It’s important to continue to improve your photography by practicing often, making mistakes, and being open to learn from others. This is true whether you are a seasoned photographer or a newbie.
Understanding the rule of thirds
The idea behind the rule of thirds stems from the fact that images are more balanced and interesting when they’re not centered. Imagine placing a grid over your pictures with two horizontal and two vertical lines that separate the image into nine equal parts.
You would place your subject, or important elements in a scene, along the four lines or where they intersect. You can even turn on a grid in some cameras, which is useful for beginners who are still learning how to compose their images.
Always keep your eyes in focus
You’ll focus on a small area when shooting portraits. It is therefore more important than ever to get a sharp image. Eyes are a very important feature of the face, and people tend to focus on them first, especially in close-ups or headshots.
Your subject’s eye should be the main focus of your photograph.
Attention to the background
In general, you want the background to be as clean and uncluttered as possible. This will help keep the viewer’s focus on the subject. The best backgrounds are those with muted colors and simple patterns. You don’t want the viewer to be more interested in your model than the colorful church tower or building in the background.
If you want to fix a distracting backdrop, moving your subject and changing your angle can help. But if this doesn’t work for you, try using a larger aperture or getting as close as possible to your subject. Try to keep your background neutral whenever possible, especially when you are placing your subject to one side and the background will be very visible.
Understanding the exposure triangle
The three main elements of exposure are ISO, aperture and shutter speed.
ISO
ISO is used to control the camera’s light sensitivity. Low ISO settings will make the camera less sensitive to lighting, whereas higher ISO will make it more sensitive.
Aperture
The aperture is the opening of your lens that controls the amount of light reaching the sensor. The depth of field is the sharp area around the focal point. A smaller aperture (indicated with a lower F-number), allows more light to pass through but results in a shallow depth. A smaller aperture (indicated with a higher F-number), lets less light in, but has a greater depth of field.
Portraits benefit from large apertures
If you are shooting portraits of animals or people, the subject should always be the focus of your picture. The best way to do this is by using a large aperture. This will allow you to keep your subject in focus while blurring any distracting background elements.
Landscapes benefit from a small aperture.
Landscape photography requires a different style, as everything from the rocks at the foreground up to the mountains at the background must be in sharp focus.
If your lens permits, you should aim for f/22 and higher.
Use aperture priority mode and shutter priority modes
You can use Aperture Priority Mode or Shutter Priority Mode on your camera if you don’t want to go into manual mode yet.
The Aperture Priority Mode allows you to select the aperture that you want to use, and the camera will adjust the shutter speed accordingly.
In Shutter Priority Mode you can select your shutter speed and the camera will automatically select the aperture.
Shutter speed
The shutter speed determines how long it stays open after you have taken a photo. The longer you keep the shutter open, the more light will reach the sensor of the camera. Fast shutter speeds are good for freezing motion, while slower shutter speeds blur the action. Long shutter speeds are interesting, but require a tripod.
Check the ISO value before starting to shoot.
It can be frustrating to discover that you accidentally took a series of photos in ISO 800 during a sunny, bright day, especially if they were intended to document an important event such as a milestone birthday, anniversary, or another special occasion that cannot be recreated.
To avoid an unpleasant surprise, it’s a good idea to reset your ISO settings every time you put your camera back in its bag. You can also reset this setting every time you put your camera in its bag.
Take care with your camera flash
Using the built-in flash of your camera at night or when it’s low light can have some undesirable effects, such as red eyes and harsh dark shadows. It’s generally better to increase the ISO to get noisy photos rather than use the camera flash to ruin the shot.
Investing in a tripod
A tripod is a must-have accessory if you want to take sharp photos at low light levels without increasing the ISO. You can also experiment with long-exposure photography by leaving the shutter open for a few seconds or minutes. This will give you some stunning effects for things like cityscapes, rivers, and waterfalls.
Shoot early in the morning and late at night
The lighting can make or ruin a photograph. Early morning and late evening are generally considered the best times to take photos. The “golden hour” is the time just before or after sunrise, when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. It is also the best time to take photos.
If you are shooting landscapes, still life or portraits, the warm glow of the morning or evening can add a peaceful feel to your images. Golden hour isn’t the only way to get great outdoor shots, but it makes it easier.
You can learn from your mistakes
Overexposed, blurry, or poorly composed photos are frustrating. But instead of letting them discourage you, learn from them. Next time you take a bad picture, don’t delete it immediately. Spend some time studying the picture to see what went wrong, and how you can improve it.
