There are many methods to find out how to use your digital camera, but do these things make you a better photographer? The answer to that is "it depends". You see, the digital camera is just a tool to create creative photographs. It depends on the way that tool is used that determines the finest and most stunning photographs. Fundamental Digital Photography Techniques To get stunning photos we first need to look at some fundamental photography techniques. The first one I can share with you is learn about light. When you learn about light and how it forms a relationship with with the direct environment then your photos will get better. Examine shape and form- Composition is next. Continuously consider the angles and structures of the things you are shooting. Do they create a well proportioned photo that is pleasing to the eye? One technique to get good at the methods linked to photographing ideal composition is to watch where these things direct our eye. Continually look for a balance and simplicity. Practice these things by taking photos of uncomplicated surfaces that have nice straight lines, or curved lines and symmetrical patterns. Do not have anything else in the backdrop. A terrific way to get started with this creative method is photographing buildings. Architecture is filled with lines. Take shots of walls, angles in the walls, look at how these lines direct us and how it looks as a photo. This is good practice. This method of seeking symmetry will really improve your photography, ten fold in fact. Simple Photography Techniques Examining light- One of the best techniques I know is to examine and study light. Try this: each time you have a look at something, observe how bright the light is, what angle it is coming from, how much contrast it generates and the colour of that light. For the next few days, whenever you photograph something, write down what you noticed and then what it looked like as a photo. Once you have effectively learned this technique begin shooting your lines and curves. If you start taking pictures in this manner you will notice that a) your technical ability increases and b) your photos begin to look artistic and a whole lot more attractive. It's not only easy to do, but a lot of enjoyment. You will start to feel like you are experiencing a link with light. Your comprehension of light improves. As your awareness improves, so do your pictures. You will start to be familiar with what will work as a photograph just by investigating the scene in front of you. It's a beautifully positive and empowering feeling. Enhanced Photography Techniques Enhanced photography techniques come with practice. Practice takes time. Time calls for commitment and a motivation to learn. One of the things that helped me to gain knowledge of photography was the examination of light and shape. Another advantageous thing you can do is to write everything down in a notebook. Before you shoot write down notes about the light. Ask yourself and write down the answer to: What is the light doing? How does it make your scene appear? How does the light change the mood of your scene
Next, write down: * Notice the quantity of light * What angle it is coming from * How much contrast it creates * The colour of that light.
Then, if you are shooting in auto mode, note down what the internal light meter is saying as you point the camera to that area. Make a note of the shutter speed and f stop it requests to shoot at. (It will be wrong and most likely underexposed, but more about that another time.) Then, switch your cameras setting to the manual setting and modify the adjustments to what the auto setting just said. It will be wrong, so make sure you put the dial in the middle, or a little to the right of the center.
Subsequently, look at the lines and shape of the subjects in your photograph. Where do they lead your eyes? Are there any distracting things in the picture that you really don't want? Imagine that shot as a two dimensional medium and look again. Is there someone in the way? A tree that doesn't really look like it makes sense to be there? Too many cars speeding by that detracts from the drama and power of the construction?
Every time ask yourself these things prior to shooting.
Digital Photography Expert Techniques
One of the best ways to become skilled at photography is mastering a photo editing program. Photoshop is an extremely amazing tool to have but it needs time to gain knowledge of it's finer points for better photos. It's very intricate to the starter so take some official classes if you need to. You can also learn Lightroom, which is a less complicated adaptation of Photoshop. It's less complicated to learn and you may not always need official education. Whichever way you choose to go, specialist principles come from not only nice photography and shooting techniques but techniques in post processing. Post processing is a word given to photo editing, sharpening and fine tuning your photos in a software program. There are so many incredibly impressive special effects you can apply in both Photoshop and Lightroom. Softening the edges of a photograph and increasing colour and contrast are just some of the fundamental features within both programs. You can also include things that were not there beforehand. You also have the ability to eliminate distracting things in the surroundings. These applications are dynamic for wedding and portrait photography since you can add brightness to colour, generate smoothness for skin tones, make facial features glow and the eyes sparkle. A whole new world opens up to you when you realise what Photoshop and Lightroom can give you, and, how much better your shots can look. You can become absorbed for several hours when you are post processing, so become skilled at good techniques. The last thing you want to do is spend 1 hour shooting and 6 hours editing all your photos. The faster your post processing methods are the better photographer