Taking a picture is as easy as pushing a button, but taking a beautiful photograph is a work of art. You can take great photos with a simple, point-and-shoot camera or get lousy shots with the most expensive, top-of-the-line camera. It is not the camera that produces wonderful images, it is the photographer. To help you take great photographs, here are some helpful tips.
Try moving in closer to your subject when you’re taking pictures. If you take pictures from different distances, you’ll be able to get a few different perspectives and some may come out better than others. Try to get where the subject of your photo fills the entire viewfinder of your camera – this will give you a lot more details of the subject rather than just filler details.
Pay attention to your light. The lighting in a photograph can bring a subject into better focus or change the mood of the picture. Different lighting setups will result in very different photographs. Avoid harsh direct lighting on your subject’s face, as this will generally cause them to squint.
Hold your camera properly. You should hold it on one side and use your other hand to support the lens. Place your hand under the lens instead of over it. When you place your hands this way, you are supporting the camera instead of applying pressure, which could make your pictures blurry.
Make sure to jot a few notes down with your pictures. While sorting through your photos afterwards, there may be so many shots that you find yourself having trouble remembering exact details or emotions during that moment. Use a notepad to jot down a few notes about the pictures you take.
Try to get close to your subject when shooting. Nothing is as bad as taking a photograph of something that is not close enough to see well. Your photo will be more compelling when the subject is at the proper distance to be seen clearly.
Play with the shadow of your object. When a shadow is projected on a distorted surface it adopts interesting shapes. You can even have an original shadow become the subject of your photograph. Arrange the lighting and the background to make shadows change and adopt a shape you want to work with.
Most photographers wish for their subjects to look into the camera. Ask subjects to focus on something other than the camera. This will create a unique look. Another interesting look is to ask the subject to look at another person in the shot.
Decide if you are interested in a subject before you photograph it. Know that if a subject is seeming boring to you, it is going to be boring to future viewers of the image. Take some time to make your shots interesting, and you will be rewarded with better shots.
Now that you have some helpful tips, you will be able to start taking more great pictures. With this knowledge and some willingness to make some easy adjustments to your shooting techniques and your camera, you can get some pretty amazing shots from any camera that you are using.