10 Tips for Amateur Photographers

You are a photography lover, but you don’t really know how to use a camera? Does editing pictures ring a bell to you? Is ISO understandable for you? If all the answers before are “no”, there is no need to panic. Nowadays, many people have the chance of accessing good and quality photography materials. They start small businesses, share their work on social media and maybe start to get some customers who liked their previous work. Nevertheless, it comes the time when even amateurs need to have some notions about a few things of photography.

Photography is a wide field with various ranges of expertise, from complete beginners to genius experts. The Internet has been providing a lot of workshops, tutorials, and explanations about how to deal with this topic. In the sea of online information, this article wants to help with 10 essential steps that all amateur photographers should follow to a better understanding of their beloved hobby.

 

1. Hold the camera close

In the beginning, people tend to hold the camera while stretching their arms forward, completely away from their faces. This will certainly destabilize the entire posture and reduce the image’s sharpness. Don’t be distant, keep the camera close to your face and try to remain still and stable.

 

2. Use the timer of the camera

After a click and all the emotions that come with it, you want to keep on shooting. However, regaining balance and stability is important to not achieve blurred images. Use the timer so you have a few seconds to regain balance.

 

3. Zoom? No! Walking.

If you need a close-up, get closer to something. Zoom should be the last case scenario for photography. Even though the camera has huge quality, the photography loses quality with a zoom-in. Walking a few meters more will not only save you from having bad quality images but it will also be a benefit for your health.

 

4. Use the flash during the day

During the day you have several variations of bright light. It might sound strange to use the flash when the day has light. Nevertheless, using it during this time will help the camera dealing with unexpected natural light that may be coming from somewhere.

 

5. Different angles and positions

Experiment with different angles, positions, and ways of photographing, especially at the beginning of your amateur activity. The winning shot is still a bit unknown, so keep on trying several angles. Moving around will teach you about the strengths and weaknesses of different positions.

 

6. Educate yourself

Science, art, and technology result in photography. There is a lot of knowledge, theory, and practice behind a camera. If you desire to deeply understand photography, you need to get acquainted with the basic terms.

 

7. Learn photo editing skills

Having only a picture is not enough. Many of the greatest photographers of the world edit their pictures without hiding it from their audience. Don’t consider it as a cheating method, but as a tool to help you get more out of your images. Correct contrast, color, and light. These are important elements of the photography itself.

 

8. Never delete pictures from your camera

The camera has a tiny screen and if it looks like you just took a horrible picture, don’t delete it yet. Before making a rash decision, take a look at it on the computer with the normal resolution. If it is a bad photo, analyze it, and learn from your mistakes.

 

9. Get a card reader

Transferring your image material from your camera to your computer with a USB cable can take ages. Buy a card reader and transfer the pictures at a normal speed time. It is not expensive, and it will save you time and patience.

 

10. Shoot!

Don’t overthink about the shooting. Don’t be hesitant and don’t save time. Shoot as much as you can. You will learn by doing and experimenting with it. Make your camera work and sharpen your sight. The more you look to improve, the better you will be in the future.

Have fun and document the world around you: sports, people, events, parties, plants. Try going to a horse race, like the Breeders’ Cup classic, and capturing the photo finish moment. Go to the forest and take amazing pics of the birds. Your imagination is the limit.