Photo Shooting Basics

#1:  Good Subjects make Good Photos!  Know what you want to shoot , and keep your eyes open!  Analyze images that you like (yours and others) for the appealing elements.  Think about where you could get similar and better shots.  Plan, but also be spontaneous.  Keep your artistic eye open for new possibilities.

Being At the Right Place at the Right Time

  • Be ready, be quick – carry a camera around, know how to use and adjust it.  Keep the batteries charged and the memory card empty.
  • Be polite but bold  - you’ll miss the best shots if you’re not a little bit aggressive
  • Move in close – we’re often interested in details, people’s faces
  • Take several shots, especially of a group, person or event that might be hard to get again.  Vary the angle, exposure etc.
  • Watch for special moments – action, expression, emotion, tension etc.

Technical and Artistic Details

  • Steady the camera, especially indoors – use a tripod, wall, railing, steady hand
  • Compose thoughtfully  (composing means setting up the elements in your photo, by changing your shooting position and angle, and possibly rearranging objects/people in the foreground, middle and background):
    • Subject should be dominant
    • Background should be pleasing, not distracting (neutral, darker, not in focus, not busy)
    • Lines and other elements should lead the eye to the subject
    • Use the Rule of Thirds
    • Think about balance e.g. 2 objects on either side of the image; small dark areas are balanced by larger light areas; look for complementary colours; shapes, lines or other elements repeated, maybe symmetrically
  • Light:
    • Beware of backlighting (silhouette) – Learn how to adjust exposure or use fill-in (forced) flash  More detail…
    • Strong sunlight is sometimes good for bright colours, but often not flattering to faces.  Overcast days are better for faces.
    • Outside, keep the sun behind or beside you, but watch for squinting and harsh shadows
    • The hour around sunset/sunrise is magic for natural lighting
    • Fluorescent lighting (like in our classroom) can give sickly blue-green tone.  If that’s the only source, learn to set your white balance, and adjust tones in Photoshop
  • Flash
    • Natural light is generally nicer, so try for illumination from a window
    • But… a flash is often needed indoors
    • Using a flash in low (indoor) light gives you a clearer, less grainy image, more suitable for printing
    • Flash is usually in Auto mode, so the camera decides if it’s needed.  On most cameras there’s a button with a lightning bolt to change the flash mode.
    • If you definitely DON’T want a flash (e.g. you have a way to steady the camera and want to use natural light), press the button until a lightning bolt with a line through it appears.  This is called suppressing the flash.
    • If you definitely DO want a flash, press until a lightning bolt appears.  This  called forcing the flash.  Use it when you’re shooting into strong backlight e.g. subject indoors in front of bright windows (“fill-in flash”).  Also use it to “Fill In” outdoor subjects, even on a bright day.
    • A camera flash only illuminates about 4 or 5 metres.  It’s USELESS in shots like across the gym, from the middle of the caf to the stage (in fact anywhere but right in front of or on the stage)  and at concerts and sports stadiums (except for lighting up the head of the person in front of you).  Suppress it to save batteries.
    • Watch for glaring reflections off glass, glasses, faces that are too close.  If your flash is movable, try bouncing off the ceiling rather than directly at the subject.
    • Try using red-eye reduction, or remove it in Photoshop
  • Settings
    • If you’re a novice, use the Auto mode, BUT, as soon as you can, learn at least the basic settings
    • Change the Image Size to at least 3 megapixels, or 5 or more if you want to print a large size
    • Exposure Compensation is really useful to darken or lighten the image
    • White Balance – if you’re not in Auto mode, you must learn to change this -  select indoor light/full sun/overcast/fluorescent light
    • ISO – learn to make your camera more sensitive in low light – high numbers mean more sensitive, same as for film.
    • Shutter Speed – controlling this lets you freeze fast action, or get cool motion blur
    • Aperture – the size of the opening through the lens.  A narrow aperture (high F-stop # like 22) puts everything in focus, whereas a wide aperture (f2.8) gives you shallow depth of field, meaning you can focus only on your subject and blur the background and/or foreground

 

Practice taking LOTS of photos using these tips. 

Download and save only the really good ones.