5 Tips When Beginning Photography

My journey in photography wasn’t quite clear at first, I didn’t own a DSLR right away nor did I have the finances to buy one at the time. I always thought photography was kind of like a hobby people picked up on and that’s what I thought I had at the time.

I started taking pictures with any type of camera I had (phone camera or point and shoot) and realized the effects light had on images. In darker light, there were harsh shadows and the images just looked horrible… that’s when I discovered the power of light. It’s amazing trust me…you don’t even have to be a professional photographer to understand this. The professional part of photography comes in when you are interested in the quality of work and invest your time and money in education and various types of lenses to achieve the look you desire.

So here are 5 beginner tips if you are serious about getting into photography for fun or professionally:

1. It’s not the camera, it’s the person behind the camera.

One thing to realize is that photography is a form of art and it’s more about how you see things than the type of camera you have. If you don’t have the creative aspect or idea behind an image, it will just be another image… there won’t be anything special about it (even if you own a very expensive camera or lens). Of course lenses help and a good camera body assists in the quality of your final image, but it’s more important to have a vision behind your image. If you can pay attention to details and have a keen eye for seeing certain patterns that work well together in nature, color combinations that match or even witness a beautiful moment when everyone else seems too busy to pay attention, you have a good eye for photography.

There I said it…it’s that simple.

2. Pay attention to light.

Light changes during the day, in the morning it’s clear and there’s the morning fog, not much sunlight as the day is just starting. When the sky is clear, you have more control over your images. When the sun is at its highest peak, it is much more difficult to get the crisp light you desire. You are often faced with trying to find shade and not to mention the fact that you’ll be dripping in sweat with the blazing sun. When the sun dies down, we get the golden hour of the day. This is the time when images will look stunning in the right shade and position. If you’re not paying attention to your light, it won’t matter what “type” of camera you’re shooting with because harsh lighting will result in harsh shadows…and we don’t want that.

3. Practice your composition & angles.

Pictures are very important when it comes to composition. To make it more simple, it’s just a matter of recognizing patterns and leading lines. Think in the process that you are telling a story, how do you want to introduce your story to your viewer? Are you leading them straight in the middle of the image or on the side?The rule of thirds is a great way to learn this, if you want me to go more in depth with the rule of thirds, just comment below letting me know. Often times, when you put your subject on the side and leave blank space, it leaves room for thought and becomes more pleasing to the eye. Also, don’t just take pictures from one angle, get down and figure out which positioning gives you the best type of perspective. I often find that if you’re not getting down and dirty when taking pictures, you’re not working very hard to get those unique shots.

4. Tones and Colors.

Colors are just as important when telling a story, especially if you understand complimentary colors. Complimentary colors include colors like red and green, green and orange and so on… Nature has a beautiful way of showing us what colors work together. Notice these color patterns in nature during your day to day life and it will help simplify things for you.

5. Technicality.

If you want to improve your photography, look into different types of lenses to achieve a good quality image. Once you have the first few steps down, the only thing left to do is learn how to put your vision into play. You can start out small and purchase a 50mm 1.8 which are about $100, this is a great lens to start out with. Also learning about your camera is very important. Take time to read the manual of the camera in order to learn about the different settings.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave comments below! I love answering your questions 🙂

xoxo,
Ledia