Whether you are an aspiring photographer, or an artist creating a digital archive or just a enthusiastic hobbyist, many have (or have access to) DSLR and taking photos all the time. Some produce photographs which are actually blurry and come with visually unaesthetic properties, like eyes that are red and glare. Even with the ease of many cell phone cameras, learning some of the basic functions of your camera can help you take better photos. As with any skill, taking classes, apprenticeships, and on-going practice will help further your technique and skill sets with the camera. If you’re an artist – whether visual or even performance, hiring a professional photographer will help your portfolio look much more professional. We have seen many “portfolios” and video samples that all look amateurish in quality, all of which, is reflective of you. If anything, by hiring a professional, you are helping further another creative professional in their endeavors!
Now if you are interested in creating better photographs, we created this guide with materials that could picked up at almost all art supply or camera stores.
Shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is open, or exposed to your scene. Shutter speed is measured in seconds (or fractions thereof). Generally, using shutter speeds of 1/60th or faster is fine for handheld shots, otherwise you risk “camera shake” which is blurring that occurs when the camera is moved while taking a photo. Slower shutter speeds are actually fantastic for objects that move like streams if you want to show movement. Tripods or other stabilizer is required for speeds lower than 1/60. To “freeze” images that have a lot of movement – like rivers, birds, athletes, etc use very fast shutter speeds.
Very fast shutter speeds will help you “freeze” images.
Shutter speed is usually taken into account along with focal length. The general rule is to use shutter speed with a denominator that is larger than the focal length of the lens. In other words, a 50mm lens would use a shutter speed of 1/60, whereas a 200mm lens would use 1/250.
Speeding up your shutter also effectively lets less light in, so you would need to adjust your aperture to compensate.
Aperture is essentially the opening of the lens. Moving up one f-stop doubles or halves the opening of the lens. Additionally, going up in f stops actually is a smaller aperture than those that have a lower number; f/2.8 is in fact a much larger aperture than f/22.
Different aperture sizes (for reference only – not actual sizes).
Many think aperture is tied to distance which is easy to see why, but as it’s called – it refers to the opening of the lends. Typically higher f stops are used for sweeping landscapes where there is a large field of focus versus shallow shots or small depths of fields that utilize lower f stops.
The depth of field denotes how much of your shot will be in focus. Sweeping landscape shots that want to have the mountains off in the distance as well as the boats on the shore in focus at the same time will have apertures – f16 or perhaps higher.
Smaller f stops that have a shallow depth of field, are used in shots where objects in the foreground or clear, but the background is blurry.
Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field. Large aperture (large opening but smaller number) will decrease depth of field while small aperture (small opening but larger numbers) will give you larger depth of field
This photo, will use a low f stop, perhaps f/2 for a shallow field of depth, blurring everything in the background.
Landscape photos will use a higher f stop. f/16 will have a large field of depth (but smaller aperture opening) and keeps everything in focus – both foreground and background objects.
ISO is the last setting on cameras that should be considered. ISO measures the sensitivity to light (or sensitivity of the light sensor). Higher ISO is used in darker situations but can also risk more noise in shots. Manually adjusting the ISO will also impact the aperture and shutter speed – going up to ISO 400 will result in shooting in faster speeds and smaller aperture to compensate for a well exposed shot.
Using higher ISO might be appropriate for certain types of shooting, such as indoor events with fast moving objects (sport shots), low light concerts and performances, galleries and shows that don’t allow flash, or “mood” shots.
Higher ISO settings are helpful for low light settings.
Understanding the basic functions of your camera is a start. Experimenting and taking plenty of shots will allow you to better understand how to take better shots. But there are also other techniques to help you shoot better photos. A very good photography will occasionally take a step back from the work. A photo you may not have like before may suddenly appear interesting to you. It is really important to step back from the work of yours to ensure that you are able to always have a new viewpoint.
In case you’re preparing to take pictures of landmarks and points of interest, take a look at other photos or even postcards of the area. Using postcards can help you understand framing and gain new insight of the scenery that’s special. Use these pictures as strategies for the spots that you would like to visit.
Be prepared. Always make certain you’ve a fully charged battery power before any specific occasion or even when you’re thinking about making use of the camera. It’s also a great idea to carry around extra batteries. Having more than enough memory cards is also helpful in case you shoot more than anticipated.
Depending on your shooting conditions, an outside flash is helpful, though built in flashes are ideal for general photographs.
Find portable camera storage which is going to provide access that is easy to your camera or accessories in case you come across impromptu shoots while on the go.
The suggestions here are an excellent starting spot but just like any creative field, practice, ongoing education and learning from others are all essential if you want to push your photography skill sets.