Becoming a Better Photographer

Inititally, a lot of people think they'll need a fancy camera to get good photographs. This is definitely NOT true. You can take fantastic photographs on the automatic setting, but I'm going to try and get you out of that habit and taking even better pictures. And by using the manual mode, you will be able to make the camera do what you want it to. You'll be able to take photos at night-time without using a flash. Like the sound of that?

If the camera you currently have (if you have one at all) doesn't allow a manual mode (usually marked by an M on the wheel or called "Manual" in the menu), then get rid of it. It's no use to you now that you're getting serious about photography. You will no longer be using a point-and-shoot to take snapshots with your friends. Well, you can keep it for that reason when you don't want to drag a big camera around with you, but let's put it out of the picture (no pun intended) just now.

You can find a camera within your budget. Have a look at Fujifilm and Canon:

www.canon.com
www.fujifilm.com

Both of these companies sell good quality cameras at various prices. You should make sure to check that it allows you to use the camera manually. It isn't necessary to have a high megapixels to take good photographs but if you can find one with at least 8 for a good price, go for it!

You should also try Amazon (www.amazon.com/www.amazon.co.uk) to see if the camera is available to buy there for a cheaper price. It will still be just as good as the one on the brand website, but you will almost always find it much cheaper there. If you feel like being risky and feel you can't afford a new camera, find a second-hand one (which they also sell on Amazon legitimately and fairly priced) but beware that you can't always be sure what's wrong with it. You might only notice a fault a few months later and then it will definitely be too late to return. So buy a new camera when you can.

P.S. If you plan on selling your camera, be careful. Most cameras have an internal memory, so even photographs deleted from the memory card can be found on the internal memory with special software.

P.P.S. Next, I will introduce you to your manual camera!

You should definitely purchase a good camera bag to protect your camera and equipment. Over time you may find yourself buying extras for your camera such as lenses (if you happened to buy a DSLR), filters, external flashes and even your tripod. There are many to choose from in different sizes, so you really just have to browse through them and find the one suitable for you. I suggest something twice or three times as big as your cameras, that looks safe, padded and easy to carry (you can get backpack ones and over shoulder bags).

The best advice I can give you is to read the manual that came with your camera. If you don't have one for some reason, have a browse on the internet as you can buy some online or even download them for free.

http://www.oldtimercameras.com - This is more for old non-digital cameras that require film...and if you're a beginner to photography I doubt you'll be starting with one of these. But just in case you're curious.

Most of the camera brand websites will have the manual on there. Just browse the website, find your camera and it should link you to a downloadable manual or where you can get one. Sometimes you may have to request one specially.

Basically, just try not to lose yours and hang on to it! It's your bible from now on!

Shutter speed, aperture, ISO, f-number, bracketing, framing, composition, lighting...

Looking forward to your vocabulary lesson? (:

There are lots of different things that you can change in order to get the precise settings to take your photographs. And it can be really confusing when you are first starting out and have no idea where to begin. I will give you a brief definition of the words above, but don't worry if you go completely blank afterwards... it's happened to me plenty of times. Sometimes you just need to get using your camera to fully understand everything yourself.

Shutter Speed - Sounds pretty simple right? It is. You can change the shutter speed to allow more or less light into the camera. If it is dark you can adjust the shutter speed so it allows more light into the camera. The shutter speed is changed using numbers (approximately 0 - 4000 but there are also "negative numbers" which are shown in inches strangely enough) and the higher the number the quicker the shutter closes after pressing the shutter release button (this means less light is allowed in).

Aperture - This works like the iris of your eye. The smaller the aperture, the less light is allowed in. This are controlled by f-numbers which can be changed and the numbers look something like this: f1.4, f2, f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8. The higher the number, the bigger the hole becomes. Also if you want the picture to focus on things closer to you and blur things in the background, you can also choose a lower number. Whereas if you want most of your image to be in focus, choose a higher number.

ISO - This also has to do with how much light is needed and appears in numbers like this: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000 on most cameras.

Framing - It is good to frame your photographs well, instead of taking random snapshots. You will learn a lot about this on the job, rather than reading about it. You will find your own unique style on framing photographs that suit you. For instance instead of taking a snapshot of a street, you could like up lampposts at the side of the road so they are all perpendicular but disappear into the distance. The camera can focus on the one closest to you and the others could be out of focus (blurred).

Lighting - Your photographs don't always have to have the perfect lighting. You can change the shutter speed to faster or slower than it "should" be so you get a cool effect that is different than usual. Just mess around with your camera (not literally, look after your baby, it's gonna make you rich one day. If not in cash, then in compliments for your beautiful photographs) and experiment.

I think that's enough to know at the moment. Just so you have some idea of what settings to use and can get started:

Go out on an average sunny day. Set your shutter and ISO to 200 or close to is and put your aperture around 4. This should be almost right for daytime, but you will have to change them a little to get the right results. Try first by only changing your shutter speed as this is the easiest to get used to.

Best of luck and I hope you get lots of great photographs! But remember, it takes practice and you won't always get good photographs on your first try.

So if you'd like to take some planned photographs, perhaps of your friends and family, but want that professional touch: It's time to set up your own studio. Now, I know that it is difficult to find space in your apartment or house, so it doesn't have to be permanent. You can still get a decent set of photographs by hanging up a backdrop over a wall, which can later be taken down. The example to your right was set up using silhouette fabric (I was working on a project at the time and took this photograph to test the settings before my model came back) and was supported by a huge wooden structure...but you don't need to go to all that effort. This was set up in the art department at my school, where there was plenty of room. So if you go to school or college where they have these facilities, use them!

Now, you're gonna want to get your hands on lighting equipment, a "stage" if necessary, a backdrop and a tripod for your camera. Of course you can work without the tripod, which is useful if you have a model that will be posing lots and you want plenty of different angles quickly. The equipment can be costly, especially if you aren't getting paid for your work and only doing this as a one-off. So if you can, try to borrow equipment from your school or anyone else you know.

Arrange the lighting how you want: perhaps to light up your picture or even to try out some cool shadowing effects. You can also buy parts to reflect light, but I suggest you stick to the basics for your first time. Choose a backdrop around your subject. Think about colours, textures and height. You don't even have to buy or hang up a backdrop. You can use the side of a building as a backdrop if you want, which can have very similar effects. Even better effects as it looks more natural and not so staged. For instance the photograph on the right with the red background is still very focused on the models, but looks a lot more natural.

Photography was originally used as painting aid, so the artist could use the photograph as a reference for what they were painting. But eventually people started seeing photography as another way of expressing themselves, as well as a recording mechanism. There is great controversy about whether photography can really be classified as an art, but most photographers do. So think like an artist and you may become more inspired when taking photographs.

Portrait Photography
Nature Photography
Infrared Photography
Sports Photography
Art Photography
Aerial Photography
Photojournalism
Macro Photography
Fashion Photography
Still Life Photography

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