While you can’t obviously learn everything in one photo article, this article gives you five basic tips to start using right away. Whether you have a point and shoot camera or are the proud owner of an SLR, there are a few basic concepts that once understood will get you on your way towards taking excellent photos. Here are five important and easy to use tips that you can put to use right away.
1) Resolve to Have Enough Resolution
Yes, a low resolution setting saves space on your memory card, but it doesn’t make for suitable prints. You can easily resize for a smaller picture, even in free programs like Picasa (”resize” is hidden there under “export”), but making a picture larger usually brings awful results. When you enlarge the picture, the pixels that make up the image are spread thinner.
If you like printing your images, choose medium or high resolution. Depending on your camera, 3 megapixels should give you high quality 4×6 images and sometimes even a very nice 8×10. For excellent quality 11×14’s go for 6 megapixels.
2) Let There be Light (but Make it the Right Kind)
Natural lighting is almost always best so don’t worry if you don’t have a flash or any fancy equipment. If your only flash is the built-in one, that’s all the more reason to opt for natural light. Built-in flashes can make subjects look flat. That’s why the pros use an external flash and bounce light off the umbrellas. There are tricks you can use like wearing a white shirt or taping foil to the camera to bounce the light off the ceiling, but if you want an easy way to get professional quality photos without the equipment, go outdoors.
When taking pictures outdoors, consider the position of the sun. With the exception of sunrise and dawn, the lower the sun is in the sky the better. You should also try to avoid noon as this time brings the harshest shadows. Unless the sky is part of your photograph, bright overcast days produce the best light.
3) Compose a Perfect Picture
Getting a fast snapshot of something without any thought mostly depends upon luck. But by first learning how to compose a photo, you will end up with more pictures that look good and are suitable for framing. The pictures you take will look more like what you had in mind when you clicked the shutter release.
There is a lot to learn about photo composition, but for starters, here is the number one rule. Fill the frame of the viewfinder. First, decide on what is the most important subject in your photo and then move close enough (or zoom-optical zoom is best) to fill the viewfinder with the subject. For example, if the subject is your grandmother watering her petunias then that’s the subject not her entire yard. Many make the mistake of losing their subjects in the landscape.
4) Steady Now
It doesn’t take much camera movement to create a blur, in fact most times, you’ll never even notice the movement until you see the blurry picture. For sharp photographs, keep your elbows down, feet apart and hold the camera steady while pressing (not punching) the shutter release. Continue holding still until the light indicates the camera has finished taking the picture. When you are taking a photo that needs a slower than usual shutter speed, like a fireworks display, use a tripod to steady the camera. You can also use other items as props to set your camera on as long as you have a remote shutter release. A good rule of thumb is to use a tripod for shutter speeds slower than 1/60.
5) Share Your Creations
If your photos are digital, use a photo editor to bring copies (save originals) of your photos down to the appropriate size for your website, email, photo album or picture frame. Use photo-printing paper that is compatible with your printer model. If you’re using a film camera but want photos for email or a website, use a quality scanner or when dropping off film to be developed, request a CD.
Frame your best photographs and display them in a decorative wood picture frame. A picture framed in a classic silver picture frame also makes a very welcome gift, especially when it is a portrait of someone special. Remember a portrait can be of a single person, family, multiple friends or a beloved pet…the list is endless, and again, these make lovely gifts, especially when framed nicely.
By using these 5 tips you’ll help to expand your photography knowledge so you can continue to take even better looking photographs.
Tags: learn photography, photography 101, photography basics, photography tips