How to Take Better Photos
I’ve been into photography for a while now, and while I definitely don’t consider myself an expert on any level, I’ve come across a lot of tips over the years that have really helped to improve my photos. I’ve collected together a few of my favorite ones below, in the hopes they’ll help someone else.
Constrain yourself
Peeling Paint and Window, taken with my 50mm lens
Next time you go out to take some photos, give yourself a constraint. For example, maybe just bring one lens, or choose just one focal length to shoot at (a prime lens works perfectly for this). When I went to Italy, I brought 2 lenses, one of which appeared to be broken when I got there, so I had to spend the week using only my 50mm lens. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I ended up with some of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. Another great exercise in constraints is to place a piece of paper on the ground, and then take 50 photos without taking your feet off the paper. Really, you’re just trying to get yourself to look at the world in a different way.
Take your camera everywhere
A lot of great photos come about because someone was in the right spot at the right time. However, in order to capture the moment, you have to have a camera to do it with. If you’re not carrying your camera with you everywhere, you’re probably missing out on a lot of opportunities. One of the best things I ever did was purchase a point and shoot camera that fit in my pocket–now I can carry it wherever I go, ready for the unexpected.
Stop worrying about equipment
Weeping Lily, taken on a tiny point and shoot!
So many times, I’ve caught myself saying, “I would love to take that photo, but my camera’s not good enough.” This is stupid. Ansel Adams didn’t have a fancy 20 megapixel DSLR, and he took photos better than most people can even dream of. Instead, work with what you have–it’s the thought behind the photo, not the camera, that truly matters. I’ve taken great photos with tiny little point and shoot cameras, and I’ve taken horrible photos with my big DSLR. The sooner you realize your equipment doesn’t matter, the better.
Ask for critique
This photo of my sister became a whole lot better after having it critiqued on Flickr.
Some of the best photography experiences I’ve had were when I’ve had my photos critiqued by others, and when I’ve critiqued others. Having someone else take a look at your work can be incredibly helpful, as they’ll often notice things you never saw yourself, and critiquing other people’s photos can help you find new techniques and approaches to photography. If you have a group of friends that are all into photography, maybe you can meet every so often and swap shots. Or, join a site like Flickr, and start commenting on photos by other users. Soon enough, they’ll be commenting back on yours, and you’ll start seeing your photos in a whole new light.
Take lots of photos
Memory cards are cheap, so why skimp on photos? I’ve found that the more photos I take, the better I become at photography. But it’s not just about taking lots of photos, it’s about going back and seeing what your mistakes were and learning from them. If you aren’t taking a whole bunch of photos, you’re not going to learn from your mistakes, because you won’t be making them.
Don’t think about Photoshop
This photo, Dreaming, was weak from the start, and my attempts to save it really didn’t do much.
For a while, I was really into Photoshop–nearly every photo I took was manipulated in some way to make it better, and I started to even think about how I was going to process an image before I even pressed the shutter button. This is bad. Focus on making your photos as perfect as possible before they get to your computer, and you’ll end up with a much nicer finished product. That’s not to say you shouldn’t tweak photos afterwards, but you just have to remember that taking an amazing photo isn’t about what filters you use, but rather about how you compose the image in the viewfinder.
Hopefully these tips are helpful, and if you have any to share, make sure to leave comments below!
4 Comments
Edwin 06 Apr 2009 at 4:50PM
Great tips, Kyle! I’m really just starting to get into photography and these are very helpful tips. I’d like to add two things to your list.
First, shoot in Manual mode. This will force you to learn how shutter, aperture and iso work together to get proper exposure. It may be difficult at first, but it will get easier the more you shoot. It also gives you complete control on how the photo is exposed instead of the camera deciding for you.
The second tip is to shoot in RAW. Shooting in RAW retains all of the data and allows you to make adjustments to the photo using Lightroom or Photoshop.
Hopefully these tips help. Keep on shooting!
Kyle 06 Apr 2009 at 6:16PM
Thanks Edwin! Glad you liked them.
I definitely agree about your manual mode comment, especially when you’re starting out. It really helps you to understand just how everything works. Personally, I usually keep my camera on aperture priority mode–I set the aperture I want, and the camera picks the shutter speed, though I do like to switch to manual if I’m taking pictures in tricky lighting.
I go back and forth on RAW. I used to only shoot in RAW, but recently I’ve been giving JPEG a shot, mostly because RAW files are so enormous. The file size of the RAW images from my G9 are around 12.8mb, so my hard drive fills up pretty quickly. That being said, it is really awesome how much flexibility RAW gives you, because you don’t have to worry about getting things like white balance perfect when you take the shot, which is sometimes pretty difficult.
Thanks for the comment!
E. Christopher Clark 09 Apr 2009 at 8:09PM
Excellent advice, Kyle. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for when I get a better… was about to say better camera. But, like you said, it’s not the equipment (though I am ready to move on from my 5.5 year old Kodak).
Kyle 10 Apr 2009 at 9:57AM
Christopher: Thanks for the comment! And I definitely understand being ready to move on from on old camera–there’s nothing wrong with upgrading, you just can’t let having a older camera hold you back from going on and taking more photos. Sometimes an upgrade can help break you out of a rut too–having new features to play with definitely can help you get out there and take more shots.