NO PUN INTENDED…. BUT REALLY, THERE ARE A FEW BASIC THINGS ALL NEW PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOULD LEARN TO DO RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING TO MAKE YOUR PHOTOS RIGHT:
AS YOU BECOME A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND I MEAN, IN THIS CASE, A VERY BASIC PHOTOGRAPHER, EVEN ONE WHO USES THEIR CELL PHONE ALL THE TIME, THERE ARE A FEW BASIC HABITS YOU NEED TO GET INTO, TO TAKE DECENT PHOTOS WITH YOUR BASIC CAMERA. I BRING THIS UP BECAUSE THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY LOUSY PICTURES I SEE COMING DOWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT I WISH SOMEONE WOULD TELL PEOPLE THESE BASIC STEPS:
1- PLEASE CLEAN YOUR LENS EVERY TIME YOU TAKE PICTURES
AT LEAST WITH A CELL PHONE, THIS IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM. BUT LOOK HOW MANY TIMES YOU HOLD IT. YOU ARE GOING TO TOUCH THE LENS OF THE CAMERA WITH YOUR SLIMY HANDS. BUT YOUR HANDS ARE CLEAN, AREN’T THEY? OK, GO UP TO THE GLASS ON YOUR WINDOW AND TOUCH IT WITH YOUR FINGER. DID IT LEAVE A FINGERPRINT? YES? OK, IT WILL LEAVE A FINGERPRINT ON YOUR LENS OF YOUR CAMERA. AND YOU DO IT ACCIDENTALLY. I AM NOT CHASTISING ANYONE, I AM JUST STATING FACT. BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY PHOTO WITH ANY CAMERA, JUST CLEAN THE LENS. THE BIGGER DSLR CAMERAS, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE TO SO MUCH BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LENS CAP ON TO PROTECT THIS FROM HAPPENING OF COURSE, BUT, THESE SMALL CAMERAS, JUST GET IN THE HABIT.
2- LEARN WHAT YOUR CAMERA CAN REALLY DO FOR YOU
MORE THAN JUST SNAP PHOTOS, IT CAN HELP YOU TAKE BETTER PHOTOS. YOUR CAMERA IN YOUR CELL PHONE CAN DO MORE THAN JUST TAKE PHOTOS. IT PROBABLY HAS A FLASH, IT PROBABLY HAS DIFFERENT TYPE OF PHOTO MODES, SUCH AS ACTION SHOTS, PORTRAIT SHOTS, ETC. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR CAMERA CAN DO FOR YOU AND WATCH AND SEE HOW YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY CAN CHANGE FOR YOU.
3- LEARN WHEN TO USE HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL FORMATTING:
WHEN YOU TAKE A PICTURE, YOU SHOULD TRY TO FILL THE FRAME……WITH THE SUBJECT. SO, IN THIS CASE, THE WOLF, OR ANIMAL SHOULD PROBABLY FILL THE FRAME HORIZONTALLY. A PERSON, PROBABLY VERTICALLY. 2 LEGS – VERTICALLY HOLD YOUR CAMERA. 4 LEGS – HOLD YOUR CAMERA HORIZONTALLY. FILL YOUR FRAME. YOU WILL LIKE IT BETTER.
4- IF YOU LIKE TO TAKE PICTURES, LEARN FROM OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS
SO YOU TAKE PHOTOS OF YOUR KIDS, GRANDKIDS, AND THAT’S ALL YOU WANT TO TAKE PICTURES OF. JUST A HUGE AMOUNT OF MEMORY PHOTOS. AND YOU LIKE TO SHOW THEM OFF TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, RIGHT?
WELL HOW LONG BEFORE THEY GET TIRED OF LOOKING AT PICTURES THEY DON’T WANT TO SEE? IF YOU TOOK PICTURES THAT HAD GREAT COMPOSITION, HAD GOOD LIGHTING, HAD SOME GOOD POSING TECHNIQUES, WOULD THEY START ENJOYING YOUR PHOTOS MORE? TAKE A LOOK AT PHOTOS THAT YOU ENJOY, AND YOU MIGHT START LEARNING FROM THEM. TAKE A LOOK AT PROFESSIONAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND LEARN HOW THEY POSE THEM, SEE THE LIGHTING, NOTICE HOW THE COMPOSITION IS IN THE PHOTO. MAYBE LINK TO A GOOD WEBSITE TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE PICTURES ONCE IN A WHILE (www.123photogo.com). That’s a good one.
5- LEARN HOW TO HOLD A CAMERA CORRECTLY
I KNOW THIS SEEMS REALLY BASIC, AND IT IS, BUT, IT JUST NEEDS TO BE A HABIT TO LEARN RIGHT AWAY. I SEE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME THAT HOLD THEIR CAMERA IN THE STRANGEST POSITION, AND THEY GET BLURRY PICTURES. OR THEIR ELBOW IS STICKING WAY OUT, AND THEY WONDER WHY THEY GET BUMPED ALL THE TIME. OR THEY TRY TO DO IT ONE HANDED SOME TIMES AND WONDER WHY THEY GET BLURRY PICTURES.
THERE IS A REASON FOR TRIPODS, AND IT IS TO MAKE SHARP PICTURES, AND IF YOU CAN MIMIC A TRIPOD IN ANY WAY, THEN YOU CAN BETTER YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY.
ONCE AGAIN, LOOK AT A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER, OR ASK HOW TO HOLD YOUR CAMERA. IT WILL HELP YOU A LOT.
Conclusion:
NOW THIS ARTICLE WAS MEANT TO HELP THOSE WHO TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS WITH A CELL PHONE CAMERA, OR A DSLR CAMERA. I HOPE YOU HAVE LEARNED HOW TO MAKE YOUR PICTURES BETTER. I LOVE SEEING PHOTOS TAKEN BY A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER BY THEIR CELL PHONE, AND THEIR REGULAR DSLR CAMERA THEY HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE ABOVE STEPS.
Article written by Lanny Cottrell for 123PhotoGo
Here are a few photos taken by photographers using good holding techniques (I am sure):
