TikTok Photography Tips

TikTok may have been originally launched as a short-form video-sharing platform but thanks to a growing number of both amateur and professional photographers, it has recently emerged as a great place to showcase photography tips and tricks on a global scale with countless lessons, tutorials, and how-to guides readily available at the click of a button. To find out how to sharpen your existing shooting skills on TikTok as an amateur or professional photographer, continue reading to find out everything you need to know.

Take Vertical Panorama Shots

The sheer mention of the word panorama may conjure images of horizontal shots but when it comes to mobile photography, vertical panoramas, or vertoramas as they have become informally known, reign supreme. They are, in the very simplest of terms, panorama shots taken vertically as opposed to horizontally so you can capture tall buildings, trees, or roads in a brand-new perspective with an elevated quality. To successfully take vertical panorama shots, however, it may be worth taking the time to familiarise yourself with a number of helpful tips and tricks beforehand so you can master the art of mobile photography and showcase your skills on TikTok.

If your smartphone includes a built-in panorama feature, for example, it may be as simple as practising until you are thoroughly happy with the final result. To take panorama shots that are guaranteed to wow your audience, on the other hand, you must invest in a tripod, choose a suitable subject, and stand as close to the subject as possible to intensify the final image.

Try The Dolly Zoom Effect

If you are a self-confessed cinephile, you may already be familiar with the dolly zoom effect. It is, put simply, the process of the camera zooming out as the dolly gradually pushes the camera closer towards the subject. This can succeed in bringing the background closer to the audience whilst ensuring the subject on-screen remains firmly in place in a swift movement that undermines visual perception and creates something of an optical illusion in the process.

It has been used by some of the film industry’s most celebrated directors for a number of decades, but it has also emerged as a popular photography technique on TikTok in recent months with a number of built-in features allowing both amateur and professional photographers to capitalise on the popular trend with raw footage or stock photos. By tapping into the trend on TikTok, it may also be possible for you to combine it with a particular sound bite or song to fully illustrate the point you are trying to make and, as a result, achieve the desired effect.

Achieve The Vertigo Effect

By trying the dolly zoom effect, you may also be able to achieve the vertigo effect. It was originally named after Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film of the same name as well as the resultant effect it can have on viewers and has since been used in a number of big-budget blockbusters including Jaws, Raging Bull, Poltergeist, and Goodfellas. It can, however, also be mimicked on a smartphone and posted to TikTok regardless of what your budget may be to showcase your first-class photography skills to your intended target audience at the click of a button.

If you are looking to create a vertigo effect during the post-production process, for example, this can also be done by capitalizing on a number of video editing programs with After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut, Avid, and Vegas all home to a wide range of features that can scale the size of the image and, as a result, seamlessly mimic the appearance of the vertigo effect regardless of how the scene was originally shot.

Attempt A Long Exposure Effect

If you are looking to set the scene on TikTok, attempting a long exposure effect can allow you to shoot a moving object or subject that is in front of a background with a great deal of movement going on, such as busy crowds or moving traffic. It can be difficult to master but by familiarizing yourself with how to do so during the post-production process, you can achieve the desired result with little to no photography-related knowledge or experience required beforehand. This can be done by shooting a live photo and converting it to a long exposure shot.

If you are looking to sharpen your existing photography skills on TikTok, there are a number of steps you can take to do so. This includes taking vertical panorama shots or vertoramas of tall buildings, trees, or roads, trying the dolly zoom effect where the camera zooms out as the dolly gradually pushes the camera closer towards the subject, achieving the vertigo effect that was first seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film of the same name, and attempting a long exposure shot by taking live photos.

More Interesting Photography Posts: