Camera tips, tricks & advice 101

dinneenp

Hi,
A lot of people are getting cameras for Christmas and may be new to photography. There doesn't seem to be a thread for general tips and tricks so here goes. I'll try to update this post with all the tips for easier reading...
Cheers,
Pa.
My favourite photos


1. The Thirds Rule
Never plonk the focus point of your pictures directly into the middle, always ofset it to the left or right third of the photo (or bottom corners). Picture your scene as a 3*3 grid. More here (good site for general tips)

Nisio

To take better pictures your memory card should be in your camera and not 3 miles away in your laptop.

(happened yesterday :rolleyes:)

trooney

dinneenp wrote: »

1. The Thirds Rule
Never plonk the focus point of your pictures directly into the middle, always ofset it to the left or right third of the photo (or bottom corners). Picture your scene as a 3*3 grid. More here (good site for general tips)

2. Break the rules if you want. Don't get too stuck down in whats perceived to be right and wrong. Let yourself develop ('scuse the pun). I wouldn't really ever say "never".

Eirebear

trooney wrote: »

2. Break the rules if you want. Don't get too stuck down in whats perceived to be right and wrong. Let yourself develop ('scuse the pun). I wouldn't really ever say "never".

I would suggest that you learn the rules before breaking them.

trooney

Eirebear wrote: »

I would suggest that you learn the rules before breaking them.

True. Then go and break them :eek:

Eirebear

trooney wrote: »

True. Then go and break them :eek:

yep, thats the only real reason for learning them!

AnCatDubh

3. Concentrate on removing distractions from your composition. Simplify.

Covey

4. If you want Black and White and you camera has a B/W function and Raw, then use it.

You can see your shots in B/W and adjust based on that and if you don't like the B/W shots in the end, the Raw file still has them in colour!.

Eirebear

Covey wrote: »

4. If you want Black and White and you camera has a B/W function and Raw, then use it.

You can see your shots in B/W and adjust based on that and if you don't like the B/W shots in the end, the Raw file still has them in colour!.

Personally i would just shoot them in RAW, i find RAW+Jpeg options tend to just take up space when you dont need to.

Covey

Didn't mean to shoot Raw+JPG.

Meant turn your B/W function on ( see in B/W) shoot in raw and have both B/W and Colour options when you process.

Shooting in B/W and JPG won't give you both options.

AnimalRights

Covey wrote: »

Didn't mean to shoot Raw+JPG.

Meant turn your B/W function on ( see in B/W) shoot in raw and have both B/W and Colour options when you process.

Funny thing is when I shoot gigs in Colour Raw I change few back to B+W and yet when I shoot B+W raw I change few back to colour.

CabanSail

5. Try to see the world as your camera would see it.

Eirebear

Covey wrote: »

Didn't mean to shoot Raw+JPG.

Meant turn your B/W function on ( see in B/W) shoot in raw and have both B/W and Colour options when you process.

Shooting in B/W and JPG won't give you both options.

Ok fair enough, i figured that to give you a B&W file it would do so in Jpeg.
Sorry

Eirebear

6. Shoot, Shoot and Shoot some more.

The only way you will figure out what you like/dislike, where your strengths lie and more importantly what you enjoy shooting is by using your camera at every possible opportunity.

emul

7. Before you shoot look around. Ensure your in the best location, avoid overhead wires, and when you have taken your 1st few shots, put the camera down and see if you could do better elsewhere (3 feet away!!) may be all you need to go to have better shot.

On a grey,dull winter day plan for B&W only.

A flask of tea is a saviour on a cold morning!!

kgiller

8. To get good results, dont just shoot, shoot, shoot ... but instead take your time, have patience, compose your shots properly, get the right meter readings etc, and then shoot.

I always find that if you just walk around snapping like mad, there will be a lot of throw aways. But, if you take more time, you'll have more keepers.

Also, open your eyes and look around. Dont just look straight ahead, look back the way you came, up in the trees, under the rocks ... everywhere. And play around with different angles.

My 2 cents

AnimalRights

emul wrote: »

On a grey,dull winter day plan for B&W only.

Never thought of it like that before.

Phototoxin

9. hypocritically I say - Go out and actually take photos... it can be difficult to do people if you are shy but family are good fun.

Covey

10. Set your settings before you leave the house based on what your looking to shoot.

ISO could be 1600 from the night before and your shooting landscapes :eek:

As well as ISO I pre-set my Shutter Speed Priority, Aperture Priority and Manual Settings to optimize each and no need to readjust except change the dial and readjust every so often for changing light.

Thirdfox

Nisio wrote: »

To take better pictures your memory card should be in your camera and not 3 miles away in your laptop.

(happened yesterday :rolleyes:)

That's why I love standardisation - I'd just pop out the memory card from my phone and stick that in the camera instead (happened once when I ran out of memory - you won't get Extreme II speeds but at least you will get plenty of shots )

...unless you're using CF cards of course

ThOnda

11. Get closer. Both physically and personally. The closer you get the better the picture will be. By reducing distracting background, by getting the more personal and understanding feeling.

AnCatDubh

Ok, a bit of a lull on the tips front peeps - worth keeping it going??????

One tip per post - post early and often (just like in the elections! - I'm not attributing that one )

#12. Simple as it sounds - take your camera with you everywhere. Some of the most renowned images are spontaneous, a capture of a moment that would never happen again.

Ok, So who's up for tip #13 ????????

(please number tips #)

Schlemm

#13...here's one for the noobs like myself...;)

invest in a good book to sharpen up, it's a good way to get some new ideas and figure out some of the technical jargon!

I am a total newbie to photography and I like 'The Basic Book of Photography' by Tom Grimm, not sure if it's the best one to get but I found it useful to figure out a few basic technical things and it's a good source to refer back to now and again. Got myself a 2nd hand one on amazon for dirt cheap too.

May sound like a silly tip but it's something I found really helpful!

(edit...tip 13, post 666, friday 13th tomorrow, aaarg!!)

Phototoxin

#14 HAVE FUN !

kjt

#15 - Very simple rule but handy none the less. Hold onto your camera tightly!

My mate found this out the hard way a few days ago and defunked his slr
Dropping your camera from only one foot off the ground could kill her!

Morrisseeee

DON'T fall into ONE of these bad habits.......

http://blog.epicedits.com/2007/12/27/7-bad-habits-of-digital-photographers/