Whether you have ten years of experience with your camera, or you are a complete beginner. We are going to show you ten simple steps you can take to shoot a fantastic photo right now. If you follow these steps every time you’re out in the field, you’ll notice a dramatic improvement in your photography.
Get a Little Bit Closer
No matter what you’re shooting, it almost always helps to get in a little closer. If possible, just walk up closer to your subject. If your subject is the sunset or something really far away, consider zooming in a little more. The Canon EF-S 55-250mm Telephoto Lens from Buydig.com is the perfect lens for that purpose. You don’t have to do anything drastic. A bit of extra closeness helps to solidify the central theme while adding drama.
Look for the Best Lighting
Always assess the lighting situation. If you’re outside, it’s important to pay attention to the direction of the sun. You almost always want it shining on your subject. When shooting indoors, move through the house or building noticing when and where the light is most beautiful. You can move subjects into the light when necessary or change your camera angle to accommodate the light. By trying these simple adjustments, your subject will be more illuminated, giving you a better-looking photo.
Shoot the Moment, Not the Subject.
Try not to spend too much time composing and arranging shots. Instead, try spending more time feeling what’s going on and flowing along with it. Life is a series of moments, not images. Shoot in-between moments as well as moments that will be a mystery to anyone who wasn’t there.
Move around a lot.
A big mistake photographers make is to think they have the right shot and then basically take the same picture over and over again, with tiny variations. Hop around, moving high, getting low, going back, returning to front, shooting up, shooting down. The best photographers are the ones that are the most flexible and mobile when shooting. Just make sure you attach a Xit Professional Wrist Grip Strap to your camera so you don’t drop your camera in the middle of shooting.
Frame Your Subject
Look for a way of putting a frame within a frame, like a doorway or window. In the photo below, the subject is framed by bluebell flowers. Framing can add context to your photos, telling the viewer a little more about what’s going on and where the photo was taken. Not only does this add a sense of depth but also another element of interest that the photo didn’t have before.
Play with Props
Don’t be afraid to add props to your photos. Everyday things like chairs, ladders, and empty boxes serve to trigger emotions, illustrate scale or frame people in fun ways.
Patience is a Virtue
A lot of amateur photographers are about as patient as the people they photograph, and when it comes to taking a good picture, that just doesn’t work. You have to keep snapping and snapping with the settings you’ve picked, and you need to keep doing it until the right moment arrives. Be more patient than your subjects. Be the one convincing them why it’s important to keep taking more pictures. And keep checking. Digital photography is awesome like that. Have a good look at the LCD, and if you can, bring a laptop with you to the shoot. You need to get into the habit of always checking out your images, looking for little ways you can improve them.
Notice the details.
Details tell stories. They trigger intimate memories. After you’ve shot the people in a room at a birthday party, or a gathering of high seniors before prom, take time to look around for the details.
Find a Fresh Perspective
If you find yourself always aiming straight at your subject, try to find new ways of looking at photos. Instead of mounting the camera on a tripod, why not use the floor or look through a crowd? Keeping a fresh perspective maintains fresh photos!
Shoot everywhere, always
Digital “film” is virtually free, and you never really know when you’re getting a good shot: the little screen on the camera, even on the iPhone, can’t always tell in the moment. Expressions vary, heads tilt, eyes look away or into the camera: and then suddenly you have the perfect picture.
Now go out and experiment, make up your own tips, learn from your mistakes and most importantly, have fun taking some awesome photos!
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