Tips and techniques to
help you get more from your camera.
Take your time to choose the subject
Take your time to choose the subject, then spend
time walking around the subject looking for the
best angle and lighting.
Take your time to set up the shot
Don't be afraid to take your time to set up your
shot. Although it can get a bit frustrating if you
have your loved ones tagging along and they're
sitting and waiting impatiently for 20 minutes for
you to take a single shot of a piece of driftwood
on the beach!
Don't always choose brightly-coloured subjects
Subjects with muted colours can sometimes produce
excellent results. A field of wheat of similar
yellow-brown colour can produce striking results
when accompanied by a low-sun and long shadows.
Keep an eye on the weather
Weather conditions can play a big part in setting
the mood of your shot. Rather than waiting for the
bright light of the midday sun, a misty morning in
a forest can be the perfect time of day for that
mood-shot.
Movement diffusion
If you have a camera that allows you to shoot with
a manual shutter speed - try slowing the speed and
increasing the F-stop. Then move your camera when
taking the shot. Some very effective arty-type
images can be produced with blur effects.
Overexpose your subject
Not too good to do all the time, but experiment
with results by over-exposing the subject.
Try macro photography
Grab a magnifying glass and see if you can focus
your camera through the glass onto a small
subject. It just may work! And may open up a whole
new range of subjects for you!
Shoot through wet glass
Try spraying water onto a window, then take a shot
through the window to a subject outside. (wet the
outside of the window - not the inside of your
home!)
Colour balance
Try balancing colour by having subject and the
surrounding detail in similar colours.
Silhouettes
Silhouettes usually have a small range of colours,
but can produce some of the most beautiful images.
Shooting a silhouette involves having the
background brighter then the subject in the
foreground.
Experiment with patterns
We've all seen those amazing images of the red and
orange leaves of maple trees in the fall/autumn.
Thousands of leaves - all of a similar shape and
colour - but very awe-inspiring and beautiful.
Compliment colours
Two strikingly-different colours can be beautiful
too. Picture an image of your girlfriend or wife
in a red dress sitting on a field of green grass.
Or your boyfriend or husband in a red shirt
walking through a field of waist-high wheat
stalks. Complimentary colours that will bring more
attention to the subject.
Use a colour filter
If your camera can be fitted with coloured filters
- try your hand. Although this effect can be made
quite easily these days with photo and
image-editing software.
Sunrise is better than sunset
Wake up before sunrise one day and go on a
photography expedition. If you've not done it
before you'll be pleasantly-surprised by the
contrasting light and shadows. But remember you'll
only have a very short window of time in which to
shoot (usually less than an hour) before the sun
rises too high and you lose the light.
Use a flash in daylight
Use your flash during the daytime to fill a close
subject with light. This will produce better
results where the background is brighter than your
subject and the automatic shutter speed on your
camera shoots too fast to effectively show the
detail of your subject.