Whether you’ve just purchased your first DSLR and want to learn some night-and-day difference tips or you are looking for simple ways to update your existing photography skills, there are always ways to improve as a photographer.
To help you on your journey, we’ve put together three simple tips on how to be a better photographer!
Use the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds helps you take eye-catching pictures simply by asking you to take some time when working out your composition.
Imagine four lines on your camera – two lying horizontally and two lying vertically across the image, creating nine even squares in total. Using these lines, you can find out the best focal point for your photo.
If you place your subject off-centre at one of the intersecting points of the grid of thirds, it is likely that you will create a more aesthetically-composed image. You should always use the rule of thirds when you want to direct your audience on where to look.
Shoot in RAW
RAW is my personal life saver! I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I take an overexposed photograph, with the wrong white balance and the ISO set to over 9000, I can usually bring the photo back to life in post-production.
Shooting RAW will give you a high-quality file that allows the freedom to make changes to the photo with ease and enjoy a non-destructive editing session.
The potential changes you might want to consider to create a better photo in post-production include:
- Easily adjust the white balance
- Correct over or underexposed images
- Get better prints
- Get better detail
- Select colour space on output
- Make it look more professional
I’m not saying that you can be completely shit at taking a photo and then say “oh, don’t worry, I can fix it in post”. There are still a lot of things you should do whilst shooting to make your photography look great and not rely on RAW… but it definitely helps!
Create depth of field
Depth of field adds an extra bit of dimension to your photos and creates an image that looks a lot less flat. We spoke about the rule of thirds earlier, but, when it comes to conveying a sense of depth, it is also useful to break your picture up into a different set of thirds: foreground, middleground and background.
To create the three levels of depth, you need people and objects to be at different spots in front of the lens, rather than all on the same level. My personal favourite way of creating depth is by shooting through something. When I’m shooting in the office, I will more often than not grab the ends from a plant or rest my camera through a window to add that depth to the photo.
So, there you have it – my three essential tips if you’re looking for advice on how to become a better photographer! Overall, the most important thing is to have fun and experiment. Trial and error is the best way to learn, but tips always help out!