Beginner Photographers: 14 Tips You Need to Know, To Quickly Improve your photos.

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  1. Research!

    • Read on ways to improve your photography. It’s good that you are reading one already.

  1. Attend workshops

    • Go to photography workshops that best suit your style and genre. Free workshops are ok but if you are thinking of pursuing a career in photography, you must invest time and money to learn the craft.

  1. A one camera / lens setup is all you need

    • While the society thinks that having pro gears equate to pro photographer and having many gears will make you a good photographer, as a budding photographer, you should only get one lens and one camera body to start. Get to know your gear well before you decide on getting multiple bodies and lenses.

  1. Don’t let a day pass that you didn’t touch you camera

    • While this may sound silly, you will understand some photography principles while you practice shooting everyday.

  1. The best camera is the one you have with you right now.

    • Bring your camera everywhere you go, assuming you don’t have the 1DX or D4S, and you did not choose a long telephoto lens from tip #3.

  1. Your smartphone should be smart enough to not be a camera

    • Use your DSLR camera on holidays, reunions, and other occasions. This should prepare you for event photography and what not. You just ask your friends to tag you from their smartphone photos.

  1. Use manual mode!

    • Don’t rely on auto modes on your camera. The idea of this is to master all the basic functions of your camera and don’t let the chip in the camera to think for you. A great time to practice shooting manual is when you are not expected to cover a very important event. Try it on tip #6 because your friends already got you covered by their smartphone photos. LOL

  1. Use high ISO when needed

  • Don’t be afraid to use 6400 ISO’s or higher. Sometimes, emotions are more important that image noise.

  1. Experiment on Apertures

  • Wide open is not the only way to shoot photos. Some compositions require a higher F stop to give story to the image.

  1. Get a prime lens, a 35mm or a 50mm

    • Primes are lenses that cannot be zoomed in or out. They have a fixed focal length and usually faster apertures of 2.8 up to 1.0. They are great in lowlight situations because of the amount of light they allow in their opening and also give the subject a good separation from the background. Just be sure to practice your steady hands because a shift in focus plane may result in out of focused subject.

  1. Make Bokeh

    • Bokeh is the quality of out of focus elements in a photograph. It is often achieved by zooming closely to your subject with the background very far from the subject. Shooting at the widest aperture possible on your lens also produces bokeh. That’s why I’m telling you to get a 35mm or a 50mm because of fast apertures.

  1. Learn post processing

    • Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom is a great way to start because most of the Pro’s use this. There are some helpful presets and actions available on the Internet to help you get started. But you should not totally rely on them. Try to develop a unique look that best describe your style and make it a preset to save time.

  1. Add Vignette

    • Vignette is like light falling away from the center of the frame. On some lenses, vignette shows Add vignette to your post processing workflow. It gives emphasis on your subject

  1. Slow down.

    • Take it easy. Don’t get frustrated. After all, great photographers took years to develop their own style and mastering what they developed.

Helpful links:  Sell your old camera gear.  OR See the best way to market your images.      

By Briann Dy | YD Photography