Tips from a Pro on Taking Better Photos with Your Digital Camera (PRWEB) January 13, 2005 -- This article is also posted at
http://www.prophotosource.com Photography Books and Resources for Aspiring Professional Photographers and my own wedding photography site
http://www.cannonphoto.net. Being a professional photographer in a family of professional photographers you can imagine a take a lot of pictures of my family and especially children. We have these portraits plastered all over our walls throughout our home and my office. When guests look at our photographs it is not uncommon hear the comment, “Wow, these are great pictures … you must really have a good camera.” Or “What kind of camera do you use, these are such nice photographs?” You can imagine the odd expressions I receive when I respond by saying, “Oh, it just a cheap camera I picked up at Wal-mart.” Although we use top of the line professional equipment in our wedding and portrait photography business, I also own a standard point and shoot digital camera which I often use for family snap shots. Sure, using good technology helps us make good pictures but it is not a prerequisite. Some of what are considered the finest award winning photographs throughout history have been taken on cheap run of the mill cameras. I wonder if anyone ever asked Dizzie Gillespie what type of trumpet he played to make such great music? I think you get my point. In fact, very little has to do with the qaulity of your camera. I was recently asked by a friend to take a look at her photos and her new camera because she was unhappy with the results she was getting. She said she just could not understand why her pictures were not better because she had bought the best digital camera they had at the store. It even had 6.0 megapixels. There are skills and techniques you can learn through study, practice and experience that will determine the quality of your photgraphy. I have put together this report to help you learn to take better pictures and make the most of your digital camera. Because of the importance of digital image manipulation in digital photography I have included a section on digital imaging on your personal computer. In this section, I hope to teach you some basic techniques to improve and manipulate your photographs on the computer using various photo editing applications. In this section I also hope to eliminate the myth that some may have that digital image manipulation in photography is somehow cheating and that those who manipulate digital pictures on the computer are doing something different than their film counterparts did in the past. Choosing a Digital Camera If you shop the electronic department stores for a digital camera the sales people will generally give you the impression that the single most important element in choosing a digital camera is the number of megapixals. While this is important it is not the end all determining factor in the image quality you can expect. In fact, if you visit my photgraphy website
http://www.cannonphoto.net there are professional portraits which were taken with a 3.0 megapixal digital camera. When I initially made the move to digital photogaphy a few years ago I started small before jumping in feet first. I used a Fuji S602 SLR digital camera and did several professional portrait photography jobs with it. We were able to make images up to 8x10 with good results. In fact, we made several prints up to 11x14 using interpolation in Photoshop. I quickly became hooked on digital photography and since that time we have become 100% digital. We shoot digital for all of our wedding, portrait and pet photography. Different cameras use different technologies and use various lens qualities and while I will not get into details I will simply say that you should try out several cameras if possible and and compare the image qaulity. I recommend you purchase a memory card and take it in to the store. Then you can insert the card into each camera you try and take a photo which you can then take home to examine on your computer. If you do not want to go to this extent to try out a digital camera then I recommend reading various reviews on the cameras you are considering. You will be able to find digital camera reviews at most of the photography forums available on the internet. Tips for Taking Great Pictures #1 Get Closer The single most important tip I can giv e you which will increase the qaulity of your people photography is this. Get closer. Fill the frame. Experiment. #2 Capture Candid Portraits Posed portraits are boring and lifeless. Try taking portraits while people are interacting and doing things as opposed to having them line up and smile for the camera. This is real life photography and it can capture portraits that are so much more meaningful than the posed shots we are so used to seeing. #3 Use Available Light Whenever possible turn up the Iso on your digital camera and shoot without flash. Find opportunities to light your photgraphs using the light from a near window. The quality of light in a window lit photgraphy is much more pleasing and natural than that from a photograph taken with flash. #4 Try Different Perspectives Experiment with using different angles and perspectives with your photographs. If you are shooting with digital camera then there is no film to waste. #5 Take Lots of Photos As I mentioned above, if you are shooting digital there is not an element of cost associated with every photo so takes a lot of photographs. Keep shooting. The more photographs you take the better you will get and the better chance of capturing that award winning image. The Digital Darkroom If you have made the move to digital photography and have bought yourself a digital camera then you will most likely want to get your hands on a good digital image editing software application. There are many options out there depending on your budget. You should look for an application that allows you to resize your pictures, crop, adjust exposure levels and adjust the color. Many will say but isn’t this cheating. Of course not. An important part of photography and the finished image is in the processing and printing. Prior to digital image photography and personal computers all of this work was done at the photo lab. Now because of digital photography the average photographer is able to handle this part of the process on his or her own on a personal computer using a photo manipulation program such as Photoshop. This will take some practice. I recommend you pull some photographs and simply start going through the different tools available. You can crop, fix red eye, change a color photo to black and white or sepia tone and more. Advances in making digital photography have recently made it affordable to the average photographer. If you shoot a lot of photographs then the savings from not having to buy film alone will probably pay for the cost of your digital camera within months. Enjoy photography and keep practicing. For more information and helpful articles on photography please visit
http://www.prophotosource.com and
http://www.cannonphoto.net.
