Avoid complicating your work as a photographer with poorly framed, out-of-focus images. Understanding useful photography tips will help you capture better images and present more well-composed work.
eosdoc.com gathered valuable tips and information to help beginning photographers excel in their work and produce better professional results.
1. Get Your Composition Right
To capture engaging photos, you should be fully knowledgeable about what you’re doing. Instead of relying on your camera’s auto-focus, put some thought into your composition and make your photos as good as possible.
You can get started by knowing the basics of how to compose quality photos:
- Avoid cutting off your subject’s crucial components with the edge of your frame.
- Keep your horizon lines level
- Try to eliminate any unnecessary distractions in your photo by adjusting your composition
Confirm that your photo has a true sense of balance and simplicity. And if it does not look good on your first attempt, keep experimenting until you correctly capture it.
2. Understand Light
For most, the most crucial part of photography is light. If you take a photo with sufficient light, you’ve taken a huge step forward in trying to capture the best image.
The goal is to balance the light’s intensity between your primary subject and the image’s background.
The easiest way to do this is to pay attention to the light’s direction and softness. If the light is too harsh, you may get inconvenient shadows across your subject, which is a severe problem in portrait photography. If the light is coming from a poor or unflattering angle:
- Try to move the light source (in-studio)
- Move the subject (outdoors)
- Or wait until the light is better positioned (landscape photography)
Note: if you’re capturing handheld pictures, make sure there is ample light. If not, use a flash or move to a brighter location. Shooting in environments without enough light will leave you with dark, discolored images.
3. Know Your Subject
For most, your subject can be considered the “what” in photo composition. The most common photography subjects include people, arrangements, nature, and abstracts.
4. Be Proficient with Your Camera
Camera gear is less important than your photography knowledge and skills. There are countless cameras, lenses, filters, and other accessories on the market today.
Use the camera you already own. Today’s entry-level camera equipment is significantly better than the top-of-the-line equipment from just a decade ago. More crucial than your equipment is your skills and knowledge of camera settings. Focus your attention and effort on those, not so much on accumulating camera equipment.
5. Study Camera Settings
There are numerous camera settings, and it takes practice to get them right. Even advanced photographers will mess things up from time to time. However, there is significant value in learning how to properly set your camera and which camera settings matter the most in the environment you are shooting. Consider the following for taking practice shots:
- Shoot without full auto settings
- Adjust the camera’s aperture
- Increase and decrease your shutter speed
- Adjust your ISO
Note: Those settings represent the most crucial settings in photography.
Besides your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings, learn how to focus properly on stationary and moving subjects in different lighting circumstances.
Tip: Study your equipment manual.
6. Using a Tripod
Tripods practically eliminate one of the trickiest photography problems – a lack of light. With tripods, you can shoot multi-timed exposures and capture dark details that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Tripods improve the stability of your composition and help you capture sharper images. Consider using a tripod when:
- Your subject is stationary
- Capturing landscape
- Shooting architectural subjects
- Shooting still life
- When there is poor lighting
Note: Event and travel photography and action shots require you to remain mobile. Trying to use a tripod for these purposes will likely fail.
7. Lens and Filters
It is crucial to keep your lenses and accessories clean. Carry a nonabrasive cloth and lens cleaner with your equipment at all times.
Tip: Thoroughly clean your equipment and lenses weekly to keep them at their peak performance.
Photographers use filters for both capturing and editing photos. While shooting, many pros carry UV, polarizing, macro, and neutral density filters to help enhance images in-camera.
8. Using a Flash
Flashes are used in more than just dark environments. Flashes are useful indoors and outdoors, providing an essential focused light source. You can fill in (fill flash) undesired shadows on your subject simply using a gentle flash.
9. Slow Down
It is incredibly easy to make mistakes in photography when you rush through your work. Slow down and take your time whenever possible, especially when you are beginning to learn photography. Consider the following:
- Double-check your camera settings
- Be overly critical of your composition
- Do whatever you can to improve lighting conditions
Tip: Review your photos in the field. This allows you to make critical setting adjustments before heading to the editing process (it’s too late then).
Photography Tips
In this article, you discovered information and essential photography tips like lighting and composition that will help you capture better images.
A better understanding of photography basics will naturally assist you in capturing more meaningful, crisp, and valuable images.
Ignoring photography basics will leave you struggling to deliver well-composed and focused imagery for your photography work.
Sources:
inside-clas.charlotte.edu/communications-toolkit/photos-and-videos/photography-tips/
uwf.edu/media/university-of-west-florida/offices/institutional-communications/documents/marketing-toolbox/PhotographyTips_Tricks_Jan2018_accessible.pdf
artinstitutes.edu/about/blog/5-essential-photography-tips-and-tricks-for-beginners