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10 Ways to Improve your Photography This Weekend
No matter where we are in our photography journey, I'm willing to bet that there are always to improve what we do or how we do it. Although everyone reading this will be at different stages along the road, and even on different paths, I hope that reading this post gives you some ideas of the areas you can work on this weekend regardless of where you are or what you do...
Photography Composition: Using the Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is one of the most basic principles of composition in photography, and one you will use all the time going forward! Here's how to do it:
What you need to do is imagine that your photograph is divided into nine equal sections by two horizontal and two vertical lines (as shown below) Apparently, when we look at something, our eyes are naturally drawn to the points where these lines intersect. Placing a point of interest on one of these intersections, or placing elements along one of the lines, gives the photo more balance and is more appealing to the viewer.
From AUTO To Manual Mode in Gentle Steps
Still taking most of your photos on Auto and too scared to make the move to Manual?
You probably already know that in order to get the shots your camera is capable of, it really needs some guidance from you!
The good news is that your camera has some features that allow you to begin to very, very gently move away from Auto and start to gain a little more control, which will in turn greatly improve your pics - all whilst you pluck up the courage to switch over to full manual control.
(Go on, you know you want to!)
Tips for Getting a Great Image In Camera
Although I confess to loving a bit of a play about in Lightroom or Photoshop, for some of my images I just want to be able to take them straight from camera to print without having to do much work to them!
Of course, it also helps if you have a great base image when you want to go further with your editing too, that way you have extra time to spend on the image without having to do a load of boring adjustments first :)
Other things, like skin tones, are always much better if you get them right in camera too. So, my goal is always to make sure that I get a great shot straight out of camera (SOOC)
How to set up a home studio on a budget
As you know, I don't have a studio or any kind of studio lighting - but I do have a garage, a cheap background stand, one roll of background paper, and that - coupled with some natural light - is all you need for a makeshift studio on a budget!
My Ideas for Displaying & Saving Kids Artwork
Last week I finished photographing around three years worth of artwork and the resulting images are all now stored nice and neat on my hard drive. Whilst this is great as it means it is all backed up - and out of the way! - I don't really like having things just stored digitally. For me the whole point of keeping these is so that they can be enjoyed in years to come, but also in the here and now - people don't generally flip through a hard drive in quite the same way!
So, I had two goals in mind when photographing the artwork - Firstly to have it out on display, and secondly to have it saved for long term, but in an accessible way. Here's what I've done so far...
It's been quite a few years now since I made the switch from Aperture Priority Mode to shooting in Manual Mode, and it was one of the BEST things I ever did to improve my photography skills.
It was like a whole new world opened up to me, and I started TRULY understanding exposure, and in turn, getting the images that I wanted.
Of course, there was a lot to learn, and there are some things I wish I had known before I started!
So, here are 10 things about shooting in Manual Mode that you might just wish you knew…