you develop into. On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography The most horrible way to use your flash in wedding and portrait photography is front on. To begin with, others can't stand the flash being blasted in their eyes. Also, the direct flash is not really designed for front on use (except if it's a special circumstance, in which case it would be turned to its lowest intensity.) The flash is designed for filling in the shadows. Professionals more often than not have an external flash and face it up in the direction of the roof, to the wall or place something over it to minimise its strong, white effects. I never ever use flash front-on for weddings and portraits since the light is too strong. When we have light that's strong and white on someone's face, we lose a lot of the subtle and softer details of a persons face. It makes people look horrible in photographs! Digital Black and White Photography Techniques Strategies for taking pictures in black and white are the same as shooting in colour. Yet, on saying that, you may want to shoot black and white subjects with the intention of making a black and white photo. That's ok too. If you would like some really stunning black and white photos then try to photograph items that have a naturally intense contrast. For example a white sign with black writing against a silver building may appear really nice. A person's face with scarlet lipstick and intense eye make up looks great in black and white. Digital Photography Lighting Techniques I have covered how to evaluate light and how to utilise the flash properly, but what about ambient light? Ambient light is the light that exists in the environment we are shooting in. Light from a window that fills up a room is regarded as ambient light for example. It's imperative to take note of ambient light just as much as extra light sources. Ambient light is reflected light. It's light that comes from a light source and fills the environment without a well-defined direction. This is very essential to take note of as it dictates how you photograph the scene. If you have lots of ambient light you may have light evenly spread all through your photo. This is good. But what if that's not the outcome you want? What if you would like a moody and sombre effect instead? In that instance, you would try and shoot whilst the intense light source is at an angle. Using a hard directional light that results in intense shadows can indeed create a damatic photo. The way light is contained within a scene determines the way you take the shot and the create the emotion of the photo. This is very essential, do not forget this. Canon Photography Techniques I got asked the other day what camera I had. I replied a "5D Mark Two". It impressed the person I was speaking with. The fact is that no matter what digital camera you shoot with you will still need to get behind the methods of good photography and master them. There is really no such thing as exact photography methods for a Canon and a set of different tricks and techniques for a Nikon camera. It's still photography and light is one of your major concerns. Digital SLR Photography Techniques You have bigger opportunity to be in charge of the digital camera if it is a dslr. There are extra controls and more approaches to get the specific effects you like. I am not saying that it's dreadful to have a small compact camera. I am simply saying that you have greater influence over how your images turn out. I have viewed some stunning photos come out of point and shoot cameras since the photographer knew the best way to observe and work with light and composition. The main reason I use a Dslr is because I need more management over my image making. I want to be able to modify my focal length and have various sorts of lenses on the camera if I want. I also need the opportunity for high speed camera work if the occasion calls for it. I also want a very fast shutter speed now and then. A really fast shutter speed happens when you use a fast lens. This will mean that the maximum aperture of the lens is quite wide. A lot of light can come in to the lens and you have additional light to work with. You may get a fast shutter speed this way. Dslr cameras have more various controls such as a high ISO, multiple shots per second, the ability for interchangeable lenses, the capability to have an external flash and much more. You will still be able to get beautiful shots with a small compact camera, but in not time at all you will start feeling limited in what you can do. To truthfully become skilled at photography it's most ideal to be taught by someone who is experienced at it. This knowledge can save you years of errors and disappointments. Learn to master light, composition, your digital camera and you will have the basis to be an incredible photographer.
Next, write down: * Notice the quantity of light * What angle it is coming from * How much contrast it creates * The colour of that light.
Then, if you are shooting in auto mode, note down what the internal light meter is saying as you point the camera to that area. Make a note of the shutter speed and f stop it requests to shoot at. (It will be wrong and most likely underexposed, but more about that another time.) Then, switch your cameras setting to the manual setting and modify the adjustments to what the auto setting just said. It will be wrong, so make sure you put the dial in the middle, or a little to the right of the center.
Subsequently, look at the lines and shape of the subjects in your photograph. Where do they lead your eyes? Are there any distracting things in the picture that you really don't want? Imagine that shot as a two dimensional medium and look again. Is there someone in the way? A tree that doesn't really look like it makes sense to be there? Too many cars speeding by that detracts from the drama and power of the construction?
Every time ask yourself these things prior to shooting.
