Top 5 photography tips to improve your photos

TOP 5 PHOTOGRAPHY
TIPS TO IMPROVE
YOUR PHOTOS

1. Choose an interesting subject to photograph
One of the easiest ways to improve your photography is by taking photos of
interesting subjects. Of course, you can take great creative photos of uninteresting
subjects, but if you choose an interesting subject to photograph in the first place, it
makes taking a great photo much easier.

So where do you find these
interesting subjects? They can
be found everywhere, from a
stormy landscape:

The Worn Picket Fence by Stuck in Customs on flickr

to a simple street scene:

Streets of Manila by wili_hybrid on flickr

to a flower in your
garden or local park:

Just take a walk around
your local
neighbourhood with your
camera, and you're sure
to find something
interesting to
photograph.

~ The Sunny Side ~ by ViaMoi on flickr

2. Compose your photograph carefully
When taking a photograph, it's all too easy to just point and shoot. However, try and
take a bit more time to think about the photo and the composition.

Rule of thirds
Composition is how the elements in the photograph are arranged, and a good
guideline for composition is the 'rule of thirds'. The rule of thirds works by splitting
an image into thirds, so you end up with 9 sections.

You can see in the photo to
the right how the
photographer has placed the
horizon in the top third of
the photo, while the
landscape takes up the
bottom two thirds of the
photo.

Patterns in Nature by Garry - www.visionandimagination.com on flickr

As well as placing elements along
the thirds lines, you can also try and
put your main point of focus so that
it falls on the intersection of two of
the thirds lines.

If you look at the photo to the left,
you can see the photographer has
placed the cat's eye on the
intersection of the right and top
thirds lines.

Allie Grunge by Picture Zealot on flickr

The Fibonacci spiral or Golden spiral

The Fibonacci spiral is a spiral based on
the Fibonacci sequence, while the
Golden spiral is based on the
Golden ratio. Both are very similar, and
can be used as a compositional tool.

The curve of the spiral helps lead the
viewer's eye through the photograph.
You can see the grass in the photo to
the left roughly follows the Fibonacci
spiral.

drops of spring by Steve took it on flickr

The Golden triangle
The golden triangle is a good compositional guideline to use when your photograph
contains strong diagonal elements. It involves splitting the photo into three triangles
that contain the same angles (are the same shape). You can see the below photo has
been composed roughly around the golden triangle:

Vang Vieng by abmiller99 on flickr

Leading lines and converging lines

Use leading lines or
converging lines to
draw the viewer's eye
into the image. Good
examples of this you
can use in landscape
photography are
roads, paths, fences,
hedges etc, really
anything that creates
a line that leads into
the image will work.

On the road again ... / De nuevo en el camino ... by Claudio.Ar ■ on flickr

In the photo to the left you can see
the edges of the flowerbed and lake
create converging lines that leads
the eye towards the building.

Schweriner Schloss - BUGA 2009 Preview by saturn ♄ on flickr

In this photo the photographer has used the shoreline and waves as lines that lead
your eye towards the funfair:

Pacific Park in Santa Monica by szeke on flickr

3. Pay attention to the light quality
Something that has a big effect on how your photograph looks is the quality of light
that is hitting your subject. There are two aspects of lighting that you need to pay
attention to - the colour of the light and how harsh / diffused the light is.

Colour temperature
As a general rule, we tend to prefer
photos with a warm (golden) tone. The
warmest light naturally occurs around
sunrise and sunset, and this is why
many landscape photographers prefer
this time of day.

The colour temperature of a photo can
also be modified by adjusting the white
balance setting on your camera. And if
you are taking photos using flash, you
can use a warming gel on the flash to
warm up the light.

Some Kid and Mr. Bokeh by anton khoff on flickr

Of course, in some instances you
may want to go the opposite way,
and use light with a cold (blue)
colour temperature.

Lamento. by Simon Pais on flickr

Diffuse vs. harsh light
Diffuse light is where the light creates soft shadows, which is preferred for most
types of photography, particularly portraits.

