One of the mediums I’ve always respected is cinematography. I believe what helps films feel detailed and more expressive are the still shots that allow for the audience to actually observe a scene without being overwhelmed by the moving picture.

Even if you aren’t in the film business, you should strive to make your life feel more cinematic by playing around with taking elaborate photos of your daily life…or even your occasional extravagance.

How to do this?

1. Get comfortable with taking photos of yourself or even your environment. Play around with different angles from up above or from below. Maybe even try playing around in different lighting. The day may not be your vibe, so try the darkness of the night.
2. One of the skillsets I am learning more about now is getting clear and professional with editing. Look up some easy editing styles that you feel the most comfortable with starting out with. I love the app Lightroom by Adobe (which is free for the most part) that allows me to edit color schemes and even the shadows in my photos.
3. Study your environment. After getting more into taking pictures and trying to find scenery for assignments, I’ve noticed that I didn’t really know the gems that sit around me. There are so many photographic places around that could be locations for a film. Your neighborhood store, gas station, or park are great places to start. Just be mindful of capturing strangers who may not want to be captured.

As I learn more about cinematography and how I can use it for my art, I think I’ve fallen deeper in love with film. There’s something soulful about humans capturing stories in ways we may not even process could be used as a vision. Whether it’s 20 seconds long or almost 4 hours long.