The WOW Factor

Copper Canyon, Mexico

Don’t you love it when someone looks at your travel photos and says WOW!  The problem is, most people who take photos when they travel get that reaction by accident.  How would you like to get that reaction on purpose?

It’s very easy for an Accidental Photographer to become a Purposeful Photographer, even with a simple camera.  The example above provides us with easy guidelines.

This valley scene is in the Copper Canyon region of Mexico.  We were there on a tour, and the horseman is our tour guide.  On a drizzly morning, he led us through the farms and across a river to a water fall.  We walked back in wonderful post-rain muted sunlight with delightful clouds.  I turned and snapped this scene – all of the elements were there.  The light from the sun brightened the scene and the clouds left behind by the drizzle we had experienced that morning.   Angled and curved lines defined the river and sloping hillside.  My rider created another approach line, bringing the eye into the scene. He also gave the scene perspective of size and provided a sense of action.   Yellow flowers set off the dark green trees, providing color contrast and accentuating the patterns of the lines.

These are the elements of a good photograph:  light, color, action, patterns.  With two or three, you will have a good photograph.    With all four, people will say WOW.