15 Easy Ways To Improve Your Photography

So you’ve decided that this photography thing is kinda fun, you’ve bought yourself a DSLR or digicam and you want to find out how to easily take your photography to the next level. Here’s a few quick and simple methods for you.

1. Change your perspective – if you shoot from up high, get down low. If you’re low, get up high. Step left or right. Lie on the ground or stand on a chair.
2. Zoom with your feet -while zoom lenses are great, walking closer to or farther from your subject can open up a range of possibilities.
3. Always carry a camera – even if it’s just a cellphone, having a camera with you at all times means you’ll never miss a shot.
4. View/study other photographers – spend a rainy Sunday in a gallery, browse web galleries, Flickr and the like. Find work you like and study it. Imitate others for learning purposes and critique and then go out and create your own art.
5. Show only your best work – just because you took a photo, it doesn’t mean you need to show it. At first, aim to show only 10% of what you shoot.
6. Take control - learn how to use the creative settings on your camera (P, Av, Tv, M). Stay away from the little icons as much as possible.
7. Shoot RAW – On DSLR and high-end digicams you will have the option to shoot in RAW mode. Do it. There’s a learning curve involved with the software, but you can start out using the software’s auto settings and take it from there. You’ll have much more leeway when you get things wrong, as well as when you want to get creative.
8. Believe in yourself – If you think a shot will look good, take it. Trust your instincts.
9. Learn the rule of thirds -  Learn this to get your subjects into the more eye-pleasing thirds of the frame rather than the middle.
10. Forget the rule of thirds – Once you’ve learned it, you can start experimenting with breaking it.
11. Watch your background – Pay attention to what’s going on behind your subject. You don’t really want an empty Coke can appearing in your pristine landscape, or a power pole growing out of someone’s head.
12. Watch your horizon – Especially important when shooting over water, ensure that the horizon is straight.
13. Frame your subject – Use tree branches, windows, open doors etc as a framing element in your pictures.
14. Take lots of pictures – Pixels are essentially free, so take lots of photos. Experiment, try new things and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
15. Limitation – Give yourself a limited number of photos to shoot in one location. For example, take 100 pictures in your kitchen. Or 100 pictures of a tree. Try to make them all slightly different. And don’t show them all – 1-2 is fine.

So there we have it. Fifteen easy ways to improve your photography. Do you have any other tips or methods that have worked for you? If so, feel free to share them in the comments.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 09:40. It is filed under Learn and tagged with photo tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.