you.
We're all guilty of taking snapshots, even the pros; you only see what they let you see, after all! Snapshots happen when we don't think a photo through. We don't compose snapshots well.
On holiday for example, we see the lovely blue ocean, point and click. The resulting photo is a vast expanse of sky and ocean, all roughly the same colour with nothing to hold our attention.
Let me give you an example. The photo below was taken in a charming city just north of Budapest in Hungary, called Szentendre (pronounced Sent End Reh with a rolled r!).
This is obviously a snapshot.
I became bored just resizing the image for this page. Why is it so bad though? There is nothing in particular to look at: two riverbanks, a dirty river and the sky.
So what did I do to improve it?
The next picture is taken from about ten paces behind the one above.
The sculpture gives you something to look at. The background is exactly the same, but it takes a bit longer to tire of this image because of the detail. The sculpture has an interesting shape and it has fish graffiti on it (ask the Hungarians; it wasn't me...). While this photo isn't likely to win any awards, it is at least more interesting.
Going further, I could crop more closely to the sculpture, try some interesting angles and try it in black and white, but I'm showing you it in it's original form to emphasise the difference between a snapshot and a photo which has some thought behind it.
Let's have another example...
This is the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, London. It's a nice photo, but that's because of the quality of the camera I used.
How do I know it's just a snapshot?
It's taken from eye level, pointing straight at something which I found pretty.
There's no real sign that I thought about composition. The shadowed rock doesn't make for an interesting foreground.
Contrast this photo to the one below, taken from the opposite side of the pond. Does it look more interesting?
The stone bridge is a more interesting feature which draws your eye, the lake is framed nicely by the bank and there's a nice lantern to look at. The change of perspective also makes this photo more interesting: it's not taken from person height.
Here's one more from the same park, you may recognise the waterfall from the top of the website.
Is this a snapshot?
As above, this photo was taken from a lower perspective, the long exposure makes the waterfall interesting and the position of the lantern and stone path separate the waterfall and the lake nicely.
The reflection also adds an extra dimension to this photo, and the greenery frames the waterfall, rather than dominating the frame as in the first photo.
Have I made you want to stop taking snapshots? It's quite difficult to fight the urge to just point and click, something compact cameras encourage.
How can you make it as interesting as possible?
Take your time and look at the scene around you. Use your imagination and be creative.