Question by Matt: What are your top 5 photography tips?
Sometimes, when I’m out shooting, I seem to just completely forget some of the most important (or most basic) things I need to remember. So I’m making a little 3×5″ card that will be stuck to the top of my camera case, so that every time I open it, I’ll be reminded.
Some things I seem to forget are: Perspective, rule of thirds, etc… but if you have some other important tips that all photographers would be helped by, please share them!
(the reason I ask is, I was shooting a particularly beautiful sky while my wife was driving. I got mad because we went under a bridge and it gobbled up lots of space in the frame, but it’s ok cuz I shot another pic right after. Anyway, when I got back to the house and looked at the pictures, the one with the bridge was amazing! Soooo much more interesting than the sky by itself. And then I remembered how important a foreground object can be…)
If you want, you can see what I’ve been up to at http://www.stein-photo.com and maybe get an idea of my skill level (i.e. amateur)
Answer by j
If you want to get it right in the camera – my advice is to compose yourself.
I have found the more I am out with ‘clients’ the more comfortable I become. Sessions are getting easier because I am confident and relaxed. I remember to bring all of my gear, to take into account what the sun is doing. I remember to breathe and it helps me remember what I’ve learned.
Nothing is more important than carefully composing your shot. I went from taking 600+ photos in a session (sad I know ) to less than 200 in another in the same amount of time. Guess what? More of the images I have this time around are in focus and correctly exposed. Reducing my post processing time.
I’m an amateur too – working to go ‘pro’
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take your time with the composition and make sure you have the right exposure for the situation (they were two major problems when i first got my dslr.
The main thing I can think of is proper white balance.
Auto works well for most conditions, but when you’re inside with mixed lighting or just indoor lights… things can look off.
I do most of my photos indoors sometimes shots are not as good with improper white balance which requires post-processing with a photo editor.
My photos are mainly of food and I read many food blogs. Some people have pretty good writing, but their photos have a color cast which gives the whole picture a reddish, yellowish or blue hue… which can be fixed by simply setting the white balance.
In photography there are two compositions, the one involving the subject and the one involving yourself. Learning to the point it all becomes automatic is a matter of slowing down and working in a process, the last step of which is to check through the viewfinder as if you were someone being shown a picture. Is it all there re composition?
It takes awhile, but eventually you don’t have to consciously think about things much, you are doing it subconsciously. It’s axiomatic in psychology that you have to have conscious compentence when learning a new skill set before you can have subconscious competence.
Slow down and walk your way through the shot. You’ll be able to run sooner than you expect.
Vance
1) composition, composition, composition
2) angle
3) light
4) imagination
5) keep your equipment (and your bag) clean…
My top 5 photography tips? Well let me think a little here, what do I always remind myself to do before taking photos? Here are my top 5 photography tips at this moment:
1) Before taking any photos I always check my camera settings for each situation. Check the ISO speed for the amount of light available, check the shutter speed, aperture, white balance, focus point, is auto-focus on, quality setting, etc. Also what goes along with this tip is to really know your camera well, don’t be afraid to read the manual, so you can make adjustments quickly.
2) Make sure your main subject is in focus, out of focus main subjects ruin good photos. To make sure my scenics are in focus, I have been using the center spot focus point in my Canon, deciding what is the main focus point in the scene, focusing on that area, then while holding down the shutter button to hold the focus, I recompose the photo how I like it and then take the photos. If you have your camera use all the focus points available, you might not know what point it will use and it might be the wrong point, so the wrong area of the scene will be in focus.
3) Always keep your eye open for some interesting angle on a scene, don’t just settle for the same old angle that everyone else uses.
4) Make sure your white balance is correct for the scene. It is really hard to make the scene look natural after the fact with photo editing software, in my experience anyway. I have some indoor photos that have a bluish tone to them when they should be a more warm tone, and I could not modify them to get them to look like they should have, so correct white balance is important.
5) And for number 5, I will say hold your camera steady. Nothing ruins a photo more than unwanted blur.
If you want a lot more photography tips, please feel free to check out our photography tips website, http://www.free-digital-photography-tips.com and also http://www.hdr1.com
Hope these top 5 photography tips help,
Bob