Diffused light can be created by
reflecting light from a large
surface (like a wall), or by using
a large piece of semi-
transparent material between
the light and your subject. This
works the same way as when
there is a thin layer of cloud,
which diffuses the sunlight and
creates a nice soft light.

Regal Elegance by dragon762w on flickr

Harsh light creates strong
shadows. Natural light is at
its harshest around
midday, while an
undiffused flash will also
create a harsh light. When
shooting with harsh light,
try and use the strong
shadows it creates to your
advantage, incorporating
them as an element of
your photograph.

Repetition by Georgios Karamanis on flickr

4. Check the exposure

One of the main advantages of digital photography is the ability to check the photo
on the camera's rear LCD. When taking photos, you should check that the photo has
been exposed properly, i.e. is not too dark or too bright. Although modern cameras
have sophisticated auto exposure systems, they don't always get it right.

As well as inspecting the image, most digital cameras also have a couple of tools that
can help you judge the exposure of an image. The first one is Highlight Warning,
colloquially known as 'blinkies'. What this does is that any areas blown out white will
flash when reviewing the photo on the camera's LCD.

The second tool is the histogram.
This is a graph that shows the range
of tones in your photo. If there is a
peak at the very left edge of the
histogram, this means that some of
your photo is solid black. And if there
is a peak at the very right edge of the
histogram, this means that some of
your photo is solid white.

Historama by Pictr 30D on flickr

Areas of the photo that are solid white or black contain no detail. Maybe this is what
you want, but generally it is better to have detail available even if you don't need it.

You can modify the exposure of the photo by adjusting the exposure compensation.
Use negative exposure compensation to darken the photo, or positive exposure
compensation to brighten. Take the photo again, check the exposure again, and repeat
if any more exposure adjustment is necessary.

Determining Proper Exposure For Specular Reflections by kevincole on flickr

Generally the ideally exposed photo is one that is as bright as possible without any
detail being blown out white. You can then adjust the photo on the computer to
darken it if necessary. It is an extra step, but maximises the image quality.

5. Reduce camera shake
Blurry photos can be a problem, especially if shooting handheld when it is relatively dark.
The key to reducing blur caused by camera shake is either to make sure you are using a
fast shutter speed or to make sure the camera has a solid support like a tripod.

To ensure a fast shutter speed, put your camera in the shutter priority shooting mode.
As a general rule, the shutter speed should be 1 over the 35mm equivalent focal length,
e.g.

●
A full frame camera with a 50mm lens would need 1/50s shutter speed
for a sharp handheld photo
●
A 50mm lens on a camera with an APS-C sized sensor has a 35mm
equivalent focal length of 75mm, and so would need 1/75s shutter speed
for a sharp handheld photo
●
A four thirds camera has a 2x crop factor, meaning a 50mm lens has the
equivalent 35mm focal length of 100mm. So it would need at least
1/100s for a sharp handheld photo

The actual shutter speed you need will depend on your handholding ability. To try and
give the camera more support when shooting handheld, hold the camera up against your
eye, use both hands to grip the camera, and push your elbows in against your stomach /
chest.

If using a fast shutter speed makes your photos too dark, try increasing your
camera's ISO setting, and / or using a wider aperture. This will allow more light to
reach the camera's sensor without having to reduce the shutter speed. If you are
photographing a person or nearby object you can also use flash to provide enough
light for a fast shutter speed.

If your camera or lens has a Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization function, turn
this on as it will help steady your shots when shooting handheld.

The other alternative to increasing the shutter speed is to use a tripod or some other
form of support (e.g. placing the camera on a wall or table). Make sure the camera is
secured tightly on the tripod and either use a cable release or self timer to trigger
the camera's shutter. This way the camera doesn't receive any shake from the
process of pressing and releasing the shutter button.

For more photography advice and tips,
updated with new tips on a regular basis,
make sure you check out
www.discoverdigitalphotography.com

Text and layout © www.discoverdigitalphotography.com
All flickr photos are cc licensed and copyright their respective owners

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