Photography Tips Guide

Posts Tagged ‘Digital Photography Tips’

One of the most important characteristics of photography is the lighting, hence if there is too much lighting then definitely your shot gets overexposed or worse, you don’t get a shot at all. If there is little or no lighting then your photo also suffers because you either lose your photo all together or it comes out underexposed. Most of the time when it comes to photography lighting, natural light is all one needs. In most occasions you will find most people waiting for sunrise and sunset to take magnificent photos. You will also find that photography lighting is also important when it comes to cloudy days or days when it is raining many people have no interest in taking photos. However there are a few people who don’t mind taking photos on this kind of days and some even take photos of lightening which could be extremely  dangerous if you are not clever. It is best that you take photography lighting seriously especially if you don’t want to keep overexposing your photos to too much sunlight. Most photographers switch to flash lights if it gets dark and want to take more photos, this usually depends on where you are and how dark it maybe. If you go to photo studios even during the day you will find that the camera man might switch on the studio photography light or will switch to a camera flash, or to an off-camera flash. Photography is mainly about instinct, if you have it, believe me you will enjoy greatly taking your photos.

If you are a budding photographer who is looking for talent in photography, then you should probably try Portrait Photography. In this kind of photography you will need to be a peoples person, interacting well with people. The reason for this, is that when you are taking portraits of people you want to do a good job so as to please your clientele. More often if your portrait is comfortable and calm then it makes the photograph more memorable.You will have to be a social photographer and learn how to make your clients feel at ease when you are taking photos of them. When people are unease it is usually portrayed on the photo. So if you want your clients to keep coming back for more portrait photography then you will have to make them feel relaxed, this way you get to take good shots that will please them. Dealing with clients who are kids will be the hardest task you have ever undertaken and your social skills will have to come into play here more than ever. To make children clients more at ease you can always entice them with something that will spark their interest. Toys would be a good betPortrait photography is not as easy as most photographers soon find out. It is quite a lucrative gig that you will probably enjoy. This kind of photography will take practice and it is best to try with people close to you first and then move on from there. If your work gets to be good and you are ready to go to the public then go ahead and try just remember to ask your client to smile.

If you are interested in tall sky scrappers or tall old buildings that still look the same, then landscape photography is just the kind of photography for you to get involved in. Even though most of us know when it comes to the landscape, people always think of natural landscape photography, which often comes with hills, mountains, river banks or oceans. But natural landscape is not the only kind of landscape available. There is also urban landscape which deals with the photography of buildings and the urban jungle. Natural landscape has a wider variety and it entails mountain tops, shots of lightning streaking down from the sky, tumbling waterfalls, roiling seas and densely packed green foliage from the middle of a rain forest. Many of this kinds of landscape photography have become boring because too many photographers are doing it. In fact you may have probably taken photos of hills and waterfalls. As a beginner it is always wise to practice your photography at home where you can take photos of your backyard. Many people usually find that this kind of photography becomes a bore and would rather look for more exciting photos to take. But this kind of photography can be interesting to some other people because it captures things we might not have noticed before about certain buildings or natural landscape. Even in your travels out of the country you will get to see a variety of different kinds of natural landscapes which will entice you to take beautiful photography.

It concerns me as a photographer when I see the numerous articles and ebooks about making cash from your camera. 8 Easy steps or 10 ways to turn those snapshots into cash. And, “Hi shutterbug here’s a foolproof way to turn those photos into dollars”. Or, earn $200-$400 per day from your camera. With all the resource boxes pointing to, you guessed it, books and cds that will help you make money from your camera or rather the authors make money from your purchase. All of us who are photographers would love to make a regular income from the hobby or profession we love. None of us want to be told that it is difficult, it takes time and not many people make it. These dubious dealers give the impression that anyone can make money from their photos. Rubbish! If you take a look at the stock sites and see the quality of images for sale, you’ll realise that unless you are really talented you will never produce the quality that the buyers are looking for. Do yourself a favour. Do a search on the name of the ebook author who makes all of these claims using Google and then go to the major stock sites and do the same. Where are these authors making their money? From you! If it was so easy why don’t they have thousands of images on the stock sites? I rest my case. Take a look at the guidelines for submission on the stock sites. Every last one of them requires a camera that takes a high resolution image. Some even state that they’ll only accept images taken on certain mid-range to high-end digital SLRs. Don’t even think that you will be able to compete with your compact camera. You stand no chance. Your images are just not big enough. I have been on seminars given by successful stock photographers from the microstock sites and all them state that it is tough, demands long hours of work and takes a long time to make a reasonable income. Some never make it despite quality, dedication and a lot of effort. It is not a part-time money making machine as claimed by the ebook authors. So what does it really take to make money from your camera, if it is at all possible for the amateur? You have to make a decision to dedicate yourself to your photography even if it is part-time. Carefully consider the following points: 1. Dedication to the art of photography If you are not a dedicated photographer striving for excellence in your art there is no real money to be made. Sorry that’s the bottom line. There are so many talented artists producing high quality images that you do not stand a chance if you cannot compete in this field. You need to up your standards and create images that are very high quality. 2. Dedication to detail Every detail in your image needs to be perfect. This is what the buyer is looking for. He doesn’t come along and say, “now which poor point-and-shooter can I help make money today”? When a buyer is planning to put a photo on a billboard every detail must be perfect. Examine your images and ask yourself, “Would I see this image in a magazine?” 3. Dedication to quality 99.9% of snapshots won’t make it past the stock site evaluators. Their standards are very high. Sharpness, great colours and perfect composition are just some of the factors you must take into consideration when planning to sell your images. You have to be a photographer, either a pro or dedicated amateur regularly looking at the quality of your images and pushing the limits. Look at the books and magazines and compare your photos. Do they compete? If the answer is yes then you are getting close. The ebooks say that there are millions of people looking for photos for the school and class assignments or projects who will buy your images. Get real! If they have the opportunity to buy an ordinary snapshot or a high quality image shot by a top photographer both selling for a dollar, which would they choose? 4. Dedication to discipline Discipline is key to any hobby or vocation and especially so with photography. You need to be disciplined in your learning and improving your skills constantly. You need to be disciplined in your shooting and editing your images. And, you need to be disciplined in your submission of quality images to the stock libraries and photo sites. It’s a numbers game. The more quality content you have out in the market the more chance you have of buyers selecting your images. You cannot do it on a whim or when you feel motivated to do it. It is essential to have a commitment to the task and a disciplined overall process. 5. Dedicated to achieving results If at first you don’t succeed try and try again. If at first you don’t get the results you desire don’t give up or try something else. Keep at it until you see results. It’s like the little green shoot popping its head above the soil or the tip of the iceberg. You are building the roots that will support the later growth of your business. If you don’t have a results driven motivation to see it to the end you will not achieve the success you set out to attain. It’s a hard uphill road to success with photography. The photo world is competitive and saturated with good quality images. If you are to succeed you must break through the barrier from great to outstanding. You must stand head and shoulders above the rest in your quality and excellence.

