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GETTING YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS
To have any effect whatsoever, every photograph you take should be trying to say something; however simple, however profound, it should be striving to make some sort of statement. This has to be so because pictures convey messages just like words - and often far more effectively. The more explicit the statement, the more effective the picture will be. The most successful pictures of all are those taken by photographers who knew what they wanted to say at the time of pressing the shutter.

Triathlon competitors, Seattle, USA. Commissioned by You Magazine. © Philip Dunn.
So what message was I trying to get across with this shot? Well, these guys are seriously macho, and that always seems to have mildly humorous connotations, so I was on the lookout for a subject who really did look the part. The moustache, the grim expression, the muscles under the wet suit, made this chap an ideal candidate. It was merely a matter of following his movements until he adopted the right pose. The result conveyed the visual message that 'here was a tough guy involved in a tough sport'. It also manages to convey a touch of whimsy - how can you possibly take someone totally seriously when he's wearing a green rubber hat? I knew the picture I wanted before the shutter was pressed, luckily, the subject played along unwittingly - although he didn't know it at the time.

Profitable
One of the most effective ways for photographers to improve the general standard of composition of their pictures is to learn how to put a message across simply.

In the early stages, it can sometimes help to follow a theme, to focus on one concept at a time without skipping from one idea to another. It is always an interesting, and sometimes profitable, exercise to produce a short photo-essay around a particular theme. The chosen idea doesn't have to be too serious or complicated, in fact the simpler and nearer home the better. But whatever you choose, from reflections to railway stations, follow the theme through with a set of inter-related pictures which say something about the subject. See the article on Photo Essay.

The great masters of photography know precisely how to express themselves visually, and a great deal can be done to improve your own work by studying and evaluating the pictures of photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson or André Kertész. I would certainly recommend all keen photographers to subscribe to the National Geographic Magazine to see the work of some of the best photojournalists in the world. The more you can immerse yourself in pictures, both by looking at them and taking them yourself, the more you will learn about them and the impact they can have as a creative means of expression and communication. Try spending a couple of hours in your local art gallery and look how the artists use light and composition to get their messages across. If you can apply something of their art, even in a small way, to your photographic approach, your understanding will be broadened and your pictures will gradually improve.

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