subject: Photography Tips - How to Take Good Photos [print this page] Photography Tips - How to Take Good Photos
You got yourself a camera huh? That's great news! I know you won't regret it. You are going to have a lot of fun with it. Photography allows you to capture memorable moments or scenes and it allows you to watch them over again later. While a digital single-lens reflex camera is good to have, it's not necessary in order to know how to take good photos. If you have a simple camera then that will do. You don't need anything else, except some time and imagination of course. If you want to know how to take good photos you are going to have to pay attention to a couple of things. I'll give you some tips on what you'll need to focus on.
How to take good photos Tip #1: Lines
The next time you're out on a trip or when you just want to take some photographs keep an eye out for any interesting lines you see. When you look at a photograph your eyes will automatically follow the main lines of the photograph. Use this to your advantage. Let's use a highway as an example. If you want to convey depth in a picture of a highway stand right in the middle of it ( preferably when there's no traffic of course) and take a picture of the two lines on the side of the highway converging in the distance.
How to take good photos Tip #2: Composition
Composition is closely related to the lines we've talked about in our previous tip. A good thing to remember is to never center your main subject. Almost everybody who knows how to take good photos knows this. Their subject is always a little to the left or right of the center. They use something called the rule of thirds. To make use of the rule of thirds divide your frame in to nine equal parts using two vertical and two horizontal lines that equally divide the shot. The intersecting points of those horizontal and vertical lines are the points you want to be placing your subjects on. Also, for landscapes, try placing the horizon on the horizontal lines. This will create a more interesting shot. So to recap you are placing your subject on one third of your shot.
How to take good photos Tip #3: Light
A fun thing to play with is light. This is something you need to experiment a lot with. You can really create something unique if you experiment with light. Photographing against the sun is usually a big no no but sometimes the effect you get is stunning. You can try making somebody hold the sun by shooting against the light and placing your subject between the light source ( the sun) and your camera. You really can do anything if you think about it. When you photograph people most of the time it is best to utilize light that is coming from either side of the person. If the subject would be looking straight into the camera usually their facial expressing is not something you want to be capturing. If you've ever been photographed when you were looking into the sun you'll know what I'm talking about.
How to take good photos Tip #4: Experiment
Imagination is key. Really anything is possible. I gave you tips but what you really need to do is go out and try new things. Find your own style and break all the rules. Remember that you only get good if you take a lot of pictures.
So now I've given you a couple of tips to improve your photography. There are another million things we could talk about but this will do for now.
If you want to learn more about photography check out my blog.
