It doesn't take much effort to snap a shot these days, especially considering we have auto-flash, and auto-focus. However, taking a picture that goes beyond just documenting the occasion does require some skill. Here are eight tips to help you start taking beautiful pictures with your digital photography slr camera. Use these techniques and watch your friends become jealous of your picture taking abilities.
1. Remember to Utilize All Your Available Space
When you're taking a picture, be sure to use up all the space in your photo. Having a shot that has very little to no background is okay, when you understand that this will highlight your subject. Be conscious to avoid any distractions that could take away from the beauty of your shot.
2. Photo's in Motion
Next, if you're ever photographing an object that's still, never have motion in that photo. The whole idea to capture the moment and make it crisp. Be sure only to use an action blurring effect on a shot where obvious action is taking place, and can be seen by your viewer. Otherwise, your photo doesn't turn out as expected. Also remember that you should never put a horizontal line through the middle of your frame.
3. Using Contracts Between Colors
In most cases, the best looking photos will usually have a mixture of shades that include white, black and gray. Learn to use contrast in your photos to help express some of the emotion. You can take great shots with just one color on your subject matter, but remember to use contrast to your advantage whenever possible.
4. Move in Closer to Your Subject Matter
A big and quite common mistake made by photographers of all skill levels is not getting close enough to their subject. It might sound counter-intuitive, but getting close really does have it's advantages. After you've taken a shot far away, you'll quickly understand that you can't easily zoom and resize the same way you can when you take your shot up close.
5. Dealing with Shutter Lag
With the hundreds of advantages of using digital photography, by far the most annoying aspect is shutter lag. When you press down the button to take a shot, there's usually a slight delay before your camera actually takes a shot (sometimes even up to one second). By the time you've pressed your finger down, the action might have already passed. Therefore, in order to deal with the lag, you must learn to predict where your subject matter will be located, and almost take the shot before the action even happens. The more expensive cameras will have features that counter shutter lag, but usually having experience in taking pictures will help you learn to deal with it.
6. Panning
If you're taking a shot with a slow shutter speed, be sure to pan the subject you want to snap a shot of. Follow the object you want to take a picture of from start to finish, and wait for the perfect moment to snap. By taking more than one picture, you'll greatly increase the odds of you taking a shot that's a real winner.
7. Night Time Shooting
Nighttime shots are very difficult to make look professional, simply because the lighting element is removed from the equation. If done correctly, a nighttime shot can be amazingly beautiful, yet other times they'll turn out horrible. The only factor that makes the difference between professional and amateur photos is the one factor you can't control: light.
8. Review your Camera's Manual
All digital cameras sold today come with a manual of some kind. Read the sections that you're having trouble with, whatever that may be. For example, learning to take nighttime shots might become a lot easier if you know your camera has a mode for night time.
So there you have it. If you choose to abide by even a few of these basic rules, I'm confident you can be on your way to better quality pictures. Taking shots with great clarity requires practice. Now, get out there, start taking shots and apply what you just read.
If you want to learn even more about a digital photography slr, you'll love the brand new e-course I've created for you to help you start taking amazing pictures. It's yours for free and is delivered straight to your email. You can download it for free here: http://www.digitalphotographyadvantage.com/
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