Three Essential Photography Tips
Make the most out of your photography by learning your equipment and technical skills, learning how to use light to take the best shots, and some exercises for you to practice so you can perfect your technique.
Take Control of the Picture-Taking Process
Learn the technical stuff so you take your camera off the full Auto settings or Program settings. Get to know your equipment so that the technology behind taking photos becomes second-nature.
Particularly, get to know the exposure triangle – ISO, speed and aperture size – so that the multiple options available for correct exposure settings become instinctive. This will allow you to use the settings as creative tools which control the mood, quality and feel of the photo, instead of just a technical necessity.
As for gear know-how, the least you should know is how to change the ISO, aperture settings, shutter speed, turn the flash on and off, change lenses and filters and get your tripod in position, camera mounted with shutter-release cable attached; all as quickly as possible.
Learn How to Harness the Power of Light
With photography, there’s light and then there’s the ‘right light’. The keys to the right light are its colour, quality and direction. When you pick out a subject, notice where the light is falling and choose a viewpoint from where the light enhances the subject. There is an ideal time of day to photograph everything, so be prepared to wait or return at another time if you can’t find a viewpoint that works.
As a general rule however, most subjects are photographed best in warm light created by the low angle of the sun in the couple of hours after sunrise and before sunset. During these times, shadows are long and the textures and shapes are accentuated.
Controlling light is the essence of photography and to really understand the subject, you need to first know your camera. If you’re using an SLR, click here to do just that.
Practice Makes Perfect
Once you’ve learnt your technical know-how, can use the equipment effectively and can recognise good light: practice. You can snap most of the subjects you’ll come across while travelling in any city or town in the world, including your own.
Planning and commencing a shoot in your own city is a great way to practise your research skills, test your camera equipment, perfect your technique, get an eye for quality and a feel for different light.
A good exercise is to buy a guidebook, check out the postcards and souvenir books and draft up a shot list. Treat the activity just as you would if you were travelling. You’ll quickly know just how much walking you can expect to do, how many locations and subjects you can expect to photograph in a day, and how manageable your equipment is.
With the experience gained in this exercise, you can then plan your trips away from home more accurately to meet your goals.
Where You Can Go With These Tips For Photography
When you’ve used these photography tips to learn the essentials of taking quality photos, and taken some nice shots, be sure to send them to us so we can turn your hard work into some stunning canvas prints.
