
Although taking photographs is always getting more popular, many people still wonder whether they should, or even could, learn advanced photographic skills. Fortunately, photography is one of those forgiving subjects about which you can learn as much or as little as you like. Read on for some great photography tips.
Keep your picture-taking process as simple as you can. You don’t need to mess with a bunch of different color and motion settings to produce a beautiful photograph.
Use digital techniques to create photographs that resemble oil paintings, watercolors, graphic pencil sketches and more. There is a variety of digital software available on the market, but the standard is considered to be Adobe Photoshop. Taking your photos and making them a piece of art, is as easy as clicking a button or two in these programs.
When embarking on a journey, keep your camera handy from the very beginning. Of course, you will have tons of great photo opportunities on the trip, but you can make a photo essay that starts right when you leave your home to chronicle the entire trip. Document the journey; you may be able to find some interesting things at an airport.
Professional Quality
Take pictures of anything and everything on trips. These pictures will often bring back more memories than a picture of a landscape would. Take pictures of street signs, strange products sold in stores or even small objects, like coins or bus tickets.
You MUST have a professional quality camera to take professional quality photographs. A DSLR is your best choice when looking for a camera with many features, excellent quality, and even affordability. Many professional photographers use this type of camera, and if you hope to take high quality pictures, this is the ideal choice.
It is important to find the perfect combination between ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Your photo’s exposure is dictated by these three settings, taken together. Unless you are shooting for an artsy, atmospheric result, try to avoid under- or over-exposed photos. With a little experimentation, you can strike the right balance between the 3 settings to deliver the results you want.
You should create depth and perspective when photographing landscapes. Add scale into your photos by including an object or person in the picture foreground. A small aperture, usually smaller than f/8 in many digital cameras and f/16 for SLR’s, allows greater sharpness throughout the entire picture.
If possible, you want the photo subject to be directly looking at the camera. Try to capture different feelings, by having your subject focus on something other than the camera, off in the distance. You could also try to have the people in the picture look at something in the frame.
Play with the manual white balance feature. Taking indoor pictures is tricky because of the yellow tone the lightbulbs give off. Instead of taking the time to relight the entire room, adjust white balance and use your camera to create a whole new atmosphere. Your photos will almost instantly appear more professional.
When photographing families, couples, or groups of people, consider giving them some tips on what to wear ahead of time. Not everyone likes matching colors, but complementary colors or patterns should be encouraged. If you are photographing outside, then recommend neutral colors that will complement the natural backdrop. If they prefer bolder shades of color, then recommend adding black to the mix in order to blend multiple hues.
Pack your equipment for a trip carefully. Pack extra accessories and lenses so that you won’t miss out on any photographs during your trip because of poor planning. Do not take more than what you need and think about what will be convenient to transport with you on your trip.
Take a good number of practice shots to experiment when shooting against new backdrops or with new subjects. Every photo opportunity introduces obstacles that are hard to predict in advance. Only experience can help you understand these obstacles and plan for them. The light in which you are shooting can vary frequently, and therefore you should take test shots as often as necessary.
Stay still while you press the shutter. Don’t even breathe. Even a little bit of movement on your part can cause a ruined photo. Make sure to square up your shot and hold your breath before hitting a shutter button.
Figure out what ISO values work best for different shots, or you could end up disappointed. The higher the ISO is set to, the more that is seen and this will affect the grain that is printed onto your photo. This can ruin your pictures unless you are planning on having that look.
Now that you’ve read these tips, try applying them to your photography and see what a difference they can make. The knowledge is useless unless you apply it to your picture taking.
Even a dull subject can be made visually interesting if you make the right camera adjustments, shoot from a different viewpoint, or change the lighting. Adjust your camera settings to see how they affect the picture.
