You need to have some knowledge of what to look for and expect from bettering your photography skills. You need to know what resources are available to you and who can provide you answers as to what you need for your future photos. The tips below can help you with how to start.
Play with the aperture settings. Take a number of photos of the same subject with different settings to see how it affects the look of the final photo. Bigger f-stops allow you to get an entire landscape in focus, while a smaller f-stop will draw attention only to the center of your frame.
Do not make your camera settings too complicated. Focus on learning a single aspect of your camera’s settings before moving on to the others. Once you are very skilled with your settings, you will be able to make adjustments quickly and focus all your attention on getting excellent photos.
Don’t be afraid of taking pictures. If you use the wrong settings, it’s okay. Go ahead and take the picture anyway. If you want to photograph a person or pet, go up and ask if it’s okay; create a release form to sign if it makes you more comfortable. Just go do it!
Make sure you have a focal point for your photograph. This should be the first thing that the viewer’s eye is drawn to. Whether it’s a flower, a person, or a bird, every shot you take should have a specific focal point. Don’t only think about what the focal point is, but figure out the best spot for it in the shot.
If you can’t use a tripod while taking photos for some reason, you should always brace your upper body on a solid surface. Hold your breath if you can while taking the shot. This will minimize shake during the exposure, resulting in clearer pictures. A tripod is always best, however.
Make sure you support the camera from below and on the sides, while keeping your arms tucked tightly into the sides of your body. The movement of the photographer will be captured in the pictures. With your hands positioned at the underside of the camera and below the lens, it will help prevent accidentally dropping the equipment.
The “S” stands for shutter speed. Use low shutter speed to get sharp pictures when capturing moving objects. Set the shutter speed to higher speeds for creating a more experimental picture. This is a cool feature to use when getting photos of fireworks or tail lights on a car. It is an easy way to get artistic features in your photos.
Positioning of the subject can make the difference between a good photo and a great photo. The subject should rarely be dead center in the middle of the photo. When taking your photo, try to position the subject in the upper, or lower third of the image. This effect works best when there is a horizon in the distance.
A common beginner’s mistake is to place one’s thumb on the lens while taking a photograph. This causes a blurry spot to appear in the corner of a photograph. You should make sure your lens is clean and that you are not obstructing it with your thumb before taking a picture.
There are three important factors you need to consider when the subject of your photograph is a landscape. These three include a background, a mid ground and foreground. Most art uses these three factors when producing any quality work. Photography is no different.
As you have seen in the above tips, there is a lot of knowledge you can acquire before learning how to better your own photography skills. Do everything you must to find out what you can do to take better shots and how to apply that to your future photos.
