9 Basic Photography Tips for Absolute Beginners

1
9 Basic Photography Tips for Absolute Beginners
Uplist.lk
2
1. Composition

• Composition is the part of photography that you
  can learn without a camera. However since almost
  everybody on this planet has access to a camera
  or smartphone, it's a good place to start for us
  here.
• Correct composition is responsible for the
  placement of the subject (or point of interest)
  and proper placement of other elements in such a
  way that they will guide and aid the viewer into
  perceiving the photograph properly.

Uplist.lk
3
2. The Rule of Thirds

• Simple as the name itself. You separate the image
  into thirds, both horizontally and vertically.
  The intersecting points are the points of
  interest. If you are shooting portraiture, you
  would be placing the eyes along one of the points
  of intersection, preferably the top ones.
• However, if you're shooting landscapes, you would
  separate sky/earth with the thirds, and place the
  point of interest (imagine a sunset, in this
  case, the sun) at one of the points of interest.
• Also, even smartphones can show you the grid as
  an overlay, to make it easy for you until you get
  used to the framing of course, this can be
  activated on DSLRs and Mirrorless systems.

Uplist.lk
4
3. Symmetry Within Your Composition

• If you dont fancy the rule of thirds for certain
  composition, youd probably want to do it
  symmetrically. However, symmetrical composition
  is quite tricky.
• Firstly, you'll have to place the subject in the
  center, the light must guide the eye towards the
  center, and all the lines must be straight and
  symmetrical. It takes both a lot of attention to
  detail and getting used to having everything
  straight and parallel in your frame.
• You can use the rule of thirds guidelines to
  align the image properly and symmetrically so
  both techniques go hand in hand nicely.

Uplist.lk
5
4. Guiding (or Leading) Lines

• This rule can be used in conjunction with the
  rule of thirds or the symmetrical approach. The
  goal is to have lines (either real or simulated
  with light and trickery) to guide the eye toward
  the point of interest in the photograph.
• This applies to both portraiture and landscape
  (to choose two contrasting photography interests).

Uplist.lk
6
5. Selective Focus

• This depends largely on what type of camera
  you're using, as although it is harder to achieve
  with a smartphone, you can still try it out by
  focusing closer (i.e. performing a macro shot
  with your smartphone).
• On the other hand, with a DSLR you can achieve
  this quite easily. Selective focus will create
  blur in the background and foreground of the
  picture, thus shifting the attention of the
  viewer on the element in focus.

Uplist.lk
7
6. Your Light

• Light is the crucial factor in photography.
  Photography itself is essentially capturing
  light, therefore, no light no photo. However,
  the quality and position of light is absolutely
  imperative too.
• The end goal of using light is to add depth to
  the image, to make it pleasing to the eye and
  bring out your intended elements.

Uplist.lk
8
7. Shooting Angle

• Often when you're photographing portraits, youd
  want the light to be slightly angular and avoid
  having it top down. This is the primary reason
  why photographers avoid portraiture at noon.
• The sun is high up and creates shadows that
  arent flattering. The same applies for
  landscapes, there is no depth in the image when
  it is evenly lit with harsh shadows, essentially
  making it messy.

Uplist.lk
9
8. Diffusion

• Light creates shadows, that's how we perceive
  depth.
• However, on a picture, which is 2-dimensional,
  (rather than the 3-dimensional vision we have),
  you need some more trickery to be able to induce
  depth.
• Harsh light often stimulates the 2D look more,
  making the image look more like a drawing rather
  than a photograph if that makes sense?

Uplist.lk
10
9. Color Temperature

• As you might have noticed by now, not all light
  is created equal. Thus different light sources
  have different color temperatures, and if you
  dont use the proper white balance the image can
  be too blue, too orange, or get pulled towards
  green and magenta

Uplist.lk
11
Thank you
Uplist.lk