Picture Perfect Memories: Photography Tips

July 10, 2013 by  
Filed under Outdoor Photography

A great hobby to take up is photography. It does require a little knowledge and effort to do it properly, though. The following article gives you those common sense pointers that helps you take great shots.

Get quick with your shutter finger. If you wait even a moment to take the perfect shot, that moment can change the whole dynamics of your subject or lighting. A fast camera will help you take better photos.

Overcast skies should not be included in the composition of a picture. If you have too much gray sky in your photograph, it will create a washed-out appearance in the image. If you find yourself shooting into overcast skies, taking classic, black and white photos may be your best option. Blue skies look magnificent in photographs; however, you will still need to take light into consideration.

Framing is very important when you are considering your photo’s composition. If an object is distracting from the subject in your photo, remove it from the photograph. Zooming in is an effective way to accomplish this. This will avoid a cluttered photo.

Experiment a bit with the feature that allows you to adjust levels of whiteness. When you take shots inside, you usually end up with a yellowish color because of the light-bulbs. Rather than changing your room’s lighting, you can change the white balance of your camera. This will give your pictures a professional appearance.

Here is a little did-you-know photo hint! Shutter speed settings are an important feature of your camera. There are S, P, M,and A settings on your camera. The “P” stands for program mode. When you apply this setting it means you camera is fully automatic, so it sets things like shutter speed and aperture for you. For general use, the “P” setting is the right one to choose.

Shoot photographs of things that capture your interest. Once you get home you will appreciate all the photos you have taken and relive the journey in your mind. Take pictures of street signs, strange products sold in stores or even small objects, like coins or bus tickets.

Practice makes perfect, so buy the largest memory card you can for you camera, and enable yourself to take a plethora of practice shots. A 16 gigabyte memory card will store all of your photos without the necessity of changing memory cards during a photo shoot. A bigger memory card also lets you shoot in RAW format, which provides more editing options later on.

Visit a thrift store to buy a film camera if you would like to test out the older film-based photography. For a dramatic shot, black and white film is great. Make sure you get one with an ISO of 200 for a good all-around film. When it’s time to develop your film, try using different types of printing paper.

You need to make sure that you have the right white balance setting on your camera if you are taking pictures under fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lights emit blue- or green-tinged light, leaving your subjects looking too cool. The appropriate setting will compensate for the red tones that your lighting environment lacks.

In many pictures, people will be looking directly into the camera. Have the subject of your photo focus their eyes on a distant object, rather than the camera. Also, you can try having them focus on something that is in the frame, but still not looking at the camera.

It is important that you take the time to read your camera manual, and become familiar with your camera before you begin using it. Often times a manual is very long and drawn out. They are usually misplaced, thrown away or hidden in an unused drawer. Rather than trashing your manual, make some time to learn the information it provides. The manual can assist you in taking higher quality pictures and prevent dumb mistakes.

To achieve some creative results, don’t feel limited to strict focus rules. Reduce the f-stop setting to maintain focus on the closer subject. This is a good photograph style to use for portrait images, as the subject is usually close to the lens. The bigger the f-stop number, the bigger the depth of field. This means that if your depth of field is larger, then a larger portion of the picture will appear focused on. This would be fantastic for landscape shots.

Every time you change subjects or backgrounds, take some practice shots to see how your settings are working with the shot. It’s crucial to get a good feel for how you can use your surroundings to your advantage before you begin snapping pictures. It is normal for light to change, so take lots of practice shots to get the right lighting.

The best results may be obtained by doing research and a lot of effort. Some of these tips will help you improve instantly, while others will require you to practice a bit. Remember to keep your joy since the point is to have fun. Use a few of our tips and you’re sure to capture the images you are hoping for.

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