With billions of photos on the web, the one that pauses that scrolling is truly special. But how do you take a perfect picture? Photography, like all art, is subjective — what’s perfect to one viewer my be uninspiring to another. Still, there are ways to improve your photography to take your images from boring to inspiring — here’s 12 photography tips to get you started.
- Use composition to eliminate anything that’s unnecessary from the photo. Use the zoom or simply move to a different vantage point until everything in the frame contributes in some way. That age-old Keep It Simple Stupid applies to photography too.
- Don’t automatically center the subject. The Rule of Thirds suggests placing the subject off to one side — and while it often leads to better photos don’t do anything automatically. Think about your composition. Why are you framing the photo that way — and is there a way you could make it better.
- Don’t always shoot from eye height. Some of the most inspiring images are taken from higher angles or even lower ones.
- Learn manual modes. Auto mode is simply shooting with a computer, and there’s still a lot that computers have to learn. Dig into manual modes and you’ll really find ways to accelerate your shots.
- Use depth of field to your advantage. Controlling how blurry the background is — or how sharp — lets you eliminate distractions and show off the subject or to show the dazzling surroundings.
- Find ways to introduce motion into your photography. Still photos can still have a sense of movement — blurring the background through the panning technique, for example, or simply adjusting the composition to show where your subject is headed will help.
- Light, light light. Photography literally means writing with light, so if you don’t know light, you don’t know photography. Look for harsh or light shadows in your images and learn how to create them.
- Don’t be afraid of the flash — but learn manual flash. Manual flash allows you to turn the power down so it doesn’t look like a flash was used at all. So why use it? Flash helps fill in dark shadows under the eyes and add in catch lights — and that’s just for portraits.
- While you are learning, practice with light coming from the side or front of your subject. Once you are comfortable in these scenarios, however, learn how to successfully shoot with backlighting. Shooting with the light behind the subject is tricky, but can be incredibly rewarding when done right.
- Learn your genre. While many qualities are the same, different types of images require different tricks. Identify what you like to shoot the most — like kids, sports, macro or portraits — and find some tips from experts in the field on that specific genre.
- Embrace filters — and not the Instagram ones. A polarizing filter will help make the sky pop as well as enhance or eliminate reflections. Graduated neutral density filters are great for capturing a dramatic sky and neutral density filters allow you to take long exposure images during the day.
- Shoot in RAW. Camera technology today is amazing — but still not as capable as the human eye. While it’s always better to get the shot right in person, photo editing is often necessary to make it look just as impressive as it did in person. RAW is like a digital negative, choosing this file type instead of the typical JPEG gives you more control over the final image.
The best photographers never stop finding ways to improve their craft, however small. While perfection in photography may be impossible, great isn’t with the right knowledge and practice.