Saturday 13 June 2009

Taking Pictures For Beginners

By Macy Toguchi

We have all played the role of photographer at some time. Most everyone takes photographs as a memento of special events, birthday parties, or family reunions. In the process, whether you realized it or not, you had to compose a photograph. That is, you had to bring the subject of the picture into the frame with other elements in the environment to capture the photograph. The ability to compose a photograph comes naturally for some; others of us really have to work at it.

Two important first steps for beginners are to learn how to compose photographs and learn to improve technical skills. Photography is a grand mixture of art and skill. If you lack in either artistry or skill it will be reflected in your photos.

One aspect of taking good photos is knowing where to stand. You have to develop an eye for which angle will take the best picture and where to place your subject in the frame. The smallest change can change a photo that would have been a mess into a masterpiece.

A monotonous mistake made by most beginners is that they think they have to center the subject in every photograph. Logic dictates to take the photo from the center, but sometimes if you move the subject off center you will add a new dynamic to the photograph. A great way to learn to compose pictures is to apply the rule of thirds. Using this concept divide the frame into three parts horizontally and vertically. Place your subject on one of the intersections and you will be able to compose a dynamic photo. The only setback to using the rule of thirds is that it does not work for all photographs, but in general, it is a good rule of thumb.

Improve your technical skills with your camera will also help to improve your photos. The more you know about your camera, the more creative ways you will discover to take photographs. The most important skill to master is focusing. You cannot salvage a blurry picture, not even using digital enhancement. A blurry photograph may as well not have been taken, that is how important it is to learn to focus.

Under exposing and over exposing are two very common mistakes. Exposure will depend on the lighting conditions and the ambiance you are trying to capture. The best way to learn this skill is to practice by taking pictures. One thing you will learn, for example, is when to use a flash. A flash is good for close shots, but if you are more than 20 feet away the flash will do you no good. Longer exposure time, using a tripod, is a good way to take pictures of distant objects.

The key to learning photography is to take lots of pictures. Practice. Practice. Practice is the key. The more time you devote to photography, the more improvement you will see in your photography skills.

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