Photography Can Be Simple. Follow These Great Tips

July 10, 2013 by  
Filed under Outdoor Photography

In order to start taking great photos, you need to learn the basics. As you progress, you will be able to stay away from common mistakes that ruin most shots.

Keep things as simple as possible when you are trying to capture a picture. You can often create a gorgeous picture without playing around with the different motion and color settings.

Always highlight your very best images for showcases and displays. Don’t show your entire portfolio of photographs or select too many of any particular subject. When people are looking at your photography, they don’t want to see similar subjects over and over. Keep things fresh by showing off a variety of your photography.

Don’t forget the little things you see when traveling, they might make an amazing photograph! While you might normally skip over these types of shots, you should consider whether or not you’d enjoy seeing it again when you are revisiting the photographs from your trip. Taking photos of things such as street signs, storefronts and other interesting objects will help trigger memories you would have forgotten otherwise.

Pre-focus your camera and move slightly. Your subject will not be in the exact center of your picture. Centering is generally expected and not that interesting in a photo. Take interesting pictures by making the subject off center.

Make sure that you adjust your cameras white balance whenever you are taking pictures under florescent lights. Photographs shot under fluorescent lighting typically look greenish or bluish, giving your photo a much cooler color effect than you intended.

Experiment with different perspectives, scale and photographic expression. You can make any object artistic when you portray it in a creative way, such as making it appear distorted, or in an unusual location. Putting an object somewhere creative can help something familiar look very unique.

Confine yourself within certain limits, to breed creativity. For example, set a goal for the day to only shoot images that represent a single concept, such as “sweet.” Try to take at least 100 different pictures from the same vantage point or in the same room. Limitations can often times allow us to see beautiful, or unique things, that would have otherwise gone undetected.

When you are traveling, look for inspiration about what is interesting to photograph. To find great ideas and inspiration, just take a look at a rack of different post cards. Those postcards will have pictures of attractions and subject matter that you should try to add to your own photos.

Whenever you are taking photographs of landscapes, your pictures should always have three key aspects. These three components should be a foreground, mid-ground, and background. Using these correctly is the most important part of composition, not just in photography, but other forms of visual art also.

Do you have to take pictures of objects that are wet with rain? Create the effect yourself by carrying along your own spray bottle and gently misting some “rain” on the subject that you need to photograph.

Take the time to read your camera manual. Often times a manual is very long and drawn out. It’s all too easy to throw them out or put them in a drawer. Take your time to read and study your manual instead of just throwing it away. The manual can assist you in taking higher quality pictures and prevent dumb mistakes.

When taking photos of any kind, always seek out any and all kinds of patterns. You’ll find that these patterns lead to more intriguing prints in the end. You can play off these patterns to get unusual angles or frame your subject relative to the background.

Look for opportunities to frame creative shots. Not just placing a wooden or metal frame around your shots, but a “natural” one. Look for elements that you can use as natural frames to your main point of focus. You can use this as a way to practice photograph composition.

While red-eye seems like a minor flaw, it can make all the difference when it comes to frame-worthy photos. Red eye can be prevented by completely avoiding flash when possible. If you must use flash, you should inform the person not to look straight at the lens. Many cameras now have a feature to eliminate red eye built into them to eliminate the problem altogether.

Your camera can be a fantastic way to get beautiful shots if used correctly. You can use a shallow depth to help draw attention to the actual subject of the shot and blur the backgrounds.

Becoming a better photographer is not as hard as it might seem. It is a simple matter of research, practicing the different methods in your photo shoots, and making it a continuous learning experience. It will be well worth it as you see the quality of your photos enhancing.

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