If you have read that photography is light, composition and technique, you have read correctly, it is totally true. If you master all the above parameters you will take correct photos, just as someone who follows a recipe perfectly gets a correct dish. Now, what differentiates a good cook from someone capable of making you dream of his dishes? What differentiates a good photographer from one capable of stirring your guts, making you sigh, making you exclaim or fill your eyes with tears? Of course, the emotion, the passion that he transmits in the images, his ability to capture moments capable of taking our breath away. That is, without a doubt, the most difficult and most important ingredient in any recipe. Therefore, photography must, first of all, enjoy it, live it and feel it. The technique is only the way to help us materialize that emotion. In itself it is worth nothing. But as always, there are tricks that can help us convey emotion or at least enhance it. In this case we will talk about one of the most pleasant emotions there is. Joy. Do we see some tips to help us pass it on?
1. The light
I don’t know if you had considered the ability of light to transmit emotion, but it is probably your most important ally. How do you imagine a joyous scene? Dark and gloomy? Or rather clear and full of light? Surely the second option will convince you more than the first, right? 😉 Well, you’re well on your way. Clear, fresh, bright scenes, with white backgrounds, in a high key, inspire us with joy, kindness, happiness, positivity, etc.
2. The color
We have already commented on how colors are associated with different feelings or moods, what we know as color symbology. As an ultra-fast summary we can say:
- The warm colors are: orange, yellow, red, brown, gold…
- The cold colors are: Blue, green, violet…
Each of them is associated with a feeling of warmth and closeness (warm) or coldness and distance (cold). Although you can convey happiness on a blue background by playing with the rest of the elements of the image, a warm background can better help you convey this feeling.
Likewise, a color depends on whether it is more or less crowded (more or less pure) to convey more or less liveliness. The vivid colors, in this case, they can help you convey joviality and joy as well, although be careful not to overdo it because too much artificial saturation (in processing) leaves quite ugly results (personal opinion).
3. Portraits
Although happiness is not transmitted exclusively through portraits, it is true that a portrait is probably the first image that comes to mind when we think of a happy image. Someone smiling, playing, laughing or jumping, for example. This is because it is easier for us to associate feelings if our protagonist is a human being with whom we empathize. And those are the majority of images that we will surely make, so let’s see a few tips focused on this aspect:
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- The look. The eyes are, generally, the first place where we direct our gaze both when we relate to other people, and when we look at a portrait. When someone smiles, the eyes smile as much or more than the rest of the face, hence the importance of focus well. It is very disappointing for the viewer to look at a great image with vibrant, expressive eyes only to find them out of focus. That’s where 70% of the quality of your portrait goes. So don’t forget 😉
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- The smile. Although it is not a necessary requirement to transmit joy in your images, the truth is that a good smile needs little more than adding.
- Laughter. Obviously, a good laugh conveys joy, joviality and dynamism. If you have it in front of you, don’t forget to photograph it, if you can provoke it, don’t hesitate to try to steal some 😉
The spontaneity of the reactions are the ones that leave us with the best images, so try never to force a smile or a scene. It is much better and transmits much more natural joviality than a forced smile.
4. Look for little stories
It is said that beauty is in the little things. And although precisely the little things are the most difficult to see, if we stop to observe, they are the ones that finally end up giving us the best results. Search in the daily life of what surrounds us and anticipate situations that can give us small great stories is an exercise that requires keeping our eyes wide open. Don’t underestimate the joy that can be in small day-to-day gesturesin a good night kiss, in a good anecdote sitting at the table, in a pleasant surprise.
5. early childhood
If you are lucky enough to have children around, they are an inexhaustible source of magical and joyful situations everywhere. For them, the world is a vast magical territory to explore that continually holds surprises for them. If you watch them, camera in hand, pay close attention to their spontaneityits games, its vitality, its endless imagination, will give you unique scenes.
6. jumps
The jumps are a classic of cheerful images. Against the light, individually, in a group… Jumps are associated with freedom, vitality and joy.
7. Scenarios
Obviously there are happier scenarios than others. A beach on vacation is not the same as the walls of your office, a meadow full of flowers or a deciduous forest in winter, a birthday or a funeral. Scenarios are also capable of transmit to us sorrow or joy, take advantage of them to narrate the message of your story.
8. Symbols
in a picture everything speaks and everything helps to narrate the message: the light, the background, the color or its absence, the expression of a face, etc. If you need help with elements to add joy to your images, don’t forget that you can include small details that we associate with joy: balloons, soap bubbles, baby booties, confetti, a toy, an engagement ring, a medal… everything what we associate with happy moments or celebration will help you enhance the message.
9. Observe
The best way to transmit joy is to be attentive to potential situations, because joy is very spontaneous, and its materialization arrives as soon as it leaves. Be active observer of the environment that surrounds you is what, without a doubt, will work best for you if what you want is to capture feelings as spontaneous as this one. Being an active observer of the environment is what will make you a better photographer. Yes, as you hear it ;-). And this advice is also valid for everything you plan to photograph. Imagine, mentally compose, create scenarios in your head, be very attentive, persevere and practice, practice and practice. There is no more secret than that 🙂
So now you know, to practice a little every day, slowly and without pause. Take a walk and look around you, surely you have some happy image nearby or with the potential to be. And if there is not, create it 😉 Oh, and don’t forget to share this article with someone else, a little extra joy is always good 🙂 Thank you very much and until next time.