An Introduction to Advanced Photography Tips

 

 

If you are reading this section on advanced photography tips, it probably means that you are where I was over 20 years ago, hungry for more information on photography with a burning desire to improve and move on.

For what it is worth, I have never lost that feeling; it is like a true passion that has stayed with me from 13, right through my adult life where other fads and interests have come and gone or just waned.

Advanced Photography Tips won’t bore you with all the technical jargon, there is enough of that on the internet and other publications already, and I personally find it altogether quite unnecessary (unless you are aiming to become a digital engineer, retailer or “photography forum bore”).

Advanced Photography Tips won’t teach you how to cheat or enhance your images with Photoshop. There is a time and place for that, why run before you can walk with confidence?

Advanced Photography Tips won’t tell you or influence your decision on what equipment to buy. That is a matter of personal preference and your individual situation, plus it is mostly irrelevant.

What it will do is take you back to basics, assume that you are at the beginning or just getting into digital/photography, and would like to learn simply how to get better! It will teach you how to take control, take better pictures and give yourself an idea of where you want to be in years to come.

It will only explain about the necessary terms and jargon that you need to know to get you on your way. Too much information at the start of your journey will only cause to confuse you. Learn how to take great pictures every time, easily, effortlessly and consistently and then you can move on.

If you are just starting or have found your interest in this hobby fairly recently, you are so very lucky. Although film in its day was obviously the way to go, I dread to think of the time and money that I wasted on various aspects that are no longer needed with digital;

• Black and white darkroom – The mess, the time, the waste of paper and money, the chemicals (bad for environment), although it was fun!
• Colour Film processing – The waiting for 2 weeks or more for the prints to arrive, the cost, the lack of Photoshop/powerful computers for editing (what you got was what you got), the possible loss or damage to film cartridges, care and storage of negatives and hundreds of prints.
• Maximum 36 exposures – Oh the stress of being so careful when shooting as each shot was so valuable. In a way this made you think more about the photos you took but having 400+ shots on one card is such a luxury!
• Kids – With the low cost of digital cameras and complete lack of processing costs, it is so nice to give young children “free reign” to learn this wonderful hobby from a much lower age. My son at just 2, having seen Daddy with his cameras so often, already knows how to scroll through images on our digital point and shoot camera!

The aim of Advanced Photography Tips is to ease you gently into the higher realms of photography and hopefully teach you about the more technical and advanced aspects without getting too technical if you get my drift.

I have tried, where possible, to include as many example images to illustrate the points further. The quality may not be high due to keeping the file size of the book to a downloadable minimum, but hopefully they will help.

What I will do often, is refer you to other images that I have on this website.

My first piece of advice at this stage is this: Whatever camera you have at the time of reading this book, stick with it for now. When I upgraded to digital from film, I chopped and changed for a couple of years as technology improved, until I was truly happy with the quality of images coming from my camera.

I am now at the point where I can more often than not, confidently walk around with my camera and instantly know the following:

• What exposure setting to use on the camera to suit the shot I want – Knowing the ins and outs of your equipment is a priority.
  
• What lens to use and how – Or what focal length (i.e. 24mm, 35mm, 100mm) to use if using a point and shoot or advanced digital compact.
• I know what will make a good shot by using just the camera.
• I also know what will make a good shot with a little help from editing in Photoshop later – Even if the image appears a little bland at the time of shooting.
• I know when to just leave it – Burning storage space and taking too many images is a very easy trap to fall into, but can also be quite useful. Learn what to keep and what to throw away.

By the end of Advanced Photography Tips, you will hopefully feel the same way. You will have more “keepers” and feel confident that you will “see” so many more pictures as you are out and about.

Things can become so “automatic” to you, you feel like you could just blink and the image is done! Finished, edited and ready to frame. Learn to see the image before you have even taken it!