Photography is a great hobby, a form of art, and a way to pass some time and relieve stress. If you love shooting pictures or looking at others’ work, take time in your day to look at things you would have otherwise not seen. Pictures capture what words can’t.
Don’t try to pose your subjects for every picture. Candid, action shots are often times some of the best. You will capture a person in their natural setting, in their natural mood, and the picture will look more “real” because of it. Take lots of candid pictures and you’re sure to get a few that are great.
A good photography tip is to realize that you’re not always in control. Trying to be in control of everything can be extremely frustrating, especially when there are variables involved that are simply out of your control. Try to just relax and enjoy the act of taking photographs.
Learn about composition rules. Practice and experiment with these rules to create unique pictures. For instance, organizing a picture around diagonal lines gives an impression of depth. You can also play with colors and gradual nuances to give an impression of movement to a picture. Do not follow the rules blindly, but learn when to use them.
Experiment with you camera’s shutter speed settings. Learn the basics about different types of shutter speeds. These are labeled S, A, M an P on your camera. The ‘P’ button will take you to the program mode. In this fully automatic camera setting, your shutter speed and aperture are set for you automatically. For general use, the “P” setting is the right one to choose.
When shooting landscapes, remember the rule of thirds which is to keep one-third or two-thirds of the image as the sky or the foreground. This will give the photo more depth and a more dramatic look. This is an easy tip for beginners to follow but will make a huge difference in the appearance of the photos.
Take your camera with you as often as you can. You never know when a great opportunity for a photo will present itself. Keep your camera out and ready if you expect to use it – by the time you get your camera out of the bag, get the lens cap off, and adjust your settings, your shot is gone. Hang the camera around your neck. Of course, if you’re in a high-crime area, or if you don’t want it to be obvious that you are a tourist, you may need to be a bit more discreet.
Consider your photo angles before you shoot. Look through your cameras view finder to see how the background and foreground interact. Check for odd shapes, or things that will detract from what you were thinking when you decided to take the shot. Taking a second to compose your craft will improve your pictures.
While you might think using a lower setting on your camera is a good thing because you can store more photos, you must consider the resulting quality. If you intend to print the photographs, you will lose a good deal of quality by doing this. You should only apply the lowest settings if you are confident that the images will only be shown on a computer display.
Improve your photography by paying attention to the light. Lighting should usually be behind the photographer rather than the subject. A subject being backlit will create a silhouette. Be careful when the light is behind the photographer though, if it is too bright it might cause the subject to squint.
Keep a notebook with the dates of the days that you were out taking photos with the location where you were shooting. You can get as detailed as you like in these notes. They are meant to help you remember exactly where and when you took the photos so you can add it to captions later.
Using your camera’s built in flash is rarely a good thing. It will likely cause harsh shadows from the hard light that it puts off. Diffused light is going to work out much better for you. Invest in an integrated flash for your camera. You can point the flash away from the subject to avoid the hard light.
Photograph your subject in an environment where they belong. You are sure to find that people are far more comfortable being photographed in their comfort zones and would look stiff and uncomfortable if you were to try to force them into a studio setting. Let the kids play and capture the photos when they are actually happy.
Everyone enjoys looking at photos, even if they didn’t take the picture themselves. If you get into photography, create memories you might have missed. Photography can provide a fun and exciting creative outlet. As mentioned earlier displaying your pictures for the world to see is an excellent way to relive some stress.