Dozens upon dozens of press releases and PR pitches find their way into my inbox on the daily {Bless you, Unroll.me!} and I tend to glaze over the majority of them. But sometimes, a nugget of fun catches my eye….like this one!
I’m willing to bet that the majority of y’all are on Instagram, no?! {Come follow me!} And we’ve all seen the IG evolution over the past few years, with the photo-sharing site evolving from day-in-the-life photos to epic landscape scenery snaps. But how in the world do these photogs take those images?!
I ask Will the same thing all the time.
{Also: if anyone knows how to center an embedded IG photo, let me know. It is BEYOND me!}
Chris Burkard is one of these Insta-famous photogs. With over 1.7 million IG followers {yes, you read that number correctly}, his photography has obviously captured the attention of plenty of people. And why? Because his photos are unreal. I follow his account and enjoy every single photo, even when they are obviously staged and/or edited. The dude takes stunning pictures.Want to learn how to take stunning IG photos of your own? Burkard has some tips for us wannabe photographers in the world. Trust me; I’m taking notes, too.
- Add a human. Including a person in the foreground of your landscape shots is a great way to add perspective and a sense of grandeur to the surroundings.
- Own your style and keep it consistent. Burkard’s number one piece of advice is to find a style that speaks to you and perfect it, keeping it consistent so your followers can learn your niche.
- Embrace the mundane. Burkard says that even the most mundane travel moments can sometimes make for the best photos.
- Find something unique: When shooting a space – whether it be a restaurant or mountain range – Burkard says to look for what makes a place special, and focus on that. For example, those cute lanterns on a patio could make for a great pic.
- Lighting is key: The right lighting can make a bland subject come alive. Burkard says that the early morning or late evening are best, as things silhouette.
- Leverage hashtags and locations: Especially if you’re interested in building your follower base or increasing your posts’ likeness, Burkard says it’s important to make yourself discoverable.
Of course, I imagine these tips only work if you actually know how to use your camera, which is a step I’m currently working on myself. You see, I FINALLY BOUGHT MY OWN CAMERA!! Yup, I’ve stared at Will snapping photos long enough; it was time to purchase a big-girl camera.
I still stuck with a point-and-shoot rather than DSLR, largely because I don’t want to deal with the size and weight of a bulkier camera. In the end, I opted for the Canon G7X Mark II, a camera that was recently released. I took it out on this weekend’s backpacking adventure and I’m already in love!
Stay tuned for more snaps from my OWN lens!
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3 Comments
Just wow. And OMG wow. So amazing!
Great tips and amazing pics!
These tips are great! I had a conversation with a photographer friend of mine the other day about adding humanity to our pictures and how just placing a person or a piece of human creation in an image adds so much to the story. It’s one thing to see pictures of an incredible place, but when you see someone is there or had been there, that place becomes mysterious but reachable…and you can’t help but wonder what took that person there!
Can’t wait to see more of your pictures 🙂