Does photography pique your interest, but you just don’t know how to begin? Are you confused about your shot selection, or how to set different types of lighting? Even if you can boast ten years of experience in the photography field, it can never hurt to bone up on your knowledge a bit.
When shooting landscape pictures, cultivate depth in your shots. Shooting a person in front of the landscape will provide perspective and scale to your picture. Aperture sizes like f/8 on a consumer camera, or f/16 on a professional DSLR, make it so you need not sacrifice foreground sharpness for background sharpness or vice-versa.
Be picky about what will end up in the picture. A great picture will allow the viewer to see a particular aspect of the subject in the photograph. Don’t attempt to include too much. To give a general impression of a subject, take a different pictures and organize them in a series rather than trying to capture everything in one picture.
While many people mistakenly believe that sunny days make for gorgeous photographs, shooting images in direct sunlight often results in distorted photos. The sun will cast awkward shadows along with glaring, and cause uneven highlights that will make your subjects squint when they look into the camera. Aim to take outdoor pictures during the two golden hours, dusk and dawn.
Your arms should be close against your body when you are holding the camera, and make sure your hands are on the sides and bottom of the camera. This keeps the camera steady and reduces the number of blurred shots you take. You can also keep your camera from slipping out of your hands by holding it from the bottom, rather than the top.
When choosing which of your photos to show others, choose the ones of which you are the most proud. Don’t show too many photos and vary the subject matter. It can get very boring for others to see the same thing over and over again. Aim to show a collection of distinctly different photographs that demonstrate a wide range of your photography skills.
Pay attention to your lighting, and adjust the white balance if necessary. Interior photography often comes with a yellowish hue due to the light available from light bulbs. You could change the room’s lighting, but instead look to your camera’s white balance setting. It can completely change the feel of the room. This will allow your photos to look more professional.
Experiment with the white balance feature. When you are taking shots inside, you can get a yellow tint due to light bulbs. Instead of spending the time to fix the lighting, you can just change the white balance from your camera. This should, definitely, give a more professional appearance to your pictures.
The instant you leave your house when traveling, begin taking photos. Once you arrive you may find plenty of times to take pictures, but photograph the journey too. Taking shots at the airport and en route will document the full experience.
Photography needs to be enjoyable. Pictures provide memories of people, places or things that you hope to remember and share with others. When you enjoy taking photos, learning new photography skills is something you are likely to be excited about.
You need not stand directly in front of an object to photograph it. Attempt to shoot your subject from below, above, left or right.
Pre-focus your camera and move the lens slightly in one direction so that the subject you are shooting is slightly off center. Centering can be very expected and therefore not all that interesting to look at in a photo. Off-centering your subject will make your picture look more unique and interesting.
External Flash
When you finally find that perfect moment to snap a shot, make sure not to move at all when you press the shutter. Even hold your breath, if you have to. Even a very slight movement can cause motion blur and ruin that perfect shot. For the perfect shot, you must take time and focus your energy on getting the perfect view and angle before pressing the shutter button.
In general, the digital cameras of today use built-in flash mechanisms that operate automatically when the camera is used in a dim lighting This is good for a quick spur of the moment picture, but for something more professional, use a external flash unit which is designed to give you a broad lighting range. If your camera will accept an external flash (look for a “hot shoe”), a photo shop can set you up with a model to sync with your camera.
Usually in life we have been trained to see things that are centered and even as good. We have been taught all of our lives to always strive towards perfection, but when you are shooting photographs of a more off-beat, artistic nature, do not focus directly on your subject. To create asymmetry, you may need to disable your camera’s auto-focus feature, because it always uses the lens’ center as focal point. Focus manually instead, and lock the focus just prior to snapping the picture.
Practice selecting effective combinations of ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. The picture exposure is dictate by these three items. Unless you’re trying for a particular effect, you probably want to avoid taking shots that are over- or under-exposed. Try different things and find out which combination of these three features works best for you.
Do you want a wet or misty effect from rain for some photographs? You can create a similar effect by using a spray bottle to gently mist the object with water.
