Photography Tips And Tricks For The Average Person
July 10, 2013 by admin
Filed under Photography Techniques
Are you often frustrated or disappointed by the outcome of your photographic efforts? This article has tips to help improve your skill set and help you translate what your eyes see into beautiful pictures you will be proud to show off.
In order to take professional photographs, you need to have a professional camera. Cameras that are dSLR will result in the highest quality photographs. This type of camera is the number one choice among most professional photographers. That fact alone should testify to a DSLR’s potential in helping you improve your own photographs.
Ensure you have an extra charged battery so you do not miss the greatest photos. You can go through batteries quickly, especially if you have a LCD screen, so be sure that you have fresh batteries in it before you head out for a day of photography. You should also carry spare batteries so that you can avoid missing a photograph opportunity.
If you want to be able to take great photos, take lots of them. You’ll need a memory card large enough to hold them all. By increasing the size of the memory card that you use in your camera, you are increasing the number of photos that you can take before changing cards. An added benefit of a larger memory card is that you will be able to shoot in RAW (if your camera has this capability). The RAW format preserves more details than JPEG and allows for a lot of flexibility once you get into post-production.
Try to get as close as you can to your photo subject. There isn’t anything worse than a photo where you cannot see any of the details of your subject. Make it easier for yourself and for your viewers to see your subject clearly and vividly.
Consider getting involved with a photography club, or shoot some pictures with a fellow photographer. You could learn a lot from other people, but do not let their style influence your pictures. Compare the pictures you took together to see how the same object can look different when seen by two people.
There is an erroneous emphasis on placing your subject in the center of your photograph. While symmetry and perfection are things people look for, try and take pictures of your subject off center. Some cameras automatically focus on whatever appears in the middle of the field of view; disable such features in order to take off-center pictures. Focus manually instead, and lock the focus just prior to snapping the picture.
As a learning exercise, set restrictions that force you to find creative solutions. Focus on specific concepts to narrow the scope of your photography. Take that goal one step further, by take 100 different and unique photos of the same subject, or in confined quarters. By placing limitations on yourself and your photography, you can sharpen your creative skills and work outside of the box.
When dealing with any kind of landscape subject, you need to make sure that your photos have three very important things. A good landscape has interesting content in the foreground, in the background, and also in between the two, in the mid-ground. These things are not just fundamentals of basic photography. They are also fundamentals for other kinds of art.
If you want to take better pictures, start by reading the instruction manual that came with your camera. The size of a manual often makes them prohibitive to reading. Most of the time they get thrown away or put away and forgotten. Rather than getting rid of it, actually read it. You will avoid simple errors and improve your skill.
Manually adjust the white balance before you snap a photo. This has a dramatic effect on the mood of the photo, and provides you with the ability to control the way your photos look. It takes some practice to get things right, but you can be more creative with your photos when you utilize manual white balance.
Toying with the focus can create a more interesting photograph. By lowering the f-stop number, you can heighten the focus on your subject while simultaneously blurring the background. Try this strategy when taking portraits or other close-up shots. 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. Large depth of field photos are great for landscape photography.
Try different angles to make your photographs more unique. Anyone can see a scene head-on and take a photo of it. Look down at things from high up, or get down on the ground, and look up at them. Try composing a shot on the diagonal or from the side to make it more interesting.
While having a good photographic eye is important to taking excellent pictures, learning the craft of photography is important too. You can learn a lot from the advice and tips in this article, as they are geared towards aspiring photographers.
