Photography tips for beginners – Being a beginner in anything is tough. Being a photography beginner can be even harder. For someone new to the whole photography scene it can be overwhelming, they can find themselves suddenly bombarded with a wall of confusing information. They will encounter a host of terms like aperture, depth of field, hyper focal distance, ISO, the list goes on and on. But like anything the more you are immersed in something and the more you practise the clearer and easier things become.
Start with the basics
Play around with the basic settings and get a feel for your camera.
The exposure triangle and rules of thirds are a great place to start with your photography. These will be the foundation on which your entire photography future will be built upon. You will still be using these rules whether you are a seasoned photographer or beginner!
Other rules you might be interested to learn about are things like framing and leading lines. A very handy photography technique is focus and recompose. These are all well worth learning and will help any photography beginner.
Invest in a tripod
Get a sturdy set of legs!
Like the basics, getting a tripod is one of those rights of passage when taking your photography a bit more seriously. There are certain photos and photography techniques you will simply not be able to attempt without a tripod.
A great thing about a tripod is it slows you down and helps you compose a shot. It really is a must have photography accessory! Oh and don’t worry about getting the most expensive one just get an entry level tripod – you can always upgrade in the future.
Learn about light
Once you know light you can take any picture you want…
Photography is essentially capturing light, so it is fundamental that the quality of the light coming into the camera impacts on your photos. Start with learning about the different types of natural and artificial light – hard light (direct sunlight on a clear sunning day is a good example of this) and soft light (cloudy day the sunlight is diffused through the clouds making the light scatter everywhere creating soft, even light great for portraits).
Seek inspiration
Make your own beautiful photos!
Ever seen a photo and thought to yourself, “I’d love to take a photo like that”? Start seeking out other photos you enjoy and try and recreate your own version. It’s a great way to learn how to take images you really enjoy. Have a look online in your favourite photography websites such as flickr or 500px and seek some photography inspiration today.
Just take pictures
Photo opportunities are everywhere!
The main issues I see beginners and amateurs alike (and why I made these photography tips for beginners), is getting bogged down too much in the technical side of things – and spending more time and money researching what camera gear to buy next and not enough time out actually taking pictures with the gear they have already.
Some of my photography friends who earn a lot of money shooting wouldn’t have a clue what the latest camera gear releases are – they are too busy taking amazing photos with the equipment they already own and mastering their skills.
So whether you have a point and shoot, bridge camera or a DSLR just get out taking photos! It really is that simple!
Experiment with your photos
Colours change emotions so experiment.
So you have learnt what the buttons and settings do on your camera – now what? Start experimenting with them! If a pictures turns out bad so what? Just delete it! This is the beauty of digital photography. This is another great way for beginners to learn as you are seeing the results of what settings you used straight away and can tweak them to get the photo just the way you like it. Also learn about how colour impacts our mood here.
Take photos everyday
The more photos you take the better you will become!
Even if you can’t, try. The more photos you take the better you will become. This is a great way to put all those new photography techniques and rules into practice. The more familiar you are with your camera and composing shots the more you will see your photos improve!
Carry a camera with you
You never know what you might find..
If you can’t carry your DSLR with you then I’m sure you have a mobile phone that has a camera built in. Just imagine next time you are out and about all those opportunities for taking amazing photos that have been passing you by – use the photography rules that you’ve learnt so far such as the rule of thirds or leading lines to make you images really stand out!
Don’t be afraid to fail
Even the best make mistakes so don’t worry!
No one is perfect, and no matter what don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes. Making mistakes is one of the most natural and powerful ways of learning. Every single photographer from multimillion selling professionals all the way to beginners fail and make mistakes.
The key is to learn from them, progress and keep moving towards taking better photos. So don’t ever be afraid to fail, it will make you a better photographer in the end!
Don’t forget to check out my free photography course here. It will give you the building block to take control of your camera and take better photos forever.
Leave A Response