10 steps for better photos
Learning how to take amazing photos is simple—if you follow these 10 steps for better photos. It’s not enough to simply pick up your camera and aim, click, and hope for perfect shots. That method might work occasionally, but it can never really be called taking amazing photos (we don’t know about you, but we wouldn’t show our friends vacation photos of just us in front of neon signs). For learning how to take amazing photos that make everyone ooh and ahh, try these 10 tips.
Figure out your style
Before you can take great photos, you have to figure out what type of photography you want to focus on. Will you be taking candid shots? Will your style be more artistic or landscape focused? Are you into self-portraits and selfies? Each genre is unique, so it’s important that your passion and personality shine through. You also have to find out if what interests you can be turned into a career, because not all forms of photography are profitable. For example, if landscapes appeal to you but no one is willing pay for your work, it might not be worth pursuing professionally.
Learn about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and exposure compensation
Regardless of your level of experience, it’s important that you understand some basics about exposure. If you want to know how good your pictures will be, there are four critical components: aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation. It doesn’t matter whether you use manual or automatic modes—the functions I just mentioned remain essential when creating great shots. Start by learning how each works and how they interact with one another. You can do so on sites like Digital Photography School and The Phoblographer.
Know your equipment
Before taking your first picture, make sure you're familiar with all of your equipment. If you're using a DSLR, make sure you know where all of its various buttons and knobs are and what they do. Familiarize yourself with your camera's zoom lens; while it might seem convenient at first, there's nothing more frustrating than not being able to get that perfect shot because you didn't feel like reading through your camera manual or practicing with it in advance. You also want to know how to navigate menus on your smartphone—because some apps let you adjust things like shutter speed or aperture settings. Also read up on photography techniques (like rule of thirds). There are plenty of free resources online and how-to books available at any library or bookstore.
Get somewhere where you can practice with models
Whether you’re just starting out or already have experience, getting somewhere where you can practice with models is one of your best bets for improving your photography. Wherever you live, there’s likely some community that hosts events like workshops and classes—attending these types of events is an effective way to improve and get feedback from experienced photographers. Just make sure you plan ahead; nothing turns off experienced photographers like last-minute no-shows.
Use natural light if possible
When you take photos for personal use, it’s tempting to ignore natural light. After all, natural light can be difficult and fickle. However, if you’re shooting with your smartphone or small digital camera that has an automatic setting, it can be easy to fall into bad habits. Natural light is extremely forgiving. If there are shadows on your subject's face or in their eyes, you’ll be able to edit them out easily when taking photos with natural light. Shadows often happen because of poor lighting; they’re usually your biggest problems when learning how to take amazing photos as a beginner. That being said...
Learn about composition
There are two main things you need to learn about composition in order to take amazing photos: 1) what makes for great photos and 2) how you can use those techniques. That’s why it’s best for beginners to learn about photography by focusing on composition first. Once you know how (and why) a good photo is made, you can begin expanding your skill set and working with more advanced concepts. When I was learning photography, my biggest challenge was trying too hard to create great photos. I wasted so much time trying out new equipment, buying expensive lenses and gizmos when what I really needed was some solid fundamentals.
Learn about editing software
For many photographers, editing software is an afterthought. That’s because most people—even experienced ones—are intimidated by software like Photoshop and Lightroom. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Learning basic photo editing skills can help you significantly improve your photos, even if you never plan on using advanced features. Start with something simple: Editing your photos for contrast, brightness, and color balance is great for beginners and a good way to start learning how editing software works. For tutorials on how to use specific photo-editing programs (and better ways of learning them), check out 10 Ways To Learn Photo Editing Software Like A Pro.
Experiment! Don’t worry about making mistakes
You’ll be surprised by how many of your beginner photos you’ll never look at again. At first, that may seem discouraging, but in reality it’s good news. It means you have plenty of room for improvement. The fact is that experimentation is important in any field, and photography is no exception.
Don’t give up – take photos every day, even if it’s just for 30 minutes
It’s so easy to give up when you first start learning something new. If you want to take amazing photos, there’s no way around putting in some time and effort, even if it doesn’t feel like it at first. Shoot every day for just 30 minutes, and don’t be too hard on yourself if it seems like your photography isn’t improving; many professional photographers find that they need years of practice before their work truly improves. Set realistic goals for yourself based on how much time you have available and keep pushing until you can take better photos than your friends or family members. Learning how to use your camera is only half of what makes photography worthwhile—the other half is taking great pictures!
0 Comments
If you have any doubts, let me know it =)