3 Tips For Cinematic Photos
Cinematic-inspired photography is such a great way to tell stories through your work— whether in the emotion of an intimate moment, or the epic scale of a wide photo showing your subjects in a landscape or city. Get inspired for your next photo session with these tips for cinematic photos!
Tip #1: Composition
Obviously, composition and framing play a huge role in any genre of photography, but especially in cinematic-inspired images. Carefully consider balance, framing of your subjects, and visual storytelling when composing your photo. Take time to line up leading lines, framing within the frame, and the rule of thirds, to start!
Image by Venture Out Photography
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus
Image by Gail Secker Photography
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus
Bonus Tip: To aid in composing cinematic images, use a wider aspect ratio such as 16:9 or 21:9, which give your photos a cinestill look and can help you frame the story you’re trying to tell in the image. You can crop images to these aspect ratios in Lightroom or add the Black Bars preset from Quest 23 Odeon on horizontal images to get a widescreen look.
Image by The Curious Hearts
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus, Black Bars from Quest 23 Odeon
Tip #2: Depth of Field
Utilize depth of field to your advantage— cinematic stills can change the mood of the moment being captured in a couple of ways.
Use an intimate, shallow depth of field to draw attention to the subjects and focusing on their emotions and connection
Use a wide depth of field, capturing the subjects in their surroundings, giving a sense of setting to the moment
Image by My Favourite Human
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus
Image by Elsa Eileen Photography
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus
Bonus Tip: Use shallow depth of field when focusing on gestures, hand movements, and tight crops of your subjects to highlight the emotion they’re experiencing or portraying.
Tip #3: Color Grading and Post Processing
You’ve captured your cinematic images, but they don’t quite nail the mood you’re going for… That’s where your edit comes into play. Using cinematic color grading will drastically change how the mood of the photo will come across— cooler, darker tones will give a somber, pensive feeling. In contrast, warmer, lighter tones will give a hopeful, nostalgic feeling. Experiment with your edits and reference the tones you like about your favorite movie scenes for inspiration!
Check out our Cinematic collection of Quest presets to find the perfect edit, including the new Nexus Presets, which include different time of day presets to dramatically change your image from day to night, or to dusk or dawn tones!
Image by Mari Trancoso
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus 01 + Daylight
Image by Mari Trancoso
Edited with Quest 35 Nexus 02 +Midnight