Although most people think that taking a picture is just as simple as pointing and shooting, there really is an art form to it. Typically, your photos never look quite as good as you imagined they would. However, once you learn the proper techniques, it really is simple to take great pictures.
Apply digital techniques in order to make pictures that look like watercolors, oil paintings, graphic pencil sketches, etc. There are various image editing software for digital photos, but the program Adobe Photoshop, is pretty much the industry standard. After choosing the medium you desire and hitting the filter button, you can instantly turn photographs into wonderful pieces of art.
Choose what will be in your shot. A quality photograph should mimic a small frame that surrounds certain features of your subject. Avoid the desire to show more than is needed. If you want to give a more general impression of something, take a series of pictures, rather than a single photograph with no real focus or details.
Overcast skies aren’t great for pictures. Showing too much gray sky in photos will make pictures appear muted. If you really want or need a shot in overcast conditions, try a black and white picture to maximize contrast and improve the overall picture. If the sky is blue and beautiful, include it as much as you want, but pay attention to the light.
Direct Sunlight
While sunny days may look beautiful in person, direct sunlight has a way of making your prints look terrible. Direct sunlight not only causes glare and unpleasant shadows, but it also creates irregular highlights and makes your subjects squint if they facing the sun. The best time to capture outdoor shots is either early in the morning or late in the evening.
Discrimination is a vital skill for a good photographer; when you are going to show off photos you’ve taken, present only your very best work. Resist the urge to show people every photo, especially multiple shots of the same person or subject. Your audience can become bored with repetitive images or too many of them. Keep it fresh by showing different facets of your photography.
Drop the background focus when you are photographing people. When you don’t blur the background, it becomes harder for a viewer to focus on the subject. An easy way to do this is to make your background is further from your subject.
Keep a “photo diary” while taking pictures. When you look at the hundreds of pictures you took, it might be hard to remember where you took all of them, or how you felt at that moment. Eventually, you may want to create a scrapbook and include some of the descriptive information along with the pictures.
If you want to experience old-fashioned film photography, try going to a second-hand store to find a film camera. For dramatic effect, choose black-and-white film with an ISO rating of 200, which will work in most situations. When you have the film developed, have it printed on some different kinds of papers.
Be sure to shoot your photographs without any hesitation, to ensure you get a picture that you will be happy with. You never know how fast that perfect moment will leave you, so be ready to capture at any moment. He who hesitates is lost as subjects move on, people blink, and candid moments pass unrecorded. Don’t worry about correctly using every setting on the camera or you could lose your shot.
At one time or another, your picture results might have disappointed you. But that problem will be a thing of the past if you act on the advice presented in this article. With the tools shared here, you should find it easier to take beautiful photos that you are proud to share with everyone.