Digital Photography Expert Techniques
One of the best ways to become skilled at photography is mastering a photo editing program. Photoshop is an extremely amazing tool to have but it needs time to gain knowledge of it's finer points for better photos. It's very intricate to the starter so take some official classes if you need to. You can also learn Lightroom, which is a less complicated adaptation of Photoshop. It's less complicated to learn and you may not always need official education. Whichever way you choose to go, specialist principles come from not only nice photography and shooting techniques but techniques in post processing. Post processing is a word given to photo editing, sharpening and fine tuning your photos in a software program. There are so many incredibly impressive special effects you can apply in both Photoshop and Lightroom. Softening the edges of a photograph and increasing colour and contrast are just some of the fundamental features within both programs. You can also include things that were not there beforehand. You also have the ability to eliminate distracting things in the surroundings. These applications are dynamic for wedding and portrait photography since you can add brightness to colour, generate smoothness for skin tones, make facial features glow and the eyes sparkle. A whole new world opens up to you when you realise what Photoshop and Lightroom can give you, and, how much better your shots can look. You can become absorbed for several hours when you are post processing, so become skilled at good techniques. The last thing you want to do is spend 1 hour shooting and 6 hours editing all your photos. The faster your post processing methods are the better photographer you develop into. On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography The most horrible way to use your flash in wedding and portrait photography is front on. To begin with, others can't stand the flash being blasted in their eyes. Also, the direct flash is not really designed for front on use (except if it's a special circumstance, in which case it would be turned to its lowest intensity.) The flash is designed for filling in the shadows. Professionals more often than not have an external flash and face it up in the direction of the roof, to the wall or place something over it to minimise its strong, white effects. I never ever use flash front-on for weddings and portraits since the light is too strong. When we have light that's strong and white on someone's face, we lose a lot of the subtle and softer details of a persons face. It makes people look horrible in photographs! Digital Black and White Photography Techniques Strategies for taking pictures in black and white are the same as shooting in colour. Yet, on saying that, you may want to shoot black and white subjects with the intention of making a black and white photo. That's ok too. If you would like some really stunning black and white photos then try to photograph items that have a naturally intense contrast. For example a white sign with black writing against a silver building may appear really nice. A person's face with scarlet lipstick and intense eye make up looks great in black and white. Digital Photography Lighting Techniques I have covered how to evaluate light and how to utilise the flash properly, but what about ambient light? Ambient light is the light that exists in the environment we are shooting in. Light from a window that fills up a room is regarded as ambient light for example. It's imperative to take note of ambient light just as much as extra light sources. Ambient light is reflected light. It's light that comes from a light source and fills the environment without a well-defined direction. This is very essential to take note of as it dictates how you photograph the scene. If you have lots of ambient light you may have light evenly spread all through your photo. This is good. But what if that's not the outcome you want? What if you would like a moody and sombre effect instead? In that instance, you would try and shoot whilst the intense light source is at an angle. Using a hard directional light that results in intense shadows can indeed create a damatic photo. The way light is contained within a scene determines the way you take the shot and the create the emotion of the photo. This is very essential, do not forget this. Canon Photography Techniques I got asked the other day what camera I had. I replied a "5D Mark Two". It impressed the person I was speaking with. The fact is that no matter what digital camera you shoot with you will still need to get behind the methods of good photography and master them. There is really no such thing as exact photography methods for a Canon and a set of different tricks and techniques for a Nikon camera. It's still photography and light is one of your major concerns. Digital SLR Photography Techniques You have bigger opportunity to be in charge of the digital camera if it is a dslr. There are extra controls and more approaches to get the specific effects you like. I am not saying that it's dreadful to have a small compact camera. I am simply saying that you have greater influence over how your images turn out. I have viewed some stunning photos come out of point and shoot cameras since the photographer knew the best way to observe and work with light and composition. The main reason I use a Dslr is because I need more management over my image making. I want to be able to modify my focal length and have various sorts of lenses on the camera if I want. I also need the opportunity for high speed camera work if the occasion calls for it. I also want a very fast shutter speed now and then. A really fast shutter speed happens when you use a fast lens. This will mean that the maximum aperture of the lens is quite wide. A lot of light can come in to the lens and you have additional light to work with. You may get a fast shutter speed this way. Dslr cameras have more various controls such as a high ISO, multiple shots per second, the ability for interchangeable lenses, the capability to have an external flash and much more. You will still be able to get beautiful shots with a small compact camera, but in not time at all you will start feeling limited in what you can do. To truthfully become skilled at photography it's most ideal to be taught by someone who is experienced at it. This knowledge can save you years of errors and disappointments. Learn to master light, composition, your digital camera and you will have the basis to be an incredible photographer.
About the Author:
Amy Renfrey is the author of several photography ebooks and a monthly photography emagazine. She shows you how to take stunning photos every single time, even if you have never used a digital camera before. Click here to learnbetter photography techniques.
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