Digital SLR cameras are amazing tools.
One of the first things you need to learn about digital photography is that it costs you nothing to take pictures. Keep that in mind as you get used to your camera. Take lots of pictures.
If you are new to digital photography, or you just love learning more, you will benefit by trying out these 10 techniques. They are very basic concepts and easy to implement in your photography work flow.
1. Choosing the Right Resolution: Every digital camera has a setting for picture size and quality. In order to get the best quality from your digital camera, always use the highest number of megapixels allowed. That may mean you’re able to store fewer pictures on your camera or your memory card, but you can always carry extra memory cards in your camera case. The only reason you might choose a lower resolution is if you intend only to post the photos on the Web (like on Facebook) for friends and family to view. However, even then you might end up taking a photo you want to frame and display, so keep the resolution at its highest setting. To compensate for being able to store less pictures, consider buying a larger storage card. Once you get used to your new toy…er.. tool, and you learn more about digital photography, try using the RAW setting. There is a whole new learning curve involved with RAW.
Check the composition and camera settings.
2. Selecting a Subject: Think about every photo before you press the shutter button. Consider who or what you intend to photograph and look at the surroundings. Decide how your subject will be affected by those surroundings. Perhaps you will want to move the subject to improve the shot. If you intend to capture more than one subject in a single photo, you may want to ask yourself if you’d be doing the subjects better justice by shooting them individually in greater detail.
3. Finding an Angle: As mentioned above, think about the photo you are about to capture. To take artistic photographs, try unusual angles that offer a unique perspective of your subject matter. For instance, you may want get lower by crouching down or putting your camera on the ground and point the camera upward when taking your photo. Or, conversely, find a higher perch to get that creative angle. Move around. You will surprise yourself at how much this will improve your photos.
4. Planning Your Composition: When planning your composition ask yourself what the main focus of your photo is. Decide where you want the subject positioned—in the center, off to the side, or at the top or bottom of the photo. Decide how much background you want to reveal in proportion to your subject. Take into account the lighting. Remember that your eyes see things much differently than the camera lens. So practice in different lighting situations and take mental note of what works best. In fact practice is the best teacher. You might even carry a notebook in your camera bag to record your successes and no-so successes so you can repeat or delete certain techniques. Keeping notes and referring back to them will exponentially increase what you learn about digital photography.
5. Fill the Frame: A great digital photo makes use of the whole frame. When you look through the lens or view the LCD of a digital camera, take the whole picture in visually. Is that what you want when you process your photo? Images and detail that are well distributed throughout the frame make for an interesting photograph. Filling the frame does not mean to fill it with clutter and distracting elements, rather fill it with your intended subject. A little thought before pressing the shutter button can save you much disappointment when you get back to your computer to view your images.
6. Compensate for Lighting With the White Balance Setting: Digital cameras have an automatic default white balance setting, which sometimes results in pictures that lack vibrancy. If you are using the JPEG quality setting, make sure you select the proper scene. You may be able to choose from a wide variety of scenes, or maybe just a few, but make sure you use these settings to get the right color. Cameras may make the wrong choice for you when left on auto. You may also take some artsy photos by choosing the incorrect white balance or scene setting. Again, practice and experiment. One of the joys of that you will learn about digital photography (if you have not already) is that you don’t have to pay for mistakes as you do with film. So take lots of photos. This will help you to become much more confident in your ability, as well as being comfortable with your individual camera.
7. Capturing Motion: A wonderful way to capture a moving object against a stagnant background is to force your digital camera’s shutter to remain open for a couple of extra seconds. The effect is softly flowing, slow motion. You may want to set your camera on a tripod or on a solid surface for this one. It works really well with waterfalls.
8. Use Filters for Fun and Creativity: Filters can be attached to your lens for many different reasons. Purchasing a polarizing filter for your digital camera will not only help you reduce glare, but it will also enable you to minimize unwanted reflections. Polarizing filters create more saturated color, especially in your outdoor pictures. There are also Neutral Density filters that help to with very diverse lighting. And then there are a bunch of creative filters for changing colors, taking infrared photos, and whatever else floats your boat.
9. Post Processing: One sad thing you have to accept as you learn about digital photography is that you will make mistakes. If you take a bad shot, don’t fret. There is always a computer waiting to help. This is a whole separate topic, but just know that even poorly composed or exposed photos are not necessarily a lost cause. As you work with your camera, your photo’s composition won’t always turn out like you planned, sometimes you’ll want to use a photo editing program like Adobe® Photoshop® to frame the best part of the picture and crop out the rest. You can also fix over or under exposed photos, poor white balance, and practically everything else.
10. Change Lenses: Maybe this should have been number one. It’s probably why you got your camera in the first place. Don’t forget it. Changing the lens changes a lot about the end result. Don’t be intimidated by the technology. Use it. And don’t be afraid to use different lenses for the same shot just to see what the differences are. For instance, use your wide angle lens to take a close up shot instead of the macro lens.
Check out the links on the right. There are some really awesome and helpful web sites listed to assist you in your quest for digital photo knowledge. Actually there is one that promise that you can learn about digital photography in 14 days (or your money back, of course).
