The 5 Essential Pillars of a Professional Level Photo

In this video, I’m going to break down exactly what goes into a professional level image, so be sure to watch right until the end, so you can learn all the essential elements. 

A lot of frustrated photographers, and this may include you, struggle with the exact same thing: getting their images to look like the polished, professional level images that they see in their head. 

For many photographers I speak to, they are actually doing many of the same things.

They are chasing down tutorials on Google or YouTube, and as a result, they have a lot of information in their head around photography, but crucially they still can’t get the camera to take the image they see in their head. 

They may also think that if they just keep practicing, it will all start to come together, but because there are crucial missing gaps in their knowledge, it’s not, or at least not as quickly as they would like.  

Or they are spending all their time focusing on the wrong things, and getting frustrated because they’re trying to do Step 10 stuff, but because they missed Step 2 it just doesn't make sense. 

That’s when you can feel like you’re taking one step forward, and then two steps back. 

Maybe you are doing one or all of those things right now, so what I wanted to do today is break down the 5 pillars that go into a professional level photograph, so you can see exactly what you should be focusing on and what will move the needle for you. Now this is the exact framework that we actually teach inside Auto to Awesome, with our unique methodology, so that our students can see results really quickly. 

If you are struggling with getting images that you love and that look and feel professional, the chances are you are missing one or more of these pillars. 

(Also, be sure to grab my FREE 90 Day Photography Learning Blueprint - it’s a complete roadmap for you to follow that shows you exactly what you need learn to get great photos, and has links to further reading in each one. This little PDF is worth its weight in gold, so go grab it now - you’ll kick yourself in about a week if you don’t!)

Pillar #1 - Light

So let’s start with Pillar no 1 which is LIGHT. 

Right now, you might be rolling your eyes because everyone has probably already told you that light is crucial in photography. 

But it’s true, your use of light really can and does make or break your image, and it is something that separates out a professional level photo from a snapshot.  This is why pros can take amazing photos even with basic gear or even a phone camera, because they know how to use the light in interesting ways, and so that it flatters their subject. 

If your images still look bland, chances are you are still using “safe” light, which can lead to dull and uninteresting images, or worse, you’re using great light in the wrong way, so that it is unflattering to your subjects. 

Learning how to use light effectively is probably one of the most powerful ways you can improve your photos, which is why it is one of our key pillars in the Auto to Awesome course. 

Pillar #2 : Exposure 

Exposure is simply when the scene is correctly exposed for your vision. 

You might be trying to leave this up to the camera, and shooting in either AUTO or more likely one of the semi automatic modes such as Aperture or Shutter Priority mode, and as a result they’re not getting the right exposure, or at least, not the right creative exposure for the scene and the vision you had for the photo. 

Now although you do have a little bit of leeway to perfect this in editing, getting the wrong can lead to problems with your image, such as excessive noise and grain (that speckly stuff) on your images, or blown out hotspots, or subjects with grey and unappealing skin.  

Knowing how to get the exposure right is also crucial for using light effectively, so these two - light and exposure, actually go hand in hand. 

Pillar #3: Colour 

For this, I mean the overall colour of the image. Get that wrong, and your image won’t look good, regardless of whether everything else in the image is correct! Again, for photos of people, we generally want the skin tones to look good, and not like our subject is a smurf, or they have sunburn, or overdid it with the fake tan. 

Pillar #4 : Intentional Focus 

Next up is focus, because a slightly soft, not quite sharp image will push your image into snapshot territory even if everything else is perfect. 

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when we intentionally want to get a soft image, or soft parts of an image, for example you want that creamy, dreamy background blur, or you want to show motion blur, but when you want certain parts of your image to be sharp, they need to be sharp in order to have that professional look and feel. 

Pillar #5 - Composition 

The final pillar is composition, and that is simply how we arrange the various elements in the frame to add depth, create a mood or feel, bring attention to our subject, and make an image look more engaging and compelling.  It’s the secret sauce that might not be immediately apparent, but that adds that extra interest for images that people are drawn into. 

That is our five pillars, and what we want to do is put them together in each and every image we take. If we miss out on one or more of these elements, everything isn’t going to come together in the way that it should.  So a cute subject, in great light and interesting composition won’t work if you don’t have sharp focus where you want it. But having a sharp image but one where the light isn’t flattering to the subject doesn’t work either and it’s boring to look at won’t do much either. 

I always think of it like a jigsaw puzzle, because you’ll only see the result you want when you have all the elements fitting together. 

Of course, this was just an overview of what you need to learn, so be sure to download my FREE guide, your 90 Day Photography Learning Blueprint.  In that, you’ll get a breakdown of everything you need to learn step by step so it’s highly actionable.  

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next week!