Capturing Emotion in Photography

Being a photographer means you are tasked with many things and capturing emotion is definitely one of them. When taking photographs there are always certain things you must keep in mind including lighting, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, rule of thirds / composition, angles etc. Before even thinking about the technical aspect of the shot you should ask yourself is what emotion will this photo invoke. Some photos can also invoke multiple emotions depending on the person viewing it.

Regardless of the type of photo whether it is a portrait, landscape, candid or any other type the point is to invoke an emotion. We as photographers get to stop time for ourselves or someone else so that moment is remembered forever. Figuring out this simple question before taking a shot can also help you cut the amount of shots you take. Nobody likes spraying shots, especially when you have to go through them afterwards.

Here is my train of thought:

So next time you head out for a photo shoot, it is always a good idea to think about what types of emotion you are trying to invoke from the people that will be viewing your photos.