Taking Better Photos

15 Tips You Can Try

Move in CLOSER. Take a few steps

closer. Use the zoom lens to

zoom in. Most people leave too

much “dead space” around their subjects. Get closer to make your subject the center of attention in the photo.

Use the Rule of Thirds. Don’t center every subject in your photos. Place the subject on a grid using the rule of thirds. Leave space for the subject to move into or out of

the frame.

Use Leading Lines. Carefully frame

the subject and the lines, curves, and angles of the scene to direct the viewer’s eye within the frame.

Anticipate Action. Most small digital

cameras have a shutter delay between the time you push the button and the time the picture is actually taken.

You need to anticipate that delay and push the button in advance to capture the action you want.

Use Available Light. Turn off the

flash. Steady the

camera so it doesn’t shake.

Use the available light for mood, silhouettes, blurring motion, and effects.

Use the Highest Resolution.

Pick the highest resolution your camera offers.

This may increase image write times but you will get a much bigger image file to work with in PhotoShop.

Bigger image files can be cropped and enlarged much more.

Shoot as Many Pictures as You Can. Take dozens of shots of each scene, not

just one. This increases your chances of getting the “best” image of that scene.

Be sure to bring lots of extra memory cards with you so you don’t have to delete images on the fly.

Don’t forget the extra batteries either. Lots of pictures means lots of battery power.

Frame Your Shot.

We don’t mean a picture frame. We mean that you should use parts of the scene to frame the subject.

This draws the viewer’s eye to your subject.

Vary the Camera Position. Don’t always

shoot from eye height.

Get low to the ground or high in the rafters.

Show a worm’s eye view or a bird’s eye view.

Use Selective Focus.

Use shallow depth of field to isolate the subject.

Focus on the subject and let everything else be blurry.

Keep theBackground Simple.

Cluttered backgrounds are very distracting. Make sure the background (and foreground) are

not cluttered with lots of extraneous details. Zoom in to isolate the subject from the

background.

Paint With Light.

Open the camera shutter and let the light paint over the sensor.

The room needs to be very dark and the light needs to be given enough time to create the image you want.

Moving the lights or moving the camera makes special effects.

Use Fill Flash.

Turn the flash on even outdoors. (Set the camera to use flash all the time.)

This will fill in shadows that come from a harsh sun angle outdoors

Vary Your Orientation.

Shoot vertical and horizontal pictures.

You can even tilt the camera at an angle.

Most people shoot almost all of their photos in the horizontal orientation. This gets boring.

Direct Your Subjects for Better Poses.

Be a picture maker not just a picture taker.

Move your subjects around to take advantage of their special attributes and put them into the best poses.