Taking a step into the wondrous and creative land of family photography for the very first time might feel a tad bit intimidating, but by keeping the helpful tips listed below in mind, you will soon find yourself taking photos on par with some of the best photographers in the field.
Learn how to play with the shutter speed. You can choose to snap a quick picture or choose a slower exposure to capture a flow or movement in its entirety. You will need to experiment with this and find what kind of speed matches certain situations. This is a matter of personal style rather than a general guideline to follow.
A great photography tip is to keep your sensor as clean as possible. If your sensor is dirty, you’re going to end up with a dirty picture. Having a clean sensor can save you a lot of time by not having to clean up a photo in an image editing program.
When aiming for the perfect shot, remember to keep sunlight in mind. Too little and you can’t see the subject. Too much and one of two things happen. The first is that too much sunlight is directed into the camera’s lens or on the subject and washes out the picture. The second is the person being photographed has to blink or close his eyes because of the massive amounts of sunlight coming into his eyes.
A great photography tip you should keep in mind is to never compare yourself to someone else. If you’re constantly comparing your work to someone else’s, you’re selling your own work short. You must learn to value and appreciate your own work, and not worry too much about everyone else.
Do not let your knowledge shape your pictures. You should base your picture around your idea and creative feel and use knowledge and your equipment help you make this idea come to life. You can experiment with techniques when you first learn them, but you will take your best pictures when you let your ideas take charge.
Always keep your batteries charged; you have to be ready at all times to take the perfect shot. Digital cameras with LCD screens use a ton of power, so make sure they’re fully charged prior to use. If you’re really dedicated to always being ready to shoot, bring along an extra set of camera batteries.
Get comfortable with your models before you start photographing them. Many people feel threatened when a stranger starts photographing them. Be friendly, strike up a conversation and ask permission to take pictures. Many people need to know that photography is art, instead of an invasion of privacy.
It has become the norm to keep everything in life centered and even. To create photographs that are more interesting, try aiming your camera so that your subject is slightly off center. Watch out for auto-focus features that might lock on the object that sits at the center of your lens. Focus manually, and lock focus just before shooting the picture.
To get a great photograph, make sure you notice the surrounding objects when framing the shot. Too many times there are distracting, unwanted elements like trash, telephone wires or even your fingertip intruding into the shot. Frame the photo so your subject and a non-distracting background are the only elements in view.
To add interest to your photographs, experiment with your camera’s focus. Reduce the f-stop setting to maintain focus on the closer subject. This is especially good for portraits. A larger f-stop number will increase the depth of the field, making everything in the photograph, background and foreground, focused. Use this feature when taking panoramic or landscape pictures.
When you are looking to get tack sharp shots by using a tripod, you need to get a remote so that you can eradicate camera shake. Also, you can use the timer on the camera. Even if you don’t have a tripod, this can work great, but you’ll need a stable surface to set it the camera on.
After reading and using these tips, you should have more confidence in your photo taking ability. You have everything you need to make and capture beautiful memories with your camera.