Are you ready to make your ideas come to life? Do you know how to begin? Do you have an understanding of the equipment, methods and techniques that will be the most effective for the type of photographs you prefer to take? This article will address a few methods that you can use to get started with photography.
Take down notes whenever you are taking pictures. It’s good to have a context for when and where a certain photograph was taken. Get a small notepad and make sure you write down the number of the picture next to your description.
Different shutter speeds work well in different settings so make sure you have a play around with your camera and determine what works for you. You can choose to leave the shutter open and capture the night sky as it swirls overhead, or set if for a fraction of a second to capture high speed action. Set the speed of your shutter to a fast one in order to still motion, or a slow one to portray the best features of landscapes.
When you finally find that perfect moment to snap a shot, make sure not to move at all when you press the shutter. Even hold your breath, if you have to. Even the slightest movement can destroy a great shot. Some people agree that it’s best to stop breathing right before pressing the button, as a way of personally steadying yourself.
Overcast Sky
As people, we are always looking for the balance in life. We want things to be centered. In a society that values perfection, it can seem logical to frame your photos with the subject perfectly framed in the center, but you should actually try placing the subject off-center for a more interesting shot. Do not use the auto-focus feature that will detect your subject and place it in the center. You can use the manual focus to center the picture the way you want it, then take the photo.
Try to avoid including an overcast sky in your shots. If your photos contain too much gray sky they will appear washed-out and muted. For a photo that will include a large section of overcast sky, black-and-white may be a better choice. If it’s a bright day, however, you should include the sky more readily.
Play with the concepts of scale, expressions, and perspective in your photographs. You can make any object look interesting by placing it in an unusual context. You can achieve an entirely novel perspective on a familiar subject if you play around with your composition enough.
Make sure you have a good sense of depth when shooting landscapes. Get a sense of scale by having a person or object placed in the foreground. A small aperture–no more than f/8 on a digital camera and no more than f/16 on a SLR–can show sharpness in both the background and foreground.
Do you have to take pictures of objects that are wet with rain? You can create a similar effect by using a spray bottle to gently mist the object with water.
Direct Sunlight
Don’t miss out on capturing a great image because you’re fumbling with your camera’s settings. You don’t want a preset where the camera chooses your settings. Experiment with the different settings so that you can take control of what your picture looks like.
Many people think sunny days are great for photos, but direct sunlight can ruin nearly any image. Direct sunlight causes glaring and shadowing. It can also cause the people you are photographing to squint. The best times of the day to take a picture are in the early morning and the late evening.
Red-eye, while seemingly a tiny flaw, can make a photo appear un-frame worthy. To prevent red eye, do not use the flash unless you have to, and have your subject focus his or her gaze somewhere besides the lens. There are cameras available on the market that come with a red eye feature.
This next piece of advice is helpful! Learn the uses of the different shutter speeds. You should see letters on your camera: P, M, A and S. The label “P” is the setting for program mode. This setting is automatic, which means you don’t have to worry about setting the shutter or aperture speed yourself. Select the “P” mode when you’re not really sure what you’ll be shooting.
When using a camera that takes film, consider what brand of film you would like to use. This is largely a matter of personal preference. Although most brands of film are similar, every photographer has personal reasons for choosing one over another. A lot of good film brands are just as good as any other, so it comes down to personal preference. Although many people think there isn’t much difference from brand to brand, photographers do seem to choose favorites for very specific reasons.
Now you have an idea about where to begin with photography! Will you be able to find a good place to start? Have you figured out what is going to work best for your photography? If you can now provide an answer to these questions, then you have read and understood the previous tips and are ready to take better photos.
A tripod is beneficial if you’re taking a shot of a landscape. If you have a place to put your camera that is steady, you can take much better quality photographs. It is important to getting a shot that is not shaky. This is very important when you are taking landscape shots.
