47 Essential Photography Tips for Beginners
Photography is a fun and fascinating process. It’s easier now
than ever to get started too. Long gone are the days of needing portable
darkrooms or waiting hours to take a single photograph. You can dive in
and start snapping away at anything that piques your interest.
Since the technical barrier to photography has been drastically
reduced, we have much more time to focus on how to take good pictures.
We’ve compiled 47 photography tips for beginners that show quick ways to
improve photography techniques without overcomplicating things.
There’s lots to take in as a new photographer, so we’ve also broken
the list down into five categories. Jump to the sections you need the
most help on below. With this in hand, browse our
photography rentals to find gear that’ll help boost your skills.
Quick-fire Photography Tips
1
Learn all the rules so you can break them later
Photography rules are essential because they provide a foundation
for more advanced photography tips and tricks later on. Learn the rules
first, so you have more creative control when breaking them later.
Learn as you go — don’t let it prevent you from picking up a camera.
2
Expose and focus first, then frame your shot
An improperly exposed or blurry picture is unusable, but one not
precisely framed may still be saved. For this reason, you should always
focus on and properly expose for the subject before adjusting the frame.
This is something that happens more often when you have extreme lights and darks in the same scene.
We are always drawn towards the eyes in a photograph, since eyes are a natural focal point that we connect with.
When taking portrait photographs at any aperture, make sure you
nail the focus on the eyes. As long as the eyes are in focus, both you
and your subject are more likely to consider the picture to be properly
shot.
4
Make lots of mistakes, then learn from them
The more mistakes you make, the faster you’ll learn and improve
your photography skills. All professional photographers once started
without an understanding of anything on a camera.
The real value is in turning mistakes into lessons that build
your skills. So try a technique or style you haven’t done before and
expect to make many mistakes along the way.
5
Perfect the exposure trifecta
Getting proper exposure in photography consists of balancing
three things: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings. You can start
off by shooting in automatic or priority mode, but to get full control
and shoot with manual camera controls you’ll have to understand the
relationship between these three things that each directly affect the
exposure and quality of your image.
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Be as prepared as a boy scout and always be ready to snap a shot. Most
digital SLRs have nearly instantaneous startup times, and it takes almost no extra battery power to leave your camera on.
Keep your camera on one of the semi-auto or full automatic modes
for unexpected pictures before your subject flies, drives, or runs away.
You can always switch back to your preferred mode when you have time to
adjust for a stationary subject. Sometimes you only have a split second
to capture a great shot.
7
Use a wider aperture for portraits to make your subject pop
Aim for an aperture size around f/2.8 to f/5.6 to make the
background behind your subject more blurred out. This will help remove
distracting backgrounds and make your subject stand out. You can
experiment with even wider apertures, but take care to keep your
subject’s eyes in focus.
8
Prevent blurry pictures by
matching shutter speed
to the lens focal length
For example, if you’re using a
50mm lens
you should use shutter speeds of 1/50 sec or faster to be able to
capture handheld images and keep them sharp. Longer lenses are heavier
and more difficult to keep steady — making the shutter speed faster
helps avoid camera shake.
9
Straighten and crop when editing
You should try to straighten shots by looking through your
camera’s viewfinder before capturing an image, but it’s not always easy
to get this perfect on the first try.
The viewfinder or the preview on your LCD is quite small compared
to full-screen editing so you may realize it needs adjusting once you
see it on a bigger screen. Simply rotate your images in post production
software and crop out the empty spaces.
Camera shake can render a photo unusable. Increasing your ISO and
opening up your aperture allows for quicker shutter speeds, reducing
the chance of blurry images. However, this is not always an option if
you’re trying to maintain other specific qualities of your image.
Start by doing what you can to reduce camera movement, which begins with learning how to properly hold a camera.
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11
Keep both eyes open when looking through the rangefinder
This has a few advantages. When shooting portraits, your
subjects will be able to ‘connect’ with you by seeing one of your eyes.
Without this, many subjects can feel a little bit uneasy like you’re
hiding behind the camera.
Secondly, keeping both eyes open lets you monitor what’s out of
the frame so you can predict when your subject will enter the frame.
This is important for capturing sports, animals, or any kind of action
shots.
