Just a list of photography tips that I will share out as they come to me. The list will grow over time…..
No Flash.
Although flash can be useful and needed certain photos will benefit with out extra light and look natural with what light is there already. Please keep in mind you will have to keep the camera more still when taking the photo, use a tripod if you can for best results. Below is a photo I took with no flash with natural light.
Read the manual:
Yes, I hate for this to be my first tip to post but I think we are all guilty of not doing this. Even me. The camera manual has good information specific to the type of camera you bought. Not all camera’s these days have the same functions so it’s good to read over it. I know you think if you spend a lot on a expensive camera the shot you want will come out. Not so, reading the manual may hold the key to getting the shot your looking for.
Cover all the angles and times:
Let’s say you want to get a photo of a certain outdoor scene, monument or building. I would suggest looking at it from every possible angle to get a great and unique shot. IF you can walk around the subject then I would suggest this to see how the light hits it and maybe get a better background for it instead of just shooting it dead on and getting a picture that anyone can take. I also suggest going back to it different times during the day. The sun may shine on it a certain way to at a certain time to bring out its details (see example photo below). Even different times during the year may result in a better backdrop of your subject. For example, some buildings may look better during a fall sunset as apposed to a sunset in the summer…..
I took this shot to show more detail of the roots. This shot was possible only during sunrise in the fall.
BACKUP YOUR PHOTOS
Maybe this should of been my first tip…… Make a note to always perform back up’s of your digital photos. Computers can crash at any moment and the photos you took can go away. Forever. I can not stress enough the importance of this practice, I am guilty of not doing this and the consequences are very upsetting. Backing up can be simple, burning your photos to cd’s and storing the cd’s in a safe spot is the best thing. Now if you want to be more thorough then you can even look into backing up to an external hard drive or thumb drive and also store them some where safe. Be careful with thumb drives since there so small and easy to lose. With Cd’s I would be sure to label them and maybe even keep them in a plastic bag to further prevent scratches. Again, BACKING UP IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT….
Who likes to carry a tripod?
If you want to take a really good photo, a tripod is what professionals recommend. I have a tripod myself but do I like carrying it around and setting it up? Not at all. When a situation calls for keeping the camera stable to take a photograph I found a few tricks.
Staying low:
If your standing your more in inclined to move so I crouch down or even just sit down to get better shots. Put your elbow with the hand that is holding the camera on a stable\still knee. Also, try to set your camera to continuous shooting and take a few shots at one time.
Use a wall:
If you lean against a wall or a stable pole it will help keep you still and get a clearer photo.
Put the camera down:
I have had much luck with just setting the camera on low wall or fence then snapping a shot. It works as good as a tripod.
Use self timer:
When you engage the 10 second self timer all camera’s seem to have these days then I would suggest using this with the above tips if you find pressing the shutter button moves the camera resulting in a blurry photo, some cameras actually have remotes too which also will work.
More tips to come……