5 Tips to Help You Master Digital Photography
So, you have already mastered the art of taking photos without the ‘red-eye’ syndrome. Do you already pay more attention to the horizon line when taking a photo? Are there some pictures that you know should have turned out a lot better than they did? It happens to all of us and even to the expert photographers.
Here are five tips to help you move a few steps further from beginner’s level in digital photography, whether you’re using your cell phone, a point-and-shoot or a DSLR camera to snap your shots.
- Composing the shot carefully
One of the fundamental digital photography aspects is to pay close attention to what’s in the frame of the viewfinder. Fill your frame. A single subject that has nothing but a blue sky background throws off the proportions of the image and decreases viewer’s interest. Don’t forget to turn the camera sideways more often to see if a vertical photo might be more powerful than a horizontal image.
Also Rule of Thirds is there for a reason – try positioning your subject off to the side, rather than in the centre of the shot.
- Shooting more close-up photos
All digital cameras nowadays have a “macro mode” – think of it as a super magnifying glass. A close-up image of something like flower petals can bring out textures that you never knew existed, and will add more impact to your photographs. Explore this feature – you will find dozens of ways to use it to enhance your pictures. Macro photography is a wonderful world on its own and who knows, maybe you will get into it at a professional level.
- Purchasing a tripod
All digital cameras no matter the price and specs tend to produce blurry photographs if your hands shake even a little bit. And this will happen every time when you will be forced to use longer shutter speeds. For night photography or shooting with a telephoto lens a tripod is your lifesaver. There is just no other way really. There are quite a few companies that manufacture inexpensive tripods of all sizes. Weight, size and price are totally up to you. Main thing is that your tripod has to be able to hold your camera still – that’s all it really should do. Digital photography tips like this will save you from frustration caused by looking at a bunch of blurry photos on your monitor that looked perfect when you viewed them on the camera’s tiny screen.
- Getting active
Take a shot from the top of a teeter-totter, from off the side of a boat, or from the top of a tree. Thinking outside the box can really pay off in some unexpected ways. You may truly get once in a lifetime shot by adding a bit of creativity to your thinking. Photos taken by climbers and divers are the most unusual and demanded ones.
- Getting a mentor or taking a course
There’s nothing better than practice to improve your photography. However, experience gained by learning from professionals will help you to level-up a lot. There are plenty of photography classes online, maybe also at your local recreation centres or community colleges. Enroll one if you can – you will get large amount of knowledge in a short period of time, that otherwise would have taken you ages to figure out by yourself.
Surely becoming a digital photography expert takes time; you won’t become a pro photographer overnight. You just have to keep experimenting with your camera and after a while your friends and family will be admiring your newfound skills. As any other profession it is a journey and it begins with a first step.