It is easy to overlook just how important having a really strong focal point is to making a photograph truly successful. This insightful video discusses the multitude of ways a focal point helps a photo and how you can improve your own.
Coming to you from Craig Roberts with e6 Vlogs, this great video discusses the importance of focal points in photography. One mistake I often notice beginners making is taking what is otherwise a nice photo — technically sound and with an interesting subject — but with a clumsy composition that lacks any real focal point, leaving the eye to wander aimlessly around the image. It can really tempting to try to include everything possible in a photo, but sometimes, including more interesting things actually dilutes the image. One trick I have discovered that helps a lot is closing my eyes for 10 seconds or so, then opening them and staring at the image. If my eyes don't naturally gravitate toward an element in the image (and an element that I actually intend to be strongly noticed) within a second or two, I know that I either need to fix my composition through cropping or try again. Check out the video above for lots of helpful tips from Roberts.
