10 Tips to take Better Digital Photos

10 Tips to take Better Digital Photos

Get up and taking great pictures immediately with this short, sharp tutorial for taking better digital photos. We have included here, some of the secrets and tips that professionals know and use to get those shots we often wish could do. One of the first things to do is to make sure your camera is ready to go.

1. If you see it, shoot it

Don’t spend all of your time and energy trying to get one perfect shot. Experiment and take as many pictures as you can. If you see something that strikes you, photograph it.

• A digital camera is all the excuse you need to just blaze away and shoot everything in sight. One of the reasons digital became so popular so quickly was the perception that you could just shoot as much as you wanted and it didn’t cost you anything if you took a dud shot.
• Post production or editing your images in a computer may even save those images that you would have normally deleted.

2. Use a plain background

A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you look through the cameras viewfinder or LCD screen, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject.

• Nothing is worse than the pole coming out of someones head or the garbage bin in the background. Always have a quick scan around the viewfinder or LCD screen prior to pushing the button, it’s amazing how blind we become to the rest of the photo when we’re concentrating on our subject.
• Using a longer lens, or zooming your lens to a more powerful setting often has the effect of blurring the background and isolating your subject from the background.
• Try using the ‘Portrait’ mode on your camera. This mode has been designed in most cameras to specifically soften the colour saturation and blur the background behind your subject

3. Use flash outdoors

A bright sunny day can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face.

• We don’t generally think that we should use the flash outdoors, but it is a little secret that can make a huge difference to some photos. Experiment with the flash setting on your camera and read up in your manual about controlling your flash.
• The general rule of thumb in very bright  side light which causes heavy shadows across the face is to adjust the flash and force it to work. Some cameras call it force flash, others fill flash, experiment and note the difference. The closer you are to your subject the better result.
• Back light is a very similar problem and often confuses the camera as it sees plenty of light coming from behind and therefore needs you to force the flash to improve your result.

4. Move in close

Always take a step or two closer before taking the picture and zoom in. Your goal should be to fill the picture area with the subject.

• Crop tightly if you really want to create impact.
• Those viewing your photos are generally drawn to the eyes and the expression, rarely would anyone say “aw you’ve cut the top of their head off, or you can’t see their socks.”
• Filling your picture area with the subject removes distracting backgrounds and makes certain that people viewing your photos will only see what you want them to see.

5. Move it from the middle

Bring your picture to life by simply moving your subject away from the middle of your picture, the middle of your picture is not the best place for your subject..

• Maybe you have wondered why professionals photos always look more interesting than yours. It may not necessarily be that they have a better camera then you, it’s possibly the placement of the centre of attention in their photo. Next time your tempted to put subject in the middle try moving your camera to position the subject to the side.
• Horizons also suffer the same fate when run through the middle of the photo. Again try positioning them a little lower or a little higher than centre.

6. Get down to their level

When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person’s eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerising smiles.

• Hey, who wants to see the top of your head… Get down to eye level, all the best photographers shoot their portraits at eye level.
• Shooting higher or lower does have it’s time and place, however we are used to seeing people at eye level. When we are shooting from very high or very low quite often we are distorting the features of our subject, and often creating a very unflattering photo.
• Getting down to eye level does not mean that we have to be directly in front of our subject. shoot from the side, have your subject turn to you, this in itself adds variety to your images and the different poses, depending upon the light falling on your subject can create some very complimentary images.

7. Know your flash

What is your camera’s flash range? Can’t find it? Then don’t take a chance. Position yourself so subjects are no further than 3 metres away.

• If it’s too dark, no worries the camera will turn the flash on and everything will be OK, if only it were that true. The flash, just like a torch or flashlight outdoors, only has a limited range that it is usable for before it drops away and can’t see anything.
• The beauty of digital and flash on a digital camera is that you can see immediately whether the flash is reaching your subject, If it is too dark move closer.
• The most general rule of thumb is that a built in flash in most digital cameras is good to about 3 metres from you to the subject. Zooming the lens and bringing the subject closer does not assist the flash in making it brighter, as a rule it harm of your photo.

8. Watch the light

Light affects the appearance of every photograph you take. On an older person, bright light can enhance wrinkles and the soft light of a cloudy day can subdue those same wrinkles.

• One of the other things that make a professionals photos look so different to ours is their understanding and use of light. Hard lighting, soft lighting and many other terms spring to mind. Knowledge of some of these terms will immediately change the quality of your images.
• Soft lighting, like on a cloudy day or under the shade of a large tree is ideal for portraiture. It subdues wrinkles, softens colour and can portray a feeling romance with the right subject.
• Hard lighting is generally any form of outdoor lighting were the sun is directly impacting the subject. This form of lighting produces more vibrant colour and the shadows formed from the light give form and shape to the subject we are photographing.
• Hard lighting is generally good for landscapes and photographing static objects, or moving objects such as sport.

9. Get vertical

From a lighthouse near a cliff to a child jumping in a puddle, many things look better when taken vertically. So next time your out, make an effort to take some vertical pictures.

• Every camera is made to be held horizontally (landscape), and it is this reason that it becomes quite difficult for many to spin the camera over to take a vertical (portrait) shaped photo.
• Next time your taking a shot, try spinning the camera over and seeing whether it looks better as a portrait style.
• Portrait or landscape, the name probably says it better for what it should be used for rather than me dictating to you when you should and should not use it. Remember though rules are there to be broken so feel free to break the rules if need be.
• One of the benefits of using your camera portrait mode when doing a landscape photo is that you can position your centre of interest in such a way that you can have a lot foreground leading you to your subject.

10. Direct the picture

If time permits, take control of your picture taking and watch your pictures dramatically improve. Become a picture director not just a passive picture taker.

• Quite often those images that look so natural and candid are very much contrived and posed. Position yourself and prepare to capture the image before you start speaking to your subject. As soon as they start looking at the camera or in the direction you want start shooting.
• Don’t make the mistake of controlling the image so much that you get the ‘tin soldier, standing to attention with a forced smile’ type of image. Let your subject just relax in your company and they will respond with some great images with just a little prompting, even the reluctant and shy ones.

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