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Robin Nichols - betterphoto.com |
Basic Digital Camera Shooting Techniques I
Simple composition tips guaranteed to make your shots look better
Basic Composition: Getting it right
Keep the composition simple!- Start by shooting on the level. With experience, you can learn to shoot at an angle to add dramatic impact to the shot.
- Always keep your eye on what’s happening at the front and the back of the frame and NOT just on the immediate subject.
- If
the background is 'messy' (like my office), move the subject against a
plainer-looking background. If this is not possible, use the zoom lens
to frame distractions out of the shot.
Note: If zoomed in, you might have to step back to keep the subject in the frame
Keep your composition simple
Avoid telephone poles, wires, cables, litter and street rubbish. Use
the zoom lens or physically move yourself to frame these ugly
distractions out of shot. Avoid taking pictures in bright sunshine.
Always move your subject into the shade where they’ll be relaxed. So
will you!Make
an effort to pose your subject, otherwise you’ll end up with the
typical 'school photo' result; staring straight into the lens and
grinning like a prison inmate! Candids, those shots we all love to take without actually talking or looking properly at the subject, almost always never work!
Clean Background
Here’s a tip: Always, always shoot with an uncluttered background so
that you look at the subject, and not at the telephone pole or
McDonald’s sign that’s sticking out of the top of their heads!
Choosing the Right Shooting Mode
Most pictures will come out fine with the camera set to 'P' or Program Mode rather than the Auto everything mode. For
portraits, use the Portrait Mode (this helps make the background go a
bit out of focus) or set the camera to Aperture Priority mode (called
‘A’ or ‘Av’) and manually choose a setting of about f4 or f5.6. This
keeps things sharp on the subject, but reasonably fuzzy everywhere else. Take care what you focus on! For
landscapes, or far-off subjects, use Landscape (or 'Mountain') mode.
This locks focus into the distance and guarantees a sharper-looking
distant shot. For
all action shots, use the simple Sports Action mode, or for greater
user control, Shutter Priority mode (called ‘T’ or ‘Tv’). Pick a
shutter speed of about 1/500s to 'freeze' the action. (Note:
if you use these 'fast' shutter speeds, you might run out of llight! If
this is the case, choose an ISO sensitivity setting of 200 or 400 if
there’s not much light).
Avoid Shooting on Full Auto Mode
Don’t shoot on Auto. This is an ‘idiot-proof’ shooting mode. None of you are idiots! First,
switch to the ‘P’ or Program Auto setting. This is also an automatic
shooting mode, BUT in this mode you can override its behaviour in order
to make the resulting pictures look even better (ie. lighter, darker,
more contrasty, etc). Use
the optical viewfinder for normal shooting. It will give you a better
idea of what you are getting in the shot because you’ll not be put off
by reflections, bright sun or falling off the pavement while struggling
to get the viewing angle right. Tip:
Using the LCD for composing is not the best way - it's not stable and
is prone to camera shake. Hold the camera to your face and use the
optical viewfinder. Tip:
When travelling, use the LCD screen only for close-ups (in the Macro
mode) and for reviewing once back in the hotel. Excessive use reduces
battery life significantly.
Source
Article by Robin Nichols - BetterPhoto.com.
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