12
Learn to use exposure compensation
Sometimes you’ll take photographs that don’t properly expose your
subject—they are way too bright, or way too dark. This can be a
combination of a few things: which areas of the scene your camera
measured for exposure, and how different in brightness the light and
dark areas are in your scene.
You can quickly fix these images by using the in-camera exposure compensation to make your subject look just right.
13
Photograph what you love
Focusing on what you love will make photography more enjoyable
for you. If you are passionate about nature, people, pets, or something
else entirely, start learning by taking pictures of it.
This will keep you interested in photography and allow you to overcome learning obstacles without breaking a sweat.
14
Make use of reflections
There are lots of unique opportunities if you pay attention where
most people don’t. One of the things to look out for are reflections.
You can find them after (or even during) rainy days, in puddles,
in lakes and even in swimming pools. Water isn’t the only source, try
mirrors, big glass windows, and chromed out fixtures.
Tips for Common Types of Photos
15
Utilize the photography “golden hour”
Lighting is paramount since it dictates the shape, texture,
contrast, and shadows in your images. The golden hour is about a
one-hour window briefly after sunrise or before sunset.
The longer shadows and especially the more diffused light during
these periods provide much more flattering light. Since the light is
diffused, you’re much less likely to ‘blow out’ highlights or lose
detail in the shadows that are difficult to avoid during the strong
light available during most of the day.
This
golden hour tool calculates the golden hour for you based on your location.
16
Get a low cost reflector to drastically increase your options
Having a
reflector
will let you better control light on your subject. You can even use
foam core board at a craft store that’s black on one side and white on
the other for less than five dollars.
Foldable fabric ones are also available at photography stores.
The black side lets you block or reduce lights, while the white side can
be used to fill in shadows. These two options give you much greater
control with positioning and angles instead of being limited by the main
light source. If there is too much contrast in your scene, use a
reflector to fill the shadows on your subject. Adjust the reflector’s
distance to your subject to control the intensity of the fill light.
17
How to photograph fireworks
Fireworks are an amazing sight—it’s definitely one that captures
well on camera too. Be prepared and set up ahead of time to increase
your chances for great results.
18
Portrait photography tips
If you’re just starting out, chances are you don’t have a studio or fancy
lighting equipment.
Your best bet is to use window light. Turn off all the lights in
the room and move near a window with some curtains so you can play
around with diffusing the light.
Turning off all the lights includes the pop-up flash on your
camera too. Make sure you focus on the eyes, make your subjects feel
comfortable, and give it a shot!
Pets are full of personality, and capturing that on camera can
require different techniques depending on the individual pet. Dogs
especially tend to reflect your emotions, so act accordingly depending
on the photo you want.
Some pets can be very active too, so a
short telephoto lens
can help if you’re backed up against a wall. Shoot in shutter priority
mode and hover around 1/125 sec to 1/500 sec depending on the pet.
Lastly, similar to human subjects keep focus on the eyes sharp.
20
Landscape photography tips
Landscape photos usually capture vast spaces. The most common
you’ll see is landscape photos in nature, but this applies to cityscapes
too.
These images can trigger powerful responses with the stories they
tell or the scenes they portray. But first you want to make sure you’re
ready with proper gear and technique.
Read More +
21
Party photography tips
You can have fun at parties and get great images without futzing
with your camera all night. Most parties will be indoors or in darker
settings. Choose a
wide zoom lens, with the widest range being about 24mm for photos in rooms with limited space and for group pictures too.
Avoid using the built-in flash since it creates unflattering images. Opt for an
external flash or a mounted one you can direct to bounce off ceilings or walls.
22
How to paint with light
Drawing or painting with light in photography is really fun and
interactive, so it’s easy to get other people to join in on this too.
People are usually receptive to it because it’s very relatable to
drawing. You can get pretty creative with this too, depending on how
many people are drawing, and your source of light.
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Photography Equipment Tips
23
Start off by purchasing a digital SLR with a “cropped” sensor
Entry level and prosumer level digital SLRs typically have a
smaller sensor than “full frame” cameras. These allow the cameras to be
smaller, lighter, and more affordable.
The tradeoff is usually quality and low light performance and it
will affect focal length of lenses you choose for specific photographs.
It is relatively difficult to tell the difference in quality, so when it
comes to the price savings, a smaller sensor is a great choice for
folks just starting out.
