You love the beautiful photos that you can find on our website, but have you ever considered getting behind the camera and taking your own? In a world where everyone has a digital camera on their phone, photography might seem easy. In reality, though, it takes a steady hand and a good eye to create a great photo. Humankind has had nearly 200 years of experimenting and improving, with the first photograph in a camera being taken by a French scientist in 1826.
Good photography takes practice, but we want to provide you with a few helpful photography tips that can help beginners get started. Read on to learn more in our photography guide.
Choose Your Gear Carefully
To be clear, you don’t need expensive gear to be a great photographer. You can take great photos with an iPhone. That said, if you want to really learn how to take fantastic photographs, it’s in your best interest to find the right gear for the job.
Most people choose to shoot digital photos, especially at first. While starting with film will give you better habits (after all, you don’t have the opportunity to make countless mistakes), you have more freedom and flexibility when you go digital.
You’re going to choose between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera. Beginners should look for used cameras so they can learn what they like and don’t like.
Your lens is often going to be more important than the camera itself. Learn all about camera lenses so you can find the right one for your photography goals.
Learn How Light Impacts Photos
Photography relies on light. A poorly-lit photo can’t truly be fixed in post-production. While you can make small edits to brightness and exposure, those edits will lower the quality of the photo if the initial lighting is poor enough.
When it comes to portrait photography tips, try to shoot early in the morning and right before sunset. You’ll get soft and glowy light that will make your subjects look as though they have a filter on them.
Never shoot with a backlight unless you’re going for a silhouette effect, such as used to great effect by John Hedgecoe here when he photographed HM Queen Elizabeth II for the British postage stamp.
Try Manual Mode (And Try Again)
Many new photographers fear manual mode. They always use automatic mode and autofocus to keep their photos looking neat and clean.
While there’s nothing wrong with taking photos this way, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you want to learn to be a better photographer. You need to acquaint yourself with manual focus and manual settings.
You will make mistakes. You will confuse ISOs and you’re going to forget what an aperture is sometimes. When you’re learning, those mistakes are good.
This is one of the best photography tips that anyone will be able to give you. When you keep trying manual mode (even after you fail), you’ll discover that your photos get more vibrant and dynamic than those that you could take on automatic mode.
Try These Photography Tips
It’s going to take a long time to turn yourself into the photographer that you’ve always wanted to be. Keeping these photography tips in mind may make a huge difference in your photography journey.
Are you in need of high-quality photos for your next project? As always, at TopFoto, we have what you’re looking for. Check out our curated photo groups and find the perfect image today.