Simple Steps to Fantastic Photography - Part 2

In the previous article in this series, Simple Steps to Fantastic Photography - Part 1, we discussed some ways to achieve professional looking photos, even if you are an amateur.  Below are additional tips for great photography.

Frame your image. Once you have a good camera and have invested in lenses, you are now ready to start taking pictures.  When you are preparing to shoot photos, you need to consider not just your subject, but the background, as well.  For example, if you want to take a photograph of your child playing on the ground, don’t stand up and aim down at him or her, because your background is going to be the floor.  A better way to take this type of picture is to lay down on the ground with your camera aimed at your child.  Taking this extra step will provide a more interesting background than the carpet or grass.

Understand the difference in picture quality on a cloudy day versus a sunny one.  Did you know that when you take pictures of people on a cloudy day, they look better?  A cloudy sky provides natural light that gives a person’s face very even lighting.  Taking pictures on a sunny day is a bit more challenging.  You have to position them to either have the sun hit their faces or have no sunlight whatsoever.  The picture will not come out good if their faces are half in the sun and half shadowed.  Be sure to position your subjects to best handle the light.

Learn how to use flash properly.  Have you ever taken a picture at night and the person’s face is lit up, but the background is nearly black?  The reason the picture came out this way is because of the shutter speed of the camera.  You can correct this problem by manually adjusting the shutter speed to a number that is 30 or lower.  What this adjustment does is allow additional light to enter through the lens after the flash bulb flashes.  You will find that you will have a much nicer photo by changing this setting.

By following these easy steps, you will have photos that look professionally done.  Soon you will have your friends and family requesting that you take all of their photos, as well!

The Gearshift not only provides professional photography services for special events, business gatherings and bio pictures, we also offer high quality video.   We have helped business owners, including lawyers, realtors, doctors and other professionals, create state-of-the art videos that can be uploaded on the Internet.  These online videos are great conversion tools to generate more business and attract potential clients.