It is one thing to create technically correct photographs; it is quite another to create eye-catching images. Your photograph may be well-focused and correctly exposed, but it may just be another "so-what" type of image. What should you do to make sure that your image catches the eye and stands out from the rest ? Here are six tips guaranteed to catch the viewer's attention :
 

1) Composition

It is obvious that composition plays a vital part in making a good picture different from just a technically correct picture. There is no absolute rules to composition, or so you heard. Although it is true that as long as the composition looks pleasing to the eye it is a good composition, there are some general guidelines like the rule of thirds which can provide a very good starting point. Try to follow them closely until you feel confident enough to venture out with your newly found sense of composition.
 

2) Big and bold

Subjects almost always look better if they are big and bold in the picture. It does not mean you shoot big-sized people who are daring ! It just means that the subjects should feature prominently in the pictures. Too small a subject size means that the background will take up too much attention. Try to crop out unnecessary details in the background which distracts attention away from the subject. As the legendary photographer Robert Capa used to say, "If your pictures ain't good enough, you ain't close enough."
 

3) Capturing the moment

Henri Cartier Bresson was probably the world's best known photojournalist. He was especially noted for his ability to capture "the moment". In brief, the moment signifies the brief period of time where everything comes together, and represents the gist of the event that you're recording. It is about timing, expressions and composition. To make your pictures outstanding, it must show the peak of the action or emotion, whether it is the peak of the leap of a jump by a tiger, or the tears of a fireman as he watches a raging fire. Or it could be something like catching a goalkeeper stretching his limits to stop the ball, or the moment of joy on the face of a kid skipping rope. Capturing the moment differentiates a merely good picture from a great one.
 

4) Colours

Correct use of colours can be used to enhance a photograph, or even make the subject photograph itself. On the other hand, abuse of colours will distract the viewer away from the subject. Gaudy colours can be used to suggest a carnival atomsphere, warm colours can be used to suggest warmth and hope, cold colours such as blue tones are used to suggest coldness and morning or peace. By taking note of colour, you can enhance your photograph by infusing it with moods that people relate with colours. Also, but using appropriate colour temperature filters and gel, you can change the colour of the light to fit your images.
 

5) Selective focus

One of the oldest trick in the book is selective focus. Using a narrow depth-of-field, you can concentrate the viewer's attention on a particular part of the image. It is most commonly seen in portraiture, where the photographer uses a long lens with wide aperture to keep only the subject in focus. However, you should probably extend this technique to other fields of photography to give yourself a wide scope. Selective focus is a very powerful tool to control the viewer's attention if done well.
 

6) Unusual contents

Some pictures are so unusual in the treatment of the subject, they cause viewers to do a double-take at the picture, since they can believe what the saw in the first glance ! Images of subject that seem to defy gravity, or use visual tricks on the eye are interesting and humorous. Sometimes, using a long lens can compress far away details together so than they seem as if they belong on the same plane as the foreground. Or using a extreme wide-angle lens can stretch the perspective so much that it becomes impossibly long or huge ! Such images can be created with a better understanding of optics and composition.

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