Basics I. Start here. Have fun! Practice…
1. COMPOSITION
Composition is basically where you place the subject, foreground and background in your picture frame when you take a picture. Composing is fun!
Composition Tip 1: “The Rule of Thirds”
This is the most useful composition tip, easy and fun to learn. It makes pictures interesting. The Rule of Thirds is composing pictures with the subject framed a little bit off from center. Off center right or left, and up or down.
The Rule of Thirds works by placing your subject over one of the cross points of imaginary lines. The lines divide the scene in “thirds”, vertical thirds and horizontal thirds. Any of the intersection points of the lines is where your subject should be placed. Yes, off center! It works. Imagine a grid over your picture, like a Tick-Tack-Toe game grid. Where the tall and flat lines intersect in this Tick-Tack-Toe grid, that is where you place your subject This simple techniques works most of the time, and looks interesting to the eye.
The best way to understand the Rule of Thirds is to take pictures using the Rule of Thirds in composition, and then looking at the pictures. Your subjects seem more captivating with the Rule of Thirds than when centered. Pictures look: “Dead when centered. Alive off-centered.” This holds the attention of the viewer and lets the eyes and mind wonder over the image.
There are times to center compose a subject in a pictures. These are rare exceptions.
There are also times to compose with only the horizontal lines, such as people standing in a row for a group photo, but still using the horizontal lines to frame the picture, and making the foreground and background look even.
Have fun composing with the Rule of Thirds!
Composition Tip 2: “Walk it out!”
Perspective is the relative relationships of the things in your picture to each other. By using your feet to move forward, backward, right, left, up and down (6 ways), and tilting the camera up and down (2 ways) the perspective in your picture. That’s 8 movements to change any picture in dozens of ways. “Change perspective with your feet.” When composing a picture, if the subject doesn’t look good to you, then take a few steps forward, or backwards, or right or left, and then forward and backwards from the left and then from the right and so on. Does it look different? Yes! When it looks better, then take the picture.
Changing perspective of a picture by using your feet to walk it out, and composing with the Rule of Thirds improves composition, the results and joy in photography. It’s a journey.
Caution on composition: Zoom lenses do not change perspective as your feet are in the same place, they can only crop or magnify the same perspective. Every object in a zoomed in or out picture can stay boring because a photographer was lazy and didn’t walk a few feet forward, backwards, left or right. Perspective changes with a basic lens and using your feet, more than expensive zoom lenses. Zooms have other good purposes.
Week 1: Practice taking nearly 100 pictures with these composition tips of at least 10 different subjects, over one week. Single shots each with unique compositions.
Using a fixed focal length 50mm lens on an SLR (film SLR, digital SLR, or mirrorless camera) is the best way to build the basic skills, and for developing your own “photography eye”.
Practice Basics I in this order:
First, practice composition for one week. It’s okay to set the camera to auto. Practice the Rule of Thirds and Walking it Out for your better compositions. Keep mental (or written) notes of what you liked.
Second, practice shooting in aperture priority for the second week. Keep composing, but now try every aperture setting using still subjects. Which 2 or 3 apertures did you like? Written notes are a big help if you’re willing to record your apertures. Caution: Manually set ISO BEFORE practicing aperture priority. (Start with ISO 400.)
Third, practice shooting in shutter priority for the third week. Shoot objects that are in motion, and try to get sharp pictures. Composing subjects in the centered is okay for fast moving objects. Caution: Manually set ISO BEFORE practicing shutter speed priority. (Start with ISO 400.)
These are my suggested learning order for each week and each Basics I area. There is a method to practicing in this order.
You can learn quickly by practicing shooting, and having fun. Remember having fun is part of learning photography. Are you having fun?
Start with composition. It’s the most fun and accessible of these photography basics. I have used the Rule of Thirds for quick portrait compositions of friends, later learn that they liked the pictures so much, they used the pictures as profiles for email, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. These friends include professional photographers.
2. APERTURE
Aperture settings control what is in focus in the foreground and background, in front or behind your subject. The focus point is your subject. Why would you change aperture? For some pictures you want as much in focus as possible like a landscape or when sight seeing. In other pictures like portraits you may want a person to in sharp focus and the rest of the picture blurry. This kind of control by aperture settings can look artistic and dramatic.