When making the decision to learn photography or improve your existing skills, there is just so much material bombarding us making it difficult to know where to start. Where do you start and how do you get started.

My journey started many years ago, before the digital revolution when life was more structured, great material was available and the choices were limited. Now you can do a search on the internet and come up with a hundred sources. The unfortunate thing is that most of the material doesn’t offer you a preview and you can’t browse through it like a printed book or course. So where does one start? It’s essential when starting out on a photographic journey to get the basics right. Learning the fundamentals properly will prepare you for a bright and very fulfilling future in photography. Let’s take a look at a few important steps.

1. Find a practical ebook or course

Photography is a practical hobby and although theory is a part of it, one enjoys it by going out and doing. The operative word is doing. Any course must get you doing something from the very first chapter or if possible from the first paragraph. In teaching and training I have found it most effective to offer on the job mentoring while we are taking photos. With the instant feedback digital gives, it is the perfect way of teaching someone. That, of course, is great when dealing one on one with live people. Through a book or ecourse it may be a little more difficult but the author must get you shooting images immediately. The method I use in my books is to start people out shooting images and then afterwards giving them the criteria with which to evaluate their own images and improve them. Shoot, improve, shoot improve is the perfect way to learn because it’s practical. I cannot emphasise this point enough. A quick tip for looking at ebooks and courses, make sure that the author offers a money back guarantee. If the ebook or course doesn’t offer real practical advice you can get your money back. If they are not transferring their skills to you then the ebook isn’t worth it.

2. Start doing assignments or projects

The course or ebook you have decided upon should have practical assignments and projects or you have made a bad choice. I love acquiring knowledge through reading and research but after all these years it has done nothing to improve my photography without its practical application. So, start working through the assignments or projects carefully and try to apply the skills or techniques you are learning. Don’t proceed to the next chapter until you have mastered the lesson or skill. If you’ve bought a book that doesn’t have assignments then you need to create you own based on the material you are learning. Write it down so that you are clear as to what you should be doing then go out and shoot. You must have an end in mind and achieve a practical goal when your assignment is complete.

3. Use a journal

This is a photo journal and not a writing journal. You want track your progress and watch your learning journey develop. It can be a regular journal where you paste in your photos and make notes of location, date, time, the settings you used to take the image and how you felt. Or, you can maintain it on your computer. The key here is to watch your progress and see where you are improving and where you need to give more attention. Besides this, it’s a fun activity and a showcase of your photography. The key here is that it should help you keep focused and maintain your photographic journey. You are able to leave photography for a few weeks then pick it up again, revise and begin where you left off. It gives you structure to your learning and allows you to remember where you were last at and can continue on a logical course.

4. Teach someone else

This is where my photo journey took off like a rocket. As soon as I started teaching others I cemented the principles in my own mind and my own photography improved a hundredfold. I got together a group of friends for the purpose of enjoying my photo outings on the weekends. Because I was the most experienced they asked questions and I gave the answers. The ones I didn’t know I refreshed from my books and courses and the rest is history. Once you explain something to someone else you have to think about it more logically which often results in a better understanding on your own part.

5. Practise, practise, practise

The famous South African golfer and winner of many major international tournaments said, “the harder I practise the luckier I get.” You don’t think the master National Geographic photographers shot those fantastic magazine photos by chance do you? They come as a result of years of practise, trial and error. Go out and find your favourite subjects and practise shooting them from different angles, perspectives and viewpoints. It’s logical that if you shoot a subject in three different ways you won’t get the same results as if you did it in a hundred different ways.

Photography is a journey of discovery and learning. And, as you discover new things about your environment, subject or location and include them in your images you will start to improve at a rapid rate. These are just some of the principles that if applied correctly will help you learn photography like never before.