Naturally, you want to make beautiful photographs every time you go out to shoot your surroundings. Really, this goal is much more attainable than you might think. It does not necessarily require a lot of fancy and expensive equipment. You just need to put a little forethought into your shots. The following tips can help you to capture gorgeous photos.
With the ease of cameras today, it is very easy for a novice person to take some great pictures without a lot of knowledge. Having a high quality camera is the first step. Make sure that the camera, lens and equipment are all from a reputable company who makes quality photographic equipment.
When you are shooting a photo of someone, make sure that you are close to them to maximize the quality of the details on their face. This is very important, as you will want to capture every aspect of their expression to help to personalize the photos that you take.
Play with the shutter speed setting to get shots of both slow and fast-moving subjects. Slow shutter speeds are great for objects that move very slowly, such as streams. Fast shutter speeds, on the other hand, allow you to get a clear shot of a subject that is moving very quickly, such as a race car.
A good photography tip is to use color contrast as a way to create your focal point. Basically this means the area you want the viewer to focus on should have high color contrast. A good way to achieve this is by putting two pure colors side by side.
Don't rely too heavily on image-editing software. It's a great tool to have, but if you rely on it too much, your photographs will start to look highly artificial. Try to achieve what you want before bringing it into image-editing software.
Having your batteries always charged helps you avoid missing any great shots. Digital cameras consume a lot of battery life, particularly when you use the LCD screen; therefore, be sure that your batteries are charged fully before you need to use your camera. To be extra sure you don't miss a critical shot, take a spare set of batteries with you and change over when needed.
Remember that photography is a good activity to practice alone. Your friends might get impatient and rush you while you are composing your pictures. If you have friends who enjoy taking pictures, do not let their vision influence your own compositions. The social aspect of photography comes later when you can look at your pictures with your friends.
Play with lens distortion. Most photographs use portrait lenses or zoom lenses to focus on an object, and use a wide-angle lens for landscapes and such. By using a lens for a different use than its intended one, you will get a very original photograph. Do not let this become your style: learn when you can use an original lens.
Move in closer to your subject. When you spot something you'd like to take a picture of, snap a shot. Then move in closer and take a better shot. If you have your subject fill the frame, it will help the viewer appreciate and understand your photo. When taking the picture, continue to move closer until you are sure your picture will represent the subject.
Take a good number of practice shots to experiment when shooting against new backdrops or with new subjects. No two environments are exactly the same, so practice shots can help you to adjust. Changes in lighting will give you a chance to experiment with a variety of natural and artificial light.
Keep a notebook with the dates of the days that you were out taking photos with the location where you were shooting. You can get as detailed as you like in these notes. They are meant to help you remember exactly where and when you took the photos so you can add it to captions later.
When photographing birds or other easily frightened animals, use the zoom feature on your camera. Remember that they will often have a nest with offspring nearby. In order to deflect attention from the nest area, birds will likely fly away at the slightest noise. If you have an SLR camera with the capability of changing lenses, use the most powerful zoom that you have in order to get multiple shots before being detected by your subject.
Produce black and white photos with more clarity and impact by shooting original pictures in color and converting them to black and white on your computer. Computer image editing software often gives you much more control than your camera's black and white filter.
Try not use your camera's red-eye reduction. This normally does a pre-flash that shrink's the subject's pupils to reduce the reflection. While this works, it also gives the person a warning and can either cause them to flinch when the actual photo is being taken or they'll pose more for the photo. You're better off using computer image editing software to edit out the red-eye later.
Don't be afraid to use a "digital darkroom" to touch up your photos. There are tons of image editing programs out there that will allow you to touch up color, reduce some blur, or add a filter to the photo. Some of the best photos were touched up using some kind of software.
When you are trying to take close-up shots you should use optical zoom instead of digital zoom. Most cameras will allow you to continue zooming in closer and closer on your subject, but the image quality is always compromised when it switches from optical to digital mode zoom. Digital mode shows these pixels in the picture that bring down the quality of the image. You can disable this feature entirely if you check the manual for your camera and discover out how to do it.
Every time you set up a shot, you need to stop first and think carefully about what you are doing. Think clearly about what your goal is for this particular photo. What are you trying to capture? What do you want to create? Put into practice the pointers you learned in this article, and you can begin creating beautiful shots every time.
Orignal From: A Guide To Taking Really Great Photos
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