24
Use a prime lens for better creativity
A prime, or fixed lens does a few things to help your photos. Not
having zoom will force you to get up and move around, increasing the
likelihood that you’ll find a new or creative perspective.
Using a prime lens also makes you consider your framing more
since you’ll be forced into situations where there will be obvious
things you want to include or remove from the frame. Finally, fixed
lenses are usually faster and aren’t confined to aperture limitations at
various focal lengths.
25
Don’t try to clean the
inside of your camera
This includes not blowing inside the camera too. Unless you
absolutely know what you’re doing, both the sensor and the mirror can be
very difficult to clean and it’s more likely you will make it worse
than fix whatever is wrong.
Leave it alone and take your camera to a
local Borrowlenses for cleaning.
26
Push your gear to its limits before buying more
As a new photographer, you simply won’t need a lot of gear
since you’ll have lots of learning to do before your skills surpass the
capabilities of the kit lens.
It’s easy to get sucked into buying fancy new gadgets, but take
time to push your current gear to the limit so you’ll be better
informed of needs later, and prevent frivolous spending at the same
time. You’ll discover that having gear restrictions can improve
creativity in various areas too.
27
Memory cards: size matters
It may be tempting to choose one of the largest memory cards you can afford, but consider getting multiple smaller
memory cards instead.
Although digital storage is relatively stable, there is still a
chance your data could corrupt. If you have a very large memory card and
plan to keep using it until you run out of space, your chances of
losing all of your photographs are much higher than if you switched out
with smaller cards in between sessions.
28
Don’t fall into the megapixel trap
More megapixels listed on a digital camera is not a clear sign of
better quality, and manufacturers are beginning to drop out of this
megapixel race to put the focus back on quality.
Do megapixels matter though? They matter up to a point if you’re
looking to make large prints, banners, or posters, but investigate
picture quality before buying, instead of relying heavily on the pixel
count.
As an extreme example, it’s highly unlikely a 8-megapixel camera
phone could produce results as good as a 8-megapixel digital SLR
produced in the same year, simply because the phone’s camera will be
limited in quality due to its size.
29
Get a filter to protect each
lens from scratches
Even if you keep your lens cap on during storage, it’s not
practical to keep removing and replacing the cap during shoots. Putting a
clear or UV
camera lens filter
on each lens you have is a great way to help avoid lens damage and is
worth the investment compared to repairing or replacing scratched
lenses.
Sometimes these filters can cause flares on your images though,
so pay attention. You may have to remove the filter for some
photographs.
Photography Composition Tips
30
Use the “Rule Of Thirds” for balanced photos
While framing a shot, visually break it down into a grid of nine
equal rectangles and place your subject on one of the four intersections
for a natural look.
The rule of thirds in photography is not a hard and fast rule,
but a good guideline to follow instead of just placing your subject dead
center by default.
31
Change up your perspective for better results
Most of us see everything from about five and a half feet from the
ground, and if your photography is only done at eye level, things can
look boring. Experiment with different angles to discover new
perspectives.
Get on a chair or crouch down—anything to get above or below your
subject to find an interesting perspective. If you practice this often,
you’ll be more prepared to see the world and subjects in a new way and
capture more interesting images.
32
Practice selective framing
for more impact
Determine what your subject is and be selective about what else is in the frame.
Whether you’re trying to capture a picture of a friend, a sunset,
an action scene, an event, or a specific mood, place your emphasis on
that and consider how you can add or remove what’s in the frame to best
tell the story.
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33
Rotate your camera
for vertical shots
It’s more natural to keep your camera in landscape orientation
(when the image is wider than it is tall), so it can be easy to forget
shooting in a portrait, or vertical position.
Try to mix things up by actively remembering to rotate your
camera vertically for a different look. This keeps you in the mindset to
be open to other possibilities. This can often result in improved
photographs too!
34
Make use of leading lines
A photograph with weak composition will leave viewers confused
about what they should be focusing on. Making use of leading lines in
photography can help control where a viewer’s eyes move, especially with
strong, obvious lines.
Lines that converge create depth and draw the viewer in while
curved lines can take you around the frame and eventually land on the
main subject.
35
Pay attention to depth of field
To add another dimension to your composition, be aware of depth of
field. Depth of field in photography is the relation of how sharp the
plane of focus is compared to everything away from that plane.
