7 Essential Photography Tips For Beginners

Whether you’ve just acquired your first DSLR and want to master the basics, or you’re searching for easy methods to improve your existing photography abilities, the ideas below should help you lay a solid foundation. Keep in mind, though, that photography is an art form that you will never truly master.

The greatest approach to maintain growth is to practice frequently, make errors, and be willing to learn from others, whether they are seasoned photographers or newbies to the field.

1) Learn how to correctly handle your camera.

Although this may seem apparent, many beginning photographers do not hold their cameras correctly, resulting in camera shaking and poor photographs. Of course, tripods are the greatest way to eliminate camera shake, but since you won’t be using one until you’re shooting in low light, it’s crucial to hold your camera properly to avoid needless movement.

While you will ultimately create your own technique for handling the camera, you should always hold it with both hands. To hold the weight of the camera, grip the right side of the camera with your right hand and position your left hand beneath the lens.

The closer you keep the camera to your body, the more still it will be. If you need more support, you can lean up against a wall or squat down on your knees, but if you don’t have anything to lean against, taking a broader stance can assist.

2) Begin shooting in RAW

RAW is a file format similar to jpeg, except unlike jpeg, it captures all of the picture data captured by your camera’s sensor instead of compressing it. When you shoot in RAW, you not only get higher-quality photos, but you also have a lot more post-production options. You’ll be able to fix errors like overexposure and underexposure, as well as adjust variables like color temperature, white balance, and contrast.

One disadvantage of shooting with RAW is that the files take up more storage space. Furthermore, RAW photographs will always require some post-processing, so you’ll need to invest in photo editing software.

3) Recognize the exposure triangle

Although it may appear confusing at first, the exposure triangle simply refers to the three most critical exposure elements: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. To achieve crisp, well-lit photographs when shooting in manual mode, you’ll need to be able to balance all three of these factors.

ISO: The sensitivity of the camera to light is controlled by ISO. If the ISO level is low, the camera is less sensitive to light, and if the ISO level is high, it is more sensitive to light. When photography outside during the day, an ISO of 100 to 200 is usually acceptable; but, when photographing in low light situations, such as inside or at night, a higher ISO of 400 to 800 may be required.

Aperture is the aperture in your lens that affects how much light enters the camera’s sensor. A larger aperture (shown by a lower f-number) allows more light to pass through, whereas a smaller aperture (represented by a higher f-number) allows less light to pass through. A wide aperture is good for isolating your subject, but a narrow aperture is required when you want the entire scene to be in focus, such as in group shots.

Shutter speed: The shutter speed determines how long the shutter remains open when you snap a photo. More light reaches the camera’s sensor the longer the shutter is open. A fast shutter speed freezes activity, whereas a slow shutter speed softens movement. More information regarding shutter speeds can be found on our blog.

4) Portraits benefit from a wide aperture

When photographing portraits of people or animals, the easiest way to make your subject the focal point of the shot is to use a bigger aperture. This keeps your subject sharp while blurring away any distracting background features.

If your f/ value is smaller, your aperture is bigger, and the bigger the aperture, the more striking the impact. As low as f/1.2 is possible with some lenses, though apertures as small as f/5.6 will suffice. Switch to Aperture Priority Mode (Av or A) and experiment with different apertures to better understand how the aperture influences your photographs.

5) Landscape photography benefits with a narrow aperture

Landscape photography necessitates a distinct technique since everything from the rocks in the foreground to the mountains in the distance must be properly focused. To get everything in focus, choose a small aperture instead of a wide one when shooting a scene.

A bigger f/ number indicates a smaller aperture, therefore aim for f/22 or higher, depending on your lens’s capabilities. Again, utilizing Aperture Priority Mode (Av or A) allows you to experiment with different apertures without having to alter the shutter speed every time.

6) Learn how to use the Aperture and Shutter Priority settings

If you want to go out of automatic mode but aren’t ready to go manual, Aperture Priority Mode (A or Av) and Shutter Priority Mode (S or Tv) are two highly handy choices that are available on most cameras and will allow you more control without being unduly difficult.

Aperture Priority Mode allows you to choose the aperture you want to use, and the camera will adjust the shutter speed accordingly. For example, if you’re taking a portrait and want to blur the backdrop, you may simply set a wide aperture and let the camera determine the right shutter speed.

In Shutter Priority Mode, you choose the shutter speed and the camera chooses the aperture for you. For example, if you want a clear photo of your puppy sprinting towards you, you may set a quick shutter speed and let the camera determine the aperture for you.

7) Don’t be scared to bump up the ISO

Many photographers attempt to avoid shooting at high ISO because they are scared it would result in blurry photographs or ‘noise.’ While it is true that utilizing a higher ISO might result in inferior image quality, everything has a time and a place.

If you can’t reduce your shutter speed due to motion blur and don’t have access to a tripod, it’s better to capture a When you are unable to reduce your shutter speed due to motion blur or don’t have access to a tripod, it is better to take a sharp shot with some noise than no shot at all, since you can eliminate a lot of the noise post-production.. Furthermore, camera technology has advanced so significantly in recent years that it is now feasible to take stunning images even at ISO 1600, 3200, 6400, or higher.

When shooting at higher ISOs, one way to reduce noise is to use a wider aperture whenever possible. Slightly overexposing your image can also assist because darkening light regions in post-processing will not add noise, but lightening dark parts would.