Like fashion and food, the world of photography comes with its own set of trends too, whether you’re talking equipment or photography style. Amateur or professional, get ahead of the game in 2017 with these 7 trends to keep an eye out for.
Authentic, candid photos
No one really wants posed photos anymore, so look towards capturing candid moments featuring unique compositions (see below). With candid photography, it’s less about perfection and more about emotions, and it allows you to capture the story of that day without any restrictions.
EOS 600D, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens, f/2.8, 35mm, 1/200sec, ISO1600 by Jason Corey
Flash photography
You’ll notice this particularly in fashion editorials, but flash photography, with its hard shadows and brightened surroundings, is slowly going mainstream. Giving your images a slight more edge and grit, flash photography allows you to capture more details and offers a different dimension and depth to your images.
EOS 5D Mark III, EF35mm f/1.4L USM lens, f/1.4, 35mm, 1/30sec, ISO500 by Johnny Silvercloud
Black and white
Black and white photography has been primarily used for higher art purposes, rather than in mainstream photography. In 2017, you can expect more photographers, across landscape and architecture to wedding genres to embrace this style of photography in their work, as it allows viewers to pay more attention to the subject matter and not be distracted by colour.
EOS 5D Mark III, EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens, f/18, 17mm, 1/40sec, ISO1600 by Johnny Silvercloud
Patterns
From the use of unconventional objects to shadows to Mother Nature’s offerings, patterns are about to hit the photography industry in a big way in 2017. A form of minimalistic and abstract photography, creating patterns through shooting is a great opportunity to challenge your creativity. Keep an eye out for hard shadows creating vertical lines, or get up close between leaves or petals.
Learn more about abstract and minimalist photography here: Abstract Photography: Unconventional Materials
EOS 5D Mark II, EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens, by Ze’ev Barkan
Astrophotography
In 2016, social media was flooded with images of beautiful, star-filled skies blanketing various landscapes –and don’t expect this to go away next year! Despite being one of the more technical forms of photography, we’re seeing more interest in shooting the night skies, from hypnotic time lapses to stills of the Milky Way.
Learn how to shoot astrophotography with these tips from Mark Gee: Astrophotography: An Interview with Mark Gee
EOS 5D Mark III, EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens, f/4, 17mm, 30sec, ISO3200 by Gemma Stiles
Pastels
Across film, fashion, graphic design and lately, photography, we’re seeing pastel-hued everything taking over. The naturally soft and complimentary colours work across a wide variety of mediums and make for a pleasing aesthetic. Start incorporating some pastel hues in your work by shooting the sky at dawn or dusk, and keep an eye out for buildings or people the next time you’re out in town with your camera.
EOS 600D, EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens, f/5.6, 135mm, 1/125sec, ISO400 by Leo Hidalgo
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