Any basic tips for an aspiring photographer?

Corso

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Not for a career, but a passion. I finally got myself a pretty nice camera and I'd really, really like to put it to use.

Anybody have some guidance? Like some "I wish I knew this when I started" kind of tips?


Thank you in advance!
 

Chrispierce

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Yes...snap pic after exhale,and when possible stable yourself against something. Same precepts of a sharp shooter. Anyone can take good photos...they really can,just need to have patience,and an adventurous spirit.
 

Corso

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Yes...snap pic after exhale,and when possible stable yourself against something. Same precepts of a sharp shooter. Anyone can take good photos...they really can,just need to have patience,and an adventurous spirit.
Adventurous spirit... Yes.
 

Chrispierce

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Adventurous spirit... Yes.
Just be patient...and wait for the shot to come to you. I assume it’s a digital camera? If so ALWAYS have an extra battery ready to go,and use “lower” memory cards,but multiples of them. You’ll see why later.
 

Chrispierce

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Oh Corso...if you record video? Then use 16gb or 32gb memory cards. But for pics,4gb and 8gb cards are best. It screws with your camera function on higher ones.
 

Ranching

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Not for a career, but a passion. I finally got myself a pretty nice camera and I'd really, really like to put it to use.

Anybody have some guidance? Like some "I wish I knew this when I started" kind of tips?


Thank you in advance!
The key is to hire some beautiful models. @waldoputty can probably give you some leads in that. Lol
 

blindzebra

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Whether you have your camera with you or not always be looking through your viewfinder. Develop seeing like your camera. That helps with composition and finding things that may make a great photo that most people would never notice.

Don't be afraid of abstraction. Sometimes the details of something is more powerful visually than its whole.

Take lots of photos and take notes.

Turn off the auto features and learn about shutter speed, aperture, and film speed (yes, it matters for digital too).

Every shot you take make a copy in black and white.

Invest in a good tripod. Sometimes getting a great photo requires a longer exposure and/or smaller aperture and no matter how much you try you will never stay shake free.
 

lukin2006

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Not for a career, but a passion. I finally got myself a pretty nice camera and I'd really, really like to put it to use.

Anybody have some guidance? Like some "I wish I knew this when I started" kind of tips?


Thank you in advance!

I am an amateur shutterbug. Carry your camera with you as much as possible, you never know when a great photo op will appear. I love landscape photography. If you wanna learn a lot, follow a fellow on youtube by the name of Brendan Van Son, he is a travel photographer from Alberta Canada who engages his followers and has no problem offering tips on taking pictures and even on equipment...Good luck, it's a great hobby. Especially if you love nature, it gives you a reason to get out.
 

Hardline

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If you start taking lots of pictures create yourself a dedicated photography Facebook page and share the pictures.
Post the link here so we can all see your work.
 

DoctorChicken

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I’m going to assume this camera has a manual mode and auto mode like most digitals today do.

First things first is learn anything you can about shooting in manual mode. Your shots with be 100x better if you know how to change the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture yourself. So the first thing you have to know is what all those terms mean -

exposuretrianglediagram-800x713.jpg


Putting a camera on auto is all well and good but it isn’t designed to give you the shot you want. Auto is designed to get a shot that doesn’t suck. And you want to be more than just a photographer who doesn’t suck.

So, manual mode forces you to think. Want a close up shot of a beautiful flower on a sunny day? Then you’ll probably want a wide aperture. But wait, a wide aperture makes the photo brighter, because it lets more light into the sensor. So you need a slower shutter speed.

Shooting at night? Since it’s dark out, I’ll need to turn up the ISO so the light sensitivity increases - too high of an ISO will look grainy and bad. So let me lower my shutter speed... but if the shutter speed is too low, the picture will be blurry, because surprise surprise, it is actually incredibly hard to hold your hand still for 1/16th or 1/8th of a second. So do I need a tripod for this shot? If I use a tripod, I could use a 1 or 2 or 3 second shutter, and a low ISO so my picture is sharp and clear. A-ha!

See what I mean? Manual and auto allow for a completely different mindset. With auto, you take the shot. With manual, you make the shot. And that will increase your ability as a photographer faster than you can imagine.

@Corso does this camera have interchangeable lenses?
 

Corso

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I’m going to assume this camera has a manual mode and auto mode like most digitals today do.

First things first is learn anything you can about shooting in manual mode. Your shots with be 100x better if you know how to change the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture yourself. So the first thing you have to know is what all those terms mean -

exposuretrianglediagram-800x713.jpg


Putting a camera on auto is all well and good but it isn’t designed to give you the shot you want. Auto is designed to get a shot that doesn’t suck. And you want to be more than just a photographer who doesn’t suck.

So, manual mode forces you to think. Want a close up shot of a beautiful flower on a sunny day? Then you’ll probably want a wide aperture. But wait, a wide aperture makes the photo brighter, because it lets more light into the sensor. So you need a slower shutter speed.

Shooting at night? Since it’s dark out, I’ll need to turn up the ISO so the light sensitivity increases - too high of an ISO will look grainy and bad. So let me lower my shutter speed... but if the shutter speed is too low, the picture will be blurry, because surprise surprise, it is actually incredibly hard to hold your hand still for 1/16th or 1/8th of a second. So do I need a tripod for this shot? If I use a tripod, I could use a 1 or 2 or 3 second shutter, and a low ISO so my picture is sharp and clear. A-ha!

See what I mean? Manual and auto allow for a completely different mindset. With auto, you take the shot. With manual, you make the shot. And that will increase your ability as a photographer faster than you can imagine.

@Corso does this camera have interchangeable lenses?
It does! And thank you for this!
 
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