Advice On How To Take Better Photos

By David B On Oct 28, 2013

If you’re just starting out with photography, you may be frantically searching for a few good tips. The right information can make taking great pictures a breeze. Here are some excellent tips that will help you take photos like a pro in no time.

Snap your photographs quickly and instinctively. If you delay your shot, you might miss the perfect moment or lose your subject entirely. The faster your camera is ready to take pictures, the better.

Direct Sunlight

TIP! Test varying shutter speeds to learn which speed works best for certain scenarios. Photography lets you capture moments in a split-second and allows you to blur together time periods that are large.

Direct sunlight is actually a guaranteed way to ruin pictures that would otherwise be beautiful. Direct sunlight not only causes glare and unpleasant shadows, but it also creates irregular highlights and makes your subjects squint if they facing the sun. The best times of day for you to take outdoor photos are in the early morning, when the sun is weakest, or late evening, when it is going down.

When traveling, begin snapping pictures the moment you leave. You can find a lot of opportunities to snap some good photos when you get there; you should look at the vacation as a opportunity to get some good shots. Take photos of the trip, the airport, for example, is filled with sights that would make wonderful trip mementos.

If you keep your batteries charged, it will prevent you from missing the once-in-a-lifetime shot. Using the LCD on a digital camera drains the batteries, so always ensure that the battery is fully charged before leaving the house. Another option is to keep a few fresh batteries in your camera’s carrying case so you never miss anything.

TIP! Experiment with new techniques or subjects, and do not fear taking some original photos. Good photography takes unique style, and you want to show the world a new view through your lens.

When taking landscape photos, every shot should contain three things. They include the foreground, midground, and background. These elements are a fundamental concept of photography, as well as many other art forms.

Watch natural lighting! If you’re taking photos outdoors, early morning and late afternoon are ideal times to take them because that’s when the almighty sun is lowest in the sky. At the height of the day the sun will produce unwanted shadows in your photos, plus your subject may have issues avoiding squinting if the light is too strong. Consider a position where your subject has the sun shining on them from the side.

Have you ever had to take pictures of subjects that had been in the rain? Create the effect yourself by carrying along your own spray bottle and gently misting some “rain” on the subject that you need to photograph.

TIP! The foreground is much more noticeable than the background in a photograph. Be sure your foreground is well composed so that your picture will be strikingly framed and create a great illusion of depth.

Try framing all of your shots. You can utilize the environment around your subject to frame your snapshot in a unique and mood-evoking manner. Use the natural elements in the area to create a framing effect around your subject. This will help you practice and improve your photographic composition.

Take your photographs using a white balance. This gives you a greater amount of control over your photographs, allowing you to alter the mood. There is a little bit of a learning curve as you figure out what looks right, but using the manual white balance allows you to be creative with your photographs.

Do not let a great shot go by because you were too busy adjusting your settings. However, you shouldn’t choose a preset; this let your camera choose your settings for you. Experiment with your camera’s features to see how different settings affect your photos.

TIP! Above all else, photography is an art form meant to be enjoyed. It should be used to remember a specific moment, event, or place so that you may show others, or so you can recall it yourself.

Practice Shots

As you encounter different backgrounds, scenery or subjects, take multiple practice shots. It’s crucial to get a good feel for how you can use your surroundings to your advantage before you begin snapping pictures. Especially when shooting photos outside, the lighting continually changes as the day progresses, and extra practice shots can help you take the most advantage of this.

Take a silhouette shot. One of the most common ways to generate a silhouette is by using the sunset. However, other methods do exist. Any background that is substantially brighter than your subject will create a silhouette. To shoot the perfect silhouette, position your subject by a window full of natural light; you can also use an off camera flash behind the subject. Keep in mind that outlines on a face or body may highlight some unpleasant features.

TIP! Digital cameras almost always have a built-in flash that will go off when the external light is too dim. These are great for a quick snapshot, but if you want to take your photos to the next level, consider a professional external flash unit to provide a better range of lighting options.

When you are taking an outdoor photo, there are times when the lighting will not be able to work in your favor. Sometimes, you just can’t wait for perfect lighting. What should you do in this situation? Use a photo editing software program to create the look you are trying to achieve.

Spend time putting your subject in different poses. Candid photos, like from family events, never turn out as good as posed pictures. This will give you a better chance of getting that perfect shot.

To liven up your shots a bit, try taking pictures with the camera tilted at an angle. Turning your camera 90 degrees to take a vertical picture can make for striking photos, and it may even be necessary to frame some subjects properly. Zoom in so that you can really focus in, or zoom the lens out to capture the whole subject.

TIP! Hold your breath while taking pictures to get the perfect shot, all while remaining still. Even the slightest movement can destroy a great shot.

If you know how to take pictures correctly, you can capture magical moments. Once you have learned the techniques discussed in this article, you will be on your way to becoming a photography expert.