Tuesday 6 November 2012

Taking Better Photos - Part 1

People often say to me that they'd like to be able to take better photos. Well, it's really not that hard! It takes years of experience to be a good professional photographer, but there are a few tips and tricks you can use to improve your photography, whether you're an enthusiastic hobbyist or just want better holiday snaps!

You don't need a big expensive camera. A phone is usually perfectly adequate! I won't talk about exposure or shutter speed here as most cameras will deal with all that for you. Have a go at these tips and see how your photography improves. This is part 1 of 3. Keep an eye out for the rest...

Rule of Thirds
Composition is a very important part of making a good photo. Think about where you want your subject to be positioned within the frame. Should it be in the middle? At the top? Where do you put the horizon???

A simple rule is the rule of thirds. Imagine the photo split into thirds horizontally and vertically. Something like this.

Try to place straight lines in the picture on one of the imaginary third lines. That's things like horizons, trees and towers.  Moving them off centre slightly adds a bit of interest to the picture and avoids it being split down the middle making 2 halves of a picture.




For an extra bit of interest, try to put interesting objects on one of the intersection lines as well. That's things like faces, rocks and anything else you want people to notice!




Give it a go next time you get your camera out and see the difference!


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