Aperture settings range from f/2.8 (small number) to f/22 (large number) on many lenses including a standard 50mm lens..
Aperture Tip 1: Landscapes
For landscapes keeping as much in focus is desirable including the foreground and the background. The focus point is usually far away towards the background. The aperture settings that can best keep most things in focus is a high aperture number such as f/22, f/16, or f/11. The higher the number the wider the depth of focus.
Aperture Tip 2: Portraits while sightseeing
While sightseeing and wanting to keep people in the foreground in focus and as much of the background also, focus on the people, and use an aperture number as high as possible like f/22, f/16 or f/11.
What is different in sightseeing portraits and landscapes is the focus point for landscapes is far away, or to infinity. Both of the above types of pictures work because of the larger aperture number.
Aperture Tip 3: Portraits that blur the background
When you want a dramatic portrait that shows the person in sharp focus, and the background blurred, you’re making a statement. To do this focus on the person and use a small number aperture like f/2.8, f/4, or f/5.6. This is common in many fashion magazines.
Aperture Tip 3 bonus!
A bonus to this tip is to frame or compose your subject with a larger distance between the subject and the objects in the background. This takes advantage of a large number aperture like f2.8, f4, and f5.6 to blur the background.
Choose “Aperture Priority” when you want to control what is in focus relative to your subject. If the subject is moving, choose shutter priority instead. (See shutter speed)
Week 2 Practice taking nearly 100 pictures with aperture priority tips of at least 12 different subjects, over one week. Continue with the composition tips. Single pictures with 2-5 different aperture settings per subject builds creative awareness of aperture.
Set Your Aperture Priority
Film Single Lens Reflex (SLR), Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR), and mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses usually have an Aperture Priority mode.
Setting your aperture affects the depth of field and focus in your pictures. This makes your photography different. It’s rewarding. It’s fun! You’ll see the difference. Have fun!
3. SHUTTER SPEED
Shutter speed controls keeping a moving subject sharp in a picture. First, be aware if anything in the frame is moving, either your subject or something around your subject (grass, leaves, waves, a stream, mist, branches, pets, people, cars…)
Shutter Speed Tip 1: Keep it sharp with fast shutter speeds
A fast shutter speed like 1/500th of a second will freeze motion and keep images looking sharp. This shutter speed will make a person walking looking sharp. Maybe someone running and jumping too. Higher shutter speeds such as 1/1000th or 1/2000th of a second are good for faster moving objects like a bird flapping its wings, or a ballerina leaping.
Shutter Speed Tip 2: Still subjects with slow shutter speeds
Slow shutter speeds such as 1/125th, 1/60th, 1/30th or 1/15th of a second are okay for still objects such as a person sitting or standing still.
Shutter Speed Tip 2 bonus!
Another advantage of slow shutter speeds is they can allow smaller number aperture settings like f2/8, f/4, and f/5.6 to keep the subject sharply focused and blur the background. Combining aperture to blur the background while focusing on the subject, and fast shutter speed to freeze motion of the subject are examples of using photography concepts for a creative expression.
Shutter speed Tip 3: Panning to follow a subject in motion
Frame the subject in your viewfinder, keep a steady even motion, and pan your body from the core (chest, waist, and hips) while following the subject. Take the picture while panning. Keep panning through the picture and just after the picture. This reduces the perceived motion, the relative speed shift of the subject, because you’re following along. Panning can help keep the subject sharp. For fast moving subjects, like a cheetah, just try to keep up and compose the subject centered in the frame, so you don’t lose the shot. Pan like a pro!
Gently press the shutter button, while panning to capture fast moving subjects while using a fast shutter speed at 1/1000th of second or faster.
Have fun!
Week 3 Practice taking nearly 100 pictures with these shutter speed tips using 4-7 different moving subjects moving at different speeds. Practice goal time frame is one week.
Set Your Shutter Priority
Film Single Lens Reflex (SLR), Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR), and mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses usually have an Shutter Speed Priority mode.
Shooting in shutter speed priority builds confidence you can take a picture of fast moving subjects. Knowing you can freeze the subject with a fast shutter speed with a little practice. Shooting in shutter priority makes you an action photographer! That’s fun!