Photography Tips

Just Starting Out

Here are some useful photography tips for new photographers.
"It's not the camera that makes great pictures, it's the photographer!"

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Beginners Photo Tips | Black and White Photography

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Hold the camera steady

One problem that many people new to photography have is camera shake where images are blurry, usually because the camera was not held still enough.

Before you take your picture take a deep breath, hold it, then gently press the shutter to take the picture and then exhale.

Even the smallest movement of the camera can cause unsharp pictures. If you don't have a tripod or don't want to use a one you can add extra stability by leaning against a solid object like a wall or a tree.

Use your right hand to grip the right side of the camera. Your forefinger should be above the shutter release, your other three fingers around the front of the camera. Your right thumb grips onto the back of the camera. Many cameras have some sort of grip. It should feel natural to hold the camera.

Exposure

Getting out of Auto mode

Exposure is usually discussed using stops. A stop is a halving or doubling of any value.

Shutter Speed is measured in seconds or usually fractions of seconds. It is the time that the shutter remains open to expose the film or in digital cameras the sensor.
Standard shutter speeds are for example 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 second. Each of these steps represents a one stop change, going from 1/125 to 1/60 will let twice as much light hit the sensor if the aperture haven't been changed.

Aperture is the size of the lens opening, the size of the hole in the lens which let light pass throw to the film or sensor when you press the shutter button. This is called f-stops. Standard f-stops would be f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22 and f/32. This is the various hole sizes in the lens.
The aperture sizes is in full stop increments, which represents a halving or a doubling of the opening. The higher the number, the smaller the opening in the lens become. For example, going from aperture f/4 to f/5.6 will let half as much light hit the sensor. You can do Magic with aperture settings.

This picture is taken with a 400 mm lens at the widest aperture setting for that lens (f/5.6).
The background is blurred out and only the bird is in sharp focus. Like in all portrait photography the eyes absolutely have to be in sharp focus.

ISO

ISO is the film or the sensors sensitivity to light. In low light you can raise the ISO setting but be aware that it also introduce more noise (grain) in your picture. A photography tips would be to try to keep the ISO as low as possible to avoid grainy pictures.

ISO 200 and 400
ISO 800 and 1600
ISO 3200		Images Nikon D300

Composition

A very basic photo tips is known as the rule of thirds.

If you divide the picture in nine sections the four intersecting points are where your most interesting part of your image should be. I find it more interesting to put the center of interest closer to the edges most of the time. But as Ansel Adams wrote:

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."
- Ansel Adams

Before you take the picture you have to decide what is important in the picture. Let what you want to express with your image decide how to compose the photograph.

Is it the Statue of Liberty or your son in front of it?

A great photography tips is to simplify your pictures by not including unrelated objects and disturbing backgrounds. A technique I use sometimes when I have a zoom lens is to zoom in close and then slowly zoom out until I see unrelated objects, then I zoom in until I have only my object in the viewfinder.

You can of course also move in closer the the object you are photographing.

Another photography tips is to take a lot of pictures, memory cards have become very inexpensive, the extra images might be the best ones.

When I am photographing a family of five for example, I have them stand or sit close to each other so they appear as one unit instead of five different ones. Watch out for things in the background that can ruin the photograph, like a tree growing out of someones head.

Family Portrait on the beach

When I am photographing kids or pets I get down so I am at the same level. It can take time before you get good, natural looking pictures when you are photographing children or animals, well even adults sometimes, so be patient. I talk with them or let them do something they like to get them to relax and look natural.

For more great photography tips visit stockphotolounge.com by clicking on basic photography tips.

You can also learn about Stock Photography and how to make Money from your images.

Check it out. Highly Recommended!

Landscape Photography

If you want to learn about digital landscape photography so you can make beautiful landscape photos, check out the sites below:

Digital Landscape Photography Adventure

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and..

Nature's Image Photography to be inspired. Highly Recommended!