There’s a lot you can learn when it comes to photography, and you could spend years learning the craft. However, just knowing a few key tips can mean taking great shots with your camera. This article contains some sound advice on how you can start taking shots you are proud of.
Experiment with different shutter speeds to see what works best for different scenarios. A moment in time can be captured by a photograph, and then grouped with others to show an expansive time period. A fast shutter speed can stop a moving object in it’s tracks, while a slower speed allows you to blur motion a bit, such as water moving over a waterfall.
Make sure you have the right lighting before taking a photograph. Lighting is perhaps the most important factor in producing a good black and white photograph, because it affects the texture, contrast and shape of the image. Side lighting can produce some dramatic photographs as it creates shadows and highlights the edges of shapes.
When taking photographs, make sure that your subject is as relaxed as possible at all times. One way that you can increase relaxation is to use music in the background. This will draw your subject’s focus away from the importance of the photographs so that you can achieve the highest quality picture.
If you can’t use a tripod while taking photos for some reason, you should always brace your upper body on a solid surface. Hold your breath if you can while taking the shot. This will minimize shake during the exposure, resulting in clearer pictures. A tripod is always best, however.
Once you have spotted the subject of your picture, make sure to take your shot right away. This is especially true if your subject is a living being, such as a child or animal. Since staying in one position for a long time is hard for animals and children, you want to make sure you get the pose you want.
Do not let your knowledge shape your pictures. You should base your picture around your idea and creative feel and use knowledge and your equipment help you make this idea come to life. You can experiment with techniques when you first learn them, but you will take your best pictures when you let your ideas take charge.
Take photographs of souvenirs and mementos gathered during your travels. You might take a shot of the store, or photograph the item in its original setting. This helps create stories for your souvenirs that you can enjoy when you return home.
Play with lens distortion. Most photographs use portrait lenses or zoom lenses to focus on an object, and use a wide-angle lens for landscapes and such. By using a lens for a different use than its intended one, you will get a very original photograph. Do not let this become your style: learn when you can use an original lens.
Never stand below your subjects when photographing people or animals. There is nothing more unflattering than looking up a person’s nose in a photograph, while the upward angle also distorts other facial features. In the very least, stand parallel to your subjects. If at all possible, position yourself at a slightly raised elevation to achieve the best results.
Look for patterns in the background when taking photographs. Patterns are rather interesting to ponder in a photograph. These patterns are not only great for interesting photos by themselves, they can also add an eye catching background for whatever the main subject of your focus is.
Decide if you are interested in a subject before you photograph it. Know that if a subject is seeming boring to you, it is going to be boring to future viewers of the image. Take some time to make your shots interesting, and you will be rewarded with better shots.
When setting up a photograph, ask yourself what exactly you want the picture to show and convey. Is it a child, a snowy mountain, the beach? Use this information to choose where to place our subject in the picture, what pose to use and how you use the light.
If you are in a setting that would normally require flash and you only have the built in flash on your camera, try changing your setting on your white balance and tuning your ISO setting. It will make it so you will not have to use the flash. Be careful to keep the camera very steady when doing this.
Like any science or art form, photography is something you could study and read about for a good portion of your life. Or, you could just apply what you have read in this article and improve your photography immediately. Keep these tips in mind the next time your camera is in your hands and you’ll see better images quickly.
