Photography is a fantastic hobby for anyone to take up and enjoy. All you need to do to get started is to get yourself a good camera, pieces of equipment if you intend to shoot indoors, a curious nature, and a desire to start examining your world around you.
Shahriar Ekbatani LinkedIn member and professional photographer typically says that he loves his work so much because it allows him to pay close attention to nature, and the human condition, and to report or comment upon it with their photographs. Even if your goal is to just take better pictures with your family, taking the time to understand the basics of good photography will be a great benefit to you.
The first thing to know is that good photographs happen because the photographer understand how to take a good shot. There are certain things that they consistently look for in order to tell them it’s time to start shooting. Knowing what those things are will make the difference between an okay photo and the great one.
Choose an interesting subject
Photographers develop a skill for picking a picture subject in a room or an outdoor space that has a special quality. It could literally be anything, but whatever it is, it has an interesting quality that gets translated into a photograph. Part of realizing this certainly is natural and the world’s top photographers are artists. But even they will tell you that it mostly comes down to paying attention and trial and error. So look around your surroundings and if something looks interesting to you take a picture of it, do this continuously and begin to examine those pictures to find out when you were right and when you were wrong and why. This process will make you better and quickly looking an environment and deciding what object is your interesting subject.
Frame the subject
In addition to the subject in the picture, you will typically have other elements. If you take a picture of a bird and a tree, it is likely that you will get some or all of the branch the bird is sitting on, or even the entire tree. The framing of the subject provides context for your subject. In other words it lets everyone know what your subject is doing. Keep this in mind when you take shots because it will help you determine what framing you should provide for the subject of your photos. Make sure to add all of the important framing elements in your picture to create a great shot.
Look for the right moment
Some pictures are very dependent upon when they were taken. Action shots depend on you taking the picture at the right time in order to get the best results. This means that you may have to wait for a period of time in order to take the shot you want to see. If you want to get the perfect Florida sunrise or sunset, then you know you have to be ready when the sun is in the ideal position. Similarly if you would like to get a bird in flight, or people walking down a busy street you need the right conditions in order to get this picture. Be patient and plan out so that you are prepared when the perfect moment occurs.
Understand lighting
There is no more important aspect to picture than its lighting. Weather it is natural or artificial light you need to understand how to use it to your best advantage. Every good photographer is a master at manipulating light. A good choice is to take a line in class so you understand the basics and go from there. There are many different techniques for how to use lighting, what is important is learning one or more so that light works in your favor.
Be patient in adopting the fundamentals and methods covered in this article. Everything of value takes time and that certainly is true with becoming a good photographer. The more you practice, the better you will become and soon you will consistently take great shots.