You have made the decision to develop your creative and technical skills as a photographer. This is impeccable timing. The article that follows will make you a total ace with the camera.
As you advance in your photography skills and find that it is becoming a serious endeavor for you, you will probably want to invest in a dSLR camera. The letters DSLR are an abbreviation for digital single lens reflex, and it is really the best type of camera to take professional quality shots. Ideally you would get a full framed DSLR camera that gives you the largest image sensor with the highest detailed photographs.
You should use digital techniques in order to shoot pictures that look like graphic pencil sketches, oil paintings, watercolors, and more. While there are a variety of software products available for purchase, Adobe Photoshop is listed as one of the best. It is easy to convert pictures to nice art pieces by choosing the “filter” button, picking your favorite medium, then clicking selection.
One effective way to improve your photography skills is to draw inspiration from other photographers. By taking the time to view the art created by other photographers, you will be inspired and reminded of all the different ways a subject can be shown in one single shot.
Experiment with the white balance feature. If you leave the white balance unchanged, photos taken inside can take on a yellow hue because of the artificial light. Instead of augmenting the light in the room, adjust the camera’s white balance for a different atmosphere. This will improve the quality of your pictures, giving them a more natural appearance.
Don’t neglect the foreground of a photo in favor of the background when taking a landscape shot as this is what will be noticed first. Make sure your foreground has a nice appearance and will show depth.
When photographing your subject, try to get as close as you can. When you are too far away, it is harder to see the details in the resulting photograph, which can prove quite disappointing. Move closer to give your shots vivid clarity.
As a photographer, it is important that you keep your batteries well charged so you never have to miss out on the opportunity to take a great picture. Digital cameras are power hungry, and the batteries do not last long. They especially use power with the LED screen in use. Make sure they are charged fully before you start shooting. It is also a good idea to carry around spare batteries. This way you will never miss out on a great shot.
You can move the subject around so that you can find a shot you find interesting. Find different, interesting angles to make the subject more interesting.
Focus your shot and make sure the subject is off center. Having the subject centered in-frame is quite common; such photos are at a disadvantage when it comes to being memorable. Off-centering your subjects can create an interesting element for the viewer.
Try pre-focusing your camera and then moving so that your subject is not right in the middle of the lens. Most people expect the subject to be in the center of the frame; varying it up a bit can add visual interest. If you off-center your shots, your viewers will find them much more enjoyable.
Composition is an important factor that every beginning photographer should consider and educate themselves on. Such as with the other arts, if composition is lacking, your work isn’t the best it may be. Study up and use what you learn about composition when you take pictures and you will get better in photography.
You should find a good combination of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Those three things affect your picture’s exposure. It is possible to use overexposed photos in some cases, but generally these should be avoided. The best way to learn more about these aspects is to experiment with them, this will help you learn how they interact together.
Play with the notion of scale, perspectives and expressions. An ordinary object can be transformed to art if the setting distorts its actual size, or lends a silly or unique perpective. Get creative with the composition of your photographs to come up with some inventive representations of commonplace objects.
If you’re looking to capture some of the nostalgic intrigue associated with film cameras, try visiting second hand stores and getting your camera there. For an even more dramatic effect, ISO rated 200 black and white film offers a great nostalgic quality. The developed film can be printed on art or handmade papers, producing interesting artistic effects.
If you intend to travel soon, make a mental list of landmarks or other objects that you want to shoot. If you do not know where to start, take a look at some postcards. There are also postcards highlighting the major attractions in town, so make sure you include these on your subject list.
Regardless of whether you are pursuing photography as a hobby or career, good composition is the key to taking high quality photos. Like any other art form, if the composition in your photo is not right, the work will suffer. When you want to improve your photography skills, learn, study and apply all you can about proper composition.
Choosing a low quality setting allows you to store more pictures on your camera. However, the quality of your pictures will suffer from it. Use lower settings if you plan on strictly keeping your pictures on a computer, instead of printing them.
When composing a shot, keep in mind the artistic axiom “less is more.” Do not crowd a shot with unnecessary visual elements. There is something special about keeping your photographs simple.
Experiment with the focus on your camera to create interesting pictures. The f-stop numbers control how wide open the aperture of your camera is when taking a picture. This in turn affects the depth of field. Smaller f-stop numbers mean that your depth of field is shallow, and you can focus on your subject while the background is blurry. When the subject sits close to the lens, such as a portrait shot, this is a great idea. On the other hand, a higher f-stop number creates more depth; everything within the frame will appear in focus. You want to do this when taking landscape photos.
