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You Ain’t No Photographer If You Don’t Know How To Do This

May 18th 2015 | Photography

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Who doesn’t have a camera nowadays? All smartphones nowadays boast decent to awesome cameras, which turns most mobile phone owners into passionate amateur photographers.
However, if you want to be able to rise to the top of amateur photographers, instinct alone won’t cut it. Photography is a challenging craft that cannot exist outside the laws of physics and requires extensive knowledge of lighting, exposure, color and camera function. You don’t have to be the next Annie Leibovitz, but if you have aspirations of becoming a better photographer, make sure you master every item on the following list.

Learn Lenses:

Lenses are so much more than a tool for increasing the zoom-in option. Using different lenses results in radically different photographs! Understanding the basic technology behind lenses is important for predicting the type of image that a lens can produce for you. The focal length, the aperture and the field of view – all of these are terms you should get comfortable with if you want your camera lens to give you maximum performance.

Figure Out Exposure:

Key issue! Exposure basically means how much light is collected in your camera in the instant of taking a photo. The amount of light can have a huge impact on the photo’s appearance – too much light gives you a burnt out photo; too little means darkness. The good news is that you have full control over the matter. Through a combination of aperture settings, ISO speed and shutter speed (yes, these are words that you must know) you can determine how much exposure your shot gets.

Lights Lights Lights!

Photography lighting is quite complex. There are many different factors to take into account in finding the best type and quality of lighting: Hard or soft, natural or unnatural, the spectrum of colors, the direction of the light and more. If you want to take photos like a pro, you need to be able to predict how light will impact your shots. If you understand light, you’ll be able to make it work for you and produce greater images.

The Science of Reflectors:

Wanna show light who’s boss? This is where reflectors come in. Using reflectors on light sources helps you determine the direction and strength with which light enters your frame. The size, location, color and shape of the reflector all influence the quality of light you end up with. One great method for mastering the physics of reflectors is to experiment with making them yourself. Not only will it make you a better photographer, it will also save you quite a bit of money.

Camera Positioning:

Perspective is an immensely important element in composition. You need to be able to make conscious decisions on how you position your camera in relation to the photo subject and to know the strengths and weaknesses of different angles. On the technical level, remember that you can use accessories to get accurate positioning, but also be sure to be creative and use your immediate environment to get just the right angle.

White Balance:

Ever noticed how the colors in the photos you take don’t really resemble the way they appear in real life? That’s because you’re neglecting white balance! This key aspect of photography makes sure that the color temperature of your photo is well balanced so that the colors appear as accurate as possible. Most digital cameras have automatic white balance settings that will do the work most of the time, but as an aspiring photographer you should try to learn how to manually adjust white balance for different types of photos.

Focus Control:

Controlling the level of focus is a technique that separate real photographers from amateurs. What most beginners don’t realize is that you don’t need an expensive and sophisticated lens in order to stay in focus. What you do need is to know your lens and its abilities well, and to calculate your moves based on the focal length (the distance between the subject of the photo and your camera lens). Knowledge is power!

The Rule of Thirds:

This one requires a bit of basic mathematics. If the shot you’re taking is split into vertical and horizontal thirds, the meeting points between the the dividing lines are the most important spots in the frame, and therefore your subject would ideally be located close to one of the four meeting points.

Framing It Right:

Framing is meant to highlight the subject of the photo by placing it within a visual framework – a shop window, a group of people, a corner of the room, and any other type of visual boundary that creates context. Different framings can emphasize different aspects of your subject, so you should consider framing as a key method in determining the overall composition.

Basic Post Editing:

Even if you ideologically oppose digital editing, as a photographer you will at some point be required to do slight adjustments and enhancements. It won’t compromise the quality of your work. On the contrary, it will help you improve your technique and train your eye. The most basic editing actions you should experiment with are color enhancements, exposure adjustment, sharpening and cropping for composition improvement.