Seven Techniques for Better and Exciting Pictures

Just quickly and briefly... here are 7 techniques to improve your pictures. Just remember them the next time you take a picture.

1. Observe carefully the background (and also foreground) through the viewfinder of your camera before taking the picture. Keep your surrounding areas as simple as possible. The subject will stand out better. Busy or clutter background tends to cause a distraction from the subject in the picture.
2. Move closer to the subject. Make sure that the subject is the dominant element in the picture. But don't set your subject straight in the center. It will look static and dull. Keep the subject a little off center.
3. Take the picture with the subject doing something. It is very common to ask the subject to stand or sit before taking a picture. It's like posing for a portrait. Take pictures while your subjects are engaged in a natural activity. If you are in a party... take pictures of people laughing in a conversation, dancing or even eating. Look around. Your pictures will be much precious for years to come.
4. Hold your camera steady. You will have clear pictures the less you shake. Use a tripod if necessary. If you don't have a tripod available, brace the camera with both hands, take a deep breath and softly press the button to take the picture.
5. Watch the light. See what direction it's coming from. Light should be coming from the front of your subject. Make sure there is enough light. Natural soft light (from the morning or late afternoon) gives a warm feeling to the photos.
6. Adjust the camera to the correct settings before taking the picture. Set your shutter, aperture and speed. If you must use auto setting, make sure that you have the correct auto exposure setting.
7. Take a lot of pictures. Get a few extra memory cards for your digital camera... or get a large memory card. You don't ever want to run out of memory. Take as many pictures and in different angle as you can. Have the subject engaged in something as you take pictures.

Follow all these steps, and you will have more exciting pictures. Remember, the more practice you have, the better you will get.

David

The First Basic Thing to Do If You Want To Take Better Pictures

One of the questions that I get from family members and people who are not really good picture takers is what camera did I use to take my photos. I always get the feeling that they think if they get the same camera, they will take better pictures.

Some of the time, this is true.

That's because some of the time, people don't have the right camera when taking pictures. You can't use a "cheapo" disposable camera and expect postcard like pictures for every picture you take.

In other time, they just don't understand how to take pictures. They think that buying the right camera and setting to auto will do the trick. This will work in many cases... but not every single time.

But, if you want to really take stunning pictures consistently... you will need to know your camera.

No matter what camera you have - cheap, 35mm, digital, fancy or professional - you need to know your camera. It doesn't matter what you have. There is a limitations to what your camera can do. But, knowing those limitations, you will have an idea of how your pictures will turn out before you take them.

For example, if your camera doesn't have a flash, your pictures will likely be very dark when you take pictures in the dark. If your camera doesn't have a zoom, you distant subjects will look really tiny when you get your pictures back.

Now, how do you get to know your camera? Well, practice shooting photos with it. Like everything else you learned in your life, practice makes you better at it. Take your camera every where you go. Take pictures of anything. Take the several pictures of the same subjects with different angles and different settings.

Then, study the pictures. See how they turned out. Understand what you did.

I always say that experience can teach you a lot. And learning from mistakes (yours or others) can only make you better.

But, remember, it takes time to master any craft. So, don't get discourage. Just keep at it. I know that I'm still at it, and I'm still learning.

David