When you are traveling, look for inspiration about what is interesting to photograph. If you are looking for inspiration, take a look at some postcards to get ideas of what to shoot. These cards will have subjects and attractions that are popular with visitors. Get your own angle on these places.
In most situations, you need to make a choice between setting your exposure to favor the highlights of a picture or its shadows. However, you can still take the photos in different conditions and then use a program such as Photoshop to combine them into a great picture.
Most photographers wish for their subjects to look into the camera. A unique effect occurs in a picture when the subject looks away from the camera’s field of view. You might also direct the subject to focus on an object or person within the frame.
Take a good number of practice shots to experiment when shooting against new backdrops or with new subjects. No two environments are exactly the same, so practice shots can help you to adjust. Lighting often changes, so take as many practice photos as necessary between shots to ensure your settings are correctly set.
Be cautious to not miss out on shooting some great pictures because you couldn’t get your settings set properly. However, you should not always use presets because this enables the camera to make all adjustments for you. Experiment with your camera’s features to see how different settings affect your photos.
Make a custom silhouette. Many methods for creating a silhouette exist, including the most popular method of using a sunset. Whenever the background is much brighter than the object, the object will have a silhouette. Create a silhouette shot by putting your subject in front of a sunny window or by setting up a flash off-camera, behind the subject. Just keep in mind that the outline may cause an unflattering feature on your subject to be highlighted.
Try taking photos at different angles to make them more creative. The straight-on point of view can be effective, but is all too common. Try to find fun and interesting angles to approach the scene. First, attempt from higher positions, and then move lower. You might also find that angled or side shots create a distinctive photographic experience.
For more creative photos, experiment with unorthodox angles. Taking a straight, head-on photo of a subject can be effective, but the alternatives available are nearly endless. Try different elevations. A subject looks very different from a high vantage point or from very low down. A more intriguing photo results from catching the subject in a diagonal or side angle.
Consider shots from various angles, different lighting or adding to the setting to get a new perspective on a photograph. Experiment with these techniques beforehand so you’ll be able to visualize how they’ll affect your planned shot.
Different filters are used as an extension of a camera’s lenses. They can do many different things and are easily screwed onto the lens. A UV filter is the most common type you’ll find in photography. It keeps harmful direct sunlight off of your lens. It will also shield your lens from being damaged if it were to be dropped.
Shutter Speeds
Use different shutter speeds for more creativity. It is normal to use the quickest shutter speed if you want to freeze action. In the same way, try to consider the things you can do with slower shutters speeds like 1/30. Can you imagine a bicyclist racing by you? Your resulting shot will capture the bicyclist in pretty sharp detail, while the background will be blurred horizontally, indicating speed.
Use different shutter speeds for more creativity. Although the quickest shutter speeds are used to freeze a moment in time, consider what is possible with slower shutter speeds, such as 1/30. Want to photograph that crazy cyclist? With a slower shutter speed, you will get a sharp image of the subject with a background that expresses speed due to a horizontal streaking effect.
You can use your cell phone camera in a pinch, but remember that they are limited, especially with lighting. Many cell phone cameras aren’t equipped with built in flashes, so that makes it vitally important you put your subject in the best lighting as possible. One way to work around a low-light situation is to zoom in on your subject.
Landscape photos are sometimes hampered by insufficient, or even overly abundant, lighting. There will be times in which it is impossible to get an ideal shot. So, what are your options? Try using a program, like Photoshop, to create a gradient filter to counterbalance any contrasting light.
If you take photos in low light, you should increase shutter speed. This stops the photographs from becoming blurry due to a lack of light to your film. Shutter speeds that are 1/200th or 1/250th of a second are the recommended minimums in this situation.
It’s important to ensure the balance within the composition of your photographs is on point. A simple way to make your photographs appear worthy for an art gallery is to make sure all the elements are balanced in each individual image. Crop out distracting elements, keep the horizon level, and make sure your subject is properly framed and not in an awkward placement.
When you begin photography, understand balance or the color of light in your shots. To obtain the look you desire, you must account for all of the light influencing your picture.
Now you are a lot more prepared to become a better photographer. If you were already happy with the pictures you’ve been taking, you’re going to love how they look now. The information presented to you in this article should have given you some great advice on how you can make yourself a much better photographer.
Use the manual settings on your SLR to improve the quality of the pictures you take. Digital photography has reduced stress and cost for many photographers. With this flexibility, go ahead and experiment; you will quickly learn which settings work to give you the images you desire.