Depth of field is largely determined by the aperture size you set
and your distance to the subject. Wider apertures emphasize depth of
field, and so does getting closer to your subject.
36
Learn composition from the masters
Visit an art gallery, hop online, or find some art books and
study composition from masters of the art world. Don’t forget masters of
photography as well.
These artists typically work within a frame and through many
years of expertise make decisions about composition. Study what they’ve
done and try to pick up some pointers from what you like (or don’t
like).
37
Give your subject some space
When composing, consider the direction your subject is moving in
or facing and give it extra space over there. If you frame it so there’s
nowhere left for your subject to move except out of the frame, it can
create an unnatural feeling for the viewer.
When you leave too much empty space or zoom out too much, it makes
your subject a lot smaller relative to the entire picture. This
deemphasizes the importance of your subject and can make it difficult
for viewers to determine what your subject actually is.
Remedy this by moving in closer or zooming in.
Occasionally you’ll encounter scenes that are just too big to fit
inside the frame, no matter how far back you move, or what camera lens
you’re using. Don’t settle for just taking a cropped version of a photo
you want.
Look for unique details or features you can focus in on and push
everything else out of the frame. This can uncover hidden gems in
situations when you don’t have a great scene to begin with too.
40
Try the exact opposite of all these composition rules
For each of these rules, there’s going to be photographs out there that disregard them and still turn out beautiful.
Perhaps you want to create tension by putting your subject up
against the edges. Maybe you want to shoot a whole series dead center
and ignore the rule of thirds. Use the rules as a guide, but be sure to
break them and experiment to discover something new.
Camera Settings & Features
41
Learn to use the histogram
Most people skip over this, but spending just 10 minutes to
understand your camera’s histogram can make a big difference in your
photos.
It will help you avoid unusable photos from overexposing bright whites and underexposing dark details in lower light situations.
Here are 7 examples of reading histograms from
Clickin Moms.
Most digital SLR cameras give you the option to shoot in either RAW
or JPEG, with some letting you do both. RAW files are much larger than
JPEGs, but they are uncompressed images that let you correct things (up
to a point) like exposure, white balance, and colors during
post-processing with less of a quality loss than if you were to edit the
JPEG instead.
Shoot in both RAW and JPEG, and if the shot you were going for is already good you can just delete the RAW version.
43
Use burst mode for
unpredictable subjects
Kids, pets, wildlife, and many other subjects can be
unpredictable. Use burst mode on your camera to increase the chances
that you’ll capture the moment you’re going for. Burst mode will let
your camera continuously capture images as you hold down the shutter
button.
This can also be helpful for things like group photos—you’ll be
able to pick through a set of shots to find one with no one blinking!
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44
Use the correct shooting mode for the best effect
Aperture priority - Usually labeled A or Av. Use this mode when
you want control over depth of field, or how sharp your photos look at
varying distances from the plane of focus.
Shutter priority - Usually labeled S or Tv. Use shutter priority
when you want to prioritize capturing something in motion like for
wildlife, kids sports, people, or vehicles.
Program mode - Similar to fully automatic mode, except you can
adjust the aperture and shutter setting combination for desired effect
and still achieve proper exposure. This is good for when you just want
to make sure you get a properly exposed shot, with flexibility when
needed.
45
Don’t use built-in flash as a primary light source
Using built-in flash as a primary light source can create very harsh shadows and an unflattering look.
It’s mainly useful as fill flash, such as when harsh sunlight is
casting dark shadows across your entire subject. It’s also helpful in
emergencies when there’s almost no light around and you just want to
capture an image of something—even then it will create unflattering
shadows and highlights on your subject.
46
Use as many automatic
modes as you can
Leave the white balance and ISO settings on automatic. If you’re a
new photographer, having too many settings to worry about just for a
single exposure can result in missing out on lots of photo
opportunities. Automate what you can and work on your other skills.
47
Use the right White Balance setting
When lighting conditions change, our eyes adapt automatically.
Digital camera sensors cannot do the same thing so we have to adjust
white balance settings to keep images from looking too blue or too
yellow.
Color temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale. You can leave
this camera setting to automatic for most conditions, but occasionally
you’ll need to set the white balance manually when your camera can’t
figure out complex lighting situations.
Courtesy of: Borrowlenses.com/blog/photography