Learning about proper composition is something you must do when you are starting out in photography. If you already have some experience under your belt, it is something that can help you take better photographs. As with anything artistic, the composition determines if the photo is of the highest quality possible. When you want to improve your photography skills, learn, study and apply all you can about proper composition.
When you’re scheduled to photograph more than one person in a shot, give them advice beforehand that will help them choose clothing for the best staging. Matching colors are not necessary, but complementary shades will greatly enhance the overall results. Consider suggesting warmer colors or those that are neutral so everyone’s clothing blends well with an environment with a natural look and feel. If they prefer bolder shades of color, then recommend adding black to the mix in order to blend multiple hues.
When you are taking photos, a good rule of thumb is the idea of less is more. Do not crowd a shot with unnecessary visual elements. When photographing people, try to take shots that your subjects aren’t aware of.
Keep a keen eye out for patterns, whether artificial or naturally occurring, when you are shooting a subject. Any sort of pattern draws the eye to that part of the shot, which makes your photo more appealing. Sometimes, you can even integrate the pattern into your shot, either by taking it at a new angle or perspective, adding a dynamic element.
Look around for good subjects for your photos, any time you are on the road. Have a look at the closest postcard rack for inspiration of where to begin. The postcards will show images of places and subjects that people would like to see and would be a welcome addition to your portfolio.
When planning a shot, try to “frame” it. It doesn’t have to be just a metal or a wooden frame, you can use a more natural one as well. You can use other elements in the natural world around you to frame the subject matter in your picture. This will improve your composition skills.
When taking group photos of couples, families or larger groups, give them advice on the best type of clothing to wear in the photoraph. They do not have to match, but the photos will look better if the colors that are worn complement each other. Consider suggesting warmer colors or those that are neutral so everyone’s clothing blends well with an environment with a natural look and feel. If your subjects want to wear bright colors, suggest that they also include some black pieces so their attire is not too overwhelming.
Use the manual white balance when taking your photographs. This allows you to better control and improve the atmosphere of your photos. It may take some trial and error, but eventually, you will produce beautiful and creative photographs.
Be sure to not lose out on a good photo opportunity because you are messing with the settings. For the best photographs, don’t use the camera’s presets since this removes your options of making adjustments. Explore each of the settings on your camera and practice using them at times when you are not worried about missing important shots.
Add interest to a photograph by adjusting the focus at different points. The smaller the f-stop number, or depth field, the more blurry your background will be. This strategy is especially good for portraits where the person is standing near the camera. If you use a bigger depth of field, more elements will enter into the point of focus of the picture. Make sure to use this for your landscape photos.
Practice Shots
In most situations, you need to make a choice between setting your exposure to favor the highlights of a picture or its shadows. Good photo software will let you take two pictures demonstrating each effect, and blend them to create the perfect balance of both.
Practice a lot whenever you are working with new backdrops or subjects. Practice shots can give you the confidence you need to take the best photos, even in unfamiliar situations. Get used to taking a few practice shots just in case the lighting changes.
Purchase a simple tripod in order to take higher quality photos. Movements from your hands holding the camera can be noticeable whenever your shutter speed is low. The little bit of money spent on a tripod can remove the blur that can occur in your images. A quality tripod will make your pictures much more professional looking.
Make sure you take the time to learn how the ISO feature on your camera works. Remember that the higher you turn the ISO, the more you can see, and thus print, grain on your photo. This can ruin your pictures unless you are planning on having that look.
Strive to have an interesting object within the foreground of any landscape photos you shoot. Adding a pretty rock or an interesting leaf, for example, can add eye appeal. Having perspective will emphasize the subject of your picture and add interest.
If photography is a hobby for you, take your time learning new techniques and experimenting with the features on your camera. There are a lot of different points you need to consider with photography, especially if you want to do the right things when you start out.
You should think about your approach before you start taking pictures. Focusing on a specific subject matter can help you narrow down your photography options. The more careful you are when it comes to detail and execution, the better your photograph will be. As you develop a plan, you will become inspired, which will result in much better pictures.