You don’t need a DSLR or high-quality smartphone to capture stunning pictures. How? Photography is more about turning on the camera and capturing the picture. Some basic things you usually ignore—proper lighting, background, framing, field, angles, timing of shot—can make a big difference in picture quality.
In this blog, you will learn the 8 basic tips for taking good photographs to help you click striking and memorable photos. Check them out!
Here are 8 basic tips for taking good photographs to help you click striking and memorable photos:
1. Pay Attention to the Background
Paying attention to the background tops the list of tips for taking good photographs. Backgrounds play a key role in capturing quality pictures. If the backgrounds aren’t simple or free of distractions, the viewer may lose attention from the main subject. To avoid this, you can use muted colors and plain backgrounds. If nothing works, simply change the angle of your camera or activate the blur feature in the settings by using a wider aperture and getting closer to your subject.
2. Use the Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds ranks second on the list of tips for taking good photographs. It says that pictures are more interesting and well-balanced when they’re not in the center of the frame. Imagine there is a grid placed over your image with two vertical and two horizontal lines. Now there are 9 equal sections dividing your pictures. For the perfect shot, place your subject along one of the four lines or at the intersection of those lines. Some cameras offer grid features in their settings, which you can enable to compose your image.
3. Your Eyes Should Always Be in Focus
When shooting portraits, it becomes crucial to focus only on a very small area for a nice, sharp image. It helps in capturing better close-ups and headshots. Ensure that your subject’s eyes should be the main part of your focus. To enhance the quality of your portrait shots, use a blurry background to make the subject stand out. Looking at its importance in capturing quality shots, it has been placed on the list of tips for taking good photographs.
4. By Understanding the Exposure Triangle
There are three crucial elements of the exposure triangle you can’t ignore: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
1. ISO
Before understanding the workings of ISO, you need to understand first what it means. It stands for International Organization for Standardization, which represents the sensitivity of light with the numerical value. A low numerical value of ISO shows that the camera is less sensitive to light, while a higher ISO means it will be more sensitive to light. ISO sensitivity can be changed with the help of shooting settings in the camera; choose accordingly.
2. Aperture
The aperture is the opening of the lens of the camera, which allows how much light gets through the camera sensor and how much of the scene should be focused. A large aperture lets more light through, which is better for portrait shots with blurred backgrounds. A smaller aperture means less light, making more scenes appear focused, which is useful for landscape photography.
3. Shutter Speed
Shutter speed controls how long the shutter stays open when you’re clicking the picture. The longer you open the shutter, the more light gets through to the camera sensor. A fast shutter speed is good for freezing action, while on the other hand, a slow shutter speed blurs motion and can create effects like smooth water or light trails. For the slow speed, a tripod helps to keep the camera steady.
5. Make a Habit of Checking the ISO Before You Start Shooting
Many times a cameraman misses to adjust the ISO settings according to day and night time; as a result, you get an extra dark or light effect on the image. This is why it is better to make a habit of checking the ISO setting before you keep the camera in the bag. By following this one of the tips for taking good photographs, you can avoid spoiling special event pictures like birthdays, anniversaries, or more. Put a reminder on the safe side to adjust the ISO settings timely.
6. Be Careful With Your On-Camera Flash
Built-in flashes play a crucial role in capturing quality images. If you’re not careful using it properly, you can face unpleasant effects like red eyes and harsh shadows in the pictures. So, for the safe side, it’s better to use the ISO settings and deal with the bit of noise than use the built-in flash, which might ruin the shot.
7. Shoot in the Early Morning and Evening
The early mornings and evenings are widely popular for capturing the best quality pictures. One of the key tips for taking good photographs is to shoot the hour just after the sun rises or before it sets, which is called “golden hours” because the light at that time is softer and warmer. Of course, it is not the only time to click quality pictures throughout the day. But the rest of the time you have to go through an additional ISO setting to avoid harsher and stronger shadows, which will take time.
8. Practice
The more practice you do with the multiple shots, the more sharpness you get in your pictures. Each time you make some minor mistakes that may be related to ISO, angles, backgrounds, lighting, or framing, but make sure you don’t repeat them. Over time, this daily attention to detail, along with following the tips for taking good photographs, will help you improve, leading to clear and polished images.
Conclusion
Each time, you will not have expert photographers to capture your memorable moments. Photography is an important skill you should learn as it helps in documenting special occasions like traveling, anniversaries, birthdays, and more. The above tips for taking good photographs are crucial, but the more crucial part is to implement them and practice more to get better.
