New to photography? Read this.
I have seen several threads from those new to photography asking for help with starting up and making their photos stand out from the 'snaps' they have previously been taking.I thought I would start this thread off to help those people and those who are maybe a little more advanced can add their own tips too.
Firstly, i have been taking photos since about 1982 when my mother bought me my first SLR (Canon A1). In the '90s i started to develop my own in a dark room in my loft, mainly B&W and slide film. I changed to the digital age in 1999. I dont do it professionally, but may do some day.
Composition.
One of the most important aspects of photography is composition. Practice at this and it will come second nature to you.
Photographers (and videographers) use a thing called 'The rule of thirds'.
What this means is that you have to imagine a scene (any scene, whether scenics or portraits) with a grid over the top. This grid is made up of 9 boxes, 2 lines vertical and 2 lines horizontal (like a noughts and crosses game).
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Along one or more of these lines place something of interest. This could be a person (if a full/half shot), the head of a person if a waist up shot, or the eyes of a person if a head shot. It could also be a rock or tree if a scenic or where the land meets the sky or the beach meets the sand.
Here i have placed the rider at the right hand side thirds line. Notice how he is going into the frame (more on this next)?
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Here the cathedral is on the left hand thirds line and where the river meets the bank on the lower thirds line. This also shows 'leading lines' (more on this later).
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Take a look in magazines and on TV and see how much the rule of thirds is used, its everywhere.
Do not under estimate the importance of the rules of thirds, but it is a rule that can be broken when you get better.
Composition 2.
When photographing something, as already stated, it should be along one of the 'thirds' lines. If its a person or animal then their body should be facing into the frame, or their eyes should be. If its a vehicle, then the front of the vehicle should be facing into the frame. This gives them room to breath and stops them from looking blocked in.
Here is that photo again, but without the grid.
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Similar to the photo above, Rossi is going into the frame, and also placed roughly where the right hand thirds line and top thirds line meet.
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My dog has open space infront of him, allowing him to move and breath, and adds to a better composition.
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Its a recommendation and not the law, as some photos can still look fine if the space is to the rear (if used correctly).
This kind of tells a story, that the bike has just come down this road.
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When taking photos of people(or animals) dont cut the photo off below a joint (elbow/wrist/knee/ankle etc) as this makes the photo look very unbalanced and unnatural. Alwats cut off just above a joint. Be VERY careful about cutting hands and feet off.
Composition 3.
Another important aspect of composition mainly used in scenics is the use of foreground, mid and background. This means that for a scenic to look its best it needs all of these 3 elements to work. In other words your photo will look very flat if it doesn't havesomething of interest in the foreground, the middle of the photo and the background.
The foreground can be something simple like a rock, a leaf, the top of a wall or even a piece of litter. The mid ground can be a bush, a few sheep or a lake.The background can be a wooded area, a mountain top or houses etc.
If your having trouble finding a foreground item, then place something in there yourself.
Here we have 2 similar photos where the cross is the foreground, the gravestones the mid and the church the background.
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Something else to bear in mind are leading lines. These are areas/pieces of interest that run from the front of a photo into the photo itself towards your main subject. This can be a stream, a fence or a foot path. it is best if it goes from left to right or vice versa, but can equally work if in the centre too.
Here the small waterfall is leading the eye into the frame until it gets to the cathedral.
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With this photo we have the trench as a leading line, which also tells a story about what the tractor is doing.
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Lighting.
Equally important is lighting. A photo is nothing if the lighting is poor. The main supplier of light is of course the sun. If the sun is not shining your photos will look dull and lifeless. However, we dont want direct sun light as this can cause unnatural awful shadows or flare.
A slightly overcast day is perfect for most photography, but especially portraits and macro shots.
Ok, so the sun being nice and bright can be equally if not more so effective for certain shots to bring out the textures, like scenics and beach shots, just learn how to use it. The sun to the side is far better than into your eyes or your subjects eyes, it just takes a little practice to use to its potential.
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Watch out for my 'New to photography, tips 2' if this one gets possitive feedback.
If you like this and it has helped in any way, then please let me know or give me thanks, and i may even get my first sticky.
If there is anything your not happy with or don't agree with, again let me know. Excellent!
Thanks for the time and effort, it has given me some good pointers.
Ray I recently bought a camera, this is helpful.Thank you. Great job, I am sure many readers will benefit from this .
I am looking forward for lesson number 2!data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7//static.avforums.com/styles/avf/smilies/clap.gif Excellent explanation
I do believe some cameras allow you to use these lines on the display etc while taking a photo
I think it should be stickied and then people can add to it Yes, I used to have an old Casio that had the lines overlaid. Some people asked what they were for. The Nikon D3100 has the option for this grid in LiveView - I always wondered what it was for...
Now I know - Thanks! data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 "Nicely Put" data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Jim Really useful guide.Shall definitely be taking the points on-board. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 i already knew all that data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7