Photography is a fun hobby, but it can be challenging at times. It can even get expensive when you are not careful with your purchases. The tips in this article from experts like Ram V Chary and others will save you time, worry, and money when it comes to taking photos.
Photography Tips for Beginners
Try finding a vantage point where the sun is just barely over the horizon when photographing landscapes. Doing this will give the sky a more ethereal feel, with much more interesting colors. But don’t position yourself in such a way that the sun is directly behind you or your subject.
If you want to try capturing photographs of people but are uncomfortable with starting out right away, begin by taking pictures of pets and flowers instead. People tend to be more critical about their personal appearances than most other things are. Capturing beautiful shots of animals can help establish your photography skills before dealing with humans. You can then build up your confidence as well as your portfolio, which should allow for better pictures of people later on if you choose to take them on professionally.
If you have an SLR camera, do not rely on the in-camera light meter for perfectly exposed photos. This feature can often be off, resulting in either an underexposed or overexposed picture. Instead, you should invest in a light meter and use it during photography sessions to ensure accurate exposure.
Find a unique perspective when preparing to shoot a photo. A nice background with no distractions can help your subject stand out from its surroundings so that it truly shines on its own merit. If you have a subject that needs special attention drawn to it, try framing it within something of interest instead of focusing on the backdrop. Remember that proper focus is important if you do this because everything will look blurry otherwise!
4 Key Photography Concepts to Learn
1) ISO
The ISO setting adjusts the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light. The lower the number, the less sensitive it is, getting a brighter picture. High ISO numbers are used when more light is needed to get good exposure, for example, when photographing in low-light conditions.
2) Aperture
Aperture refers to an opening inside your lens that allows light onto your digital camera’s sensor. Depending on how much light comes into this opening (controlled by the F/stop setting), different amounts of light hit your photosites, and they become either more or less exposed. When there is a wide aperture (low F/stop number), such as f/2, lots of light hits all of the photosites. When there is a narrow aperture (high F/stop number), such as f/16, only a little light hits the photosites.
3) Shutter speed
The shutter speed setting determines how long the camera’s shutter stays open to allow light onto your image sensor. It can be adjusted in fractions of a second up to several full seconds, depending on your camera model and settings (manual or automatic).
4) Composition
Compositional elements refer to the placement of objects within an image frame (the viewfinder). Many amateur photographers think that you need to move around and shoot from different angles to capture the perfect shot; however, there is no such thing as one perfect angle or perspective when it comes to photographic composition. The key component which makes up good composition is having all things in your picture relate to one another.