How to get better at Photography for Beginners.

Hey, so you just got into photography. Great !

Now you might be looking at your images and wondering to yourself, "How can I make my photo stand out" or "Why aren't my photos turning out the way I imagined".

Well fear not my friend, I too had the exact same thoughts and felt lost in a vast sea, not knowing what to do or where to start.

Tip #1 - Master the Manual Mode.

Your camera is basically a small computer.

When you choose the automatic option, it basically thinks what the scene looks like and change the settings to suit IT's needs and not YOURS.

Just learning about the 3 main settings : Shutter Speed, ISO & Aperture,

Can make your photos 10x better, providing you more control over each of your clicks.

Shutter Speed:

Controls how long your sensor is exposed to light for.

* Faster Shutter Speed - For fast moving subjects.

As slower shutter speeds can create a blur of the subject.

As less light enters, photos can turn dark, Adjust using ISO & aperture.

* Slow Shutter Speed - For standing or still subjects.

As more light enters, photos can be overexposed. Reduce exposure with lower ISO and higher Aperture.

Practice different shutter speeds on different situations to know your camera capability and to get familiar with different settings.

ISO :

Its basically ARTIFICIAL LIGHT.

ISO can be really helpful in low - light situations where ou need to get the shot in a certain shutter speed, but it reduced your exposure.

Well, Just crank up the ISO right ?

Yeah, not really.

It can light up and increase exposure, but it can add a lot of NOISE.

Noise is basically distortion happening when your camera tries to artificially light the environment.

Basically, a sacrifice for higher exposing.

Every camera has a base ISO limit. Simply google it , and find the limit. Test it out in different lighting conditions, practice a bit, and soon you will figure it out.

Aperture :

Aperture is basically an eye within your lens, more it opens : more light enters. But that's not all...

Aperture numbers are weird and got me confused in the beginning.

The LOWER, the number : More light enters

The HIGHER, the number : Less light enters.

Unlike shutter speed and ISO, this works the other way round.

This is very important, beginners miss this little fact that helps their photos.

Aperture also controls the focus area of an image.

Lower the aperture, more background blur you get where the focus area is small and sharp.

Higher the aperture, more area is in focus. This helps in group photos for example, where more subjects need to be in focus.

Tip #2 - As you just got into Photography, Don't spend too much.

Ah, the classic mindset of more expensive is more better.

I really did think that my gear was not capable of getting me the photos i wanted.

Well, it was my skills that weren't up to par.

Learn your camera inside out. Make sure your camera becomes a part of you.

Sounds cheesy, but trust me. Explore the limits of your camera.

I did most of my shoots with my Canon 850D. Its a really cheap beginner camera, that helped me get so much better, and understand the different techniques and ins and outs of photography.

The only thing you really need is a good lens.

My go to lens was a 50mm F1.8 lens which my friend gave me to try out. Its really inexpensive but gosh what a versatile lens.

Its 1.8 Aperture helped me get a lot of low light shots, and paired with the Canon 850D, I really got a chance to learn a lot about photography and explore the bounds and limits of my camera.

The reason why I upgraded to a Sony a7iv.

Some events did not have required lighting where i could not control the environment, and photos started to turn out too dark to my liking.

That's the reason I upgraded to a7iv.

And also to start videography and color-grading. You don't have to worry about it now.

Even the Canon 850D was a workhorse when it came to videography and got me really good shots.

Tip #3 - Don't spend too much : PART -2

To date. I haven't paid for any Software's to edit. Yeah !

For photos : I use * Snapseed

* Lightroom - Free Version

For Cool Photo Effects : * Lens Distortion (LD) - for mobile.

If you want to get the full paid version, by all means go for it !

I managed my way to date with the free versions, and I haven't faced any issues or limitations.

This is also a good time to tell you to learn how to edit.

I will write another blog soon on my editing process if you need it. Just DM me on Insta ;)

Tip #4 - RAW RAW RAW !

Always, ALWAYS shoot in RAW.

What's RAW ?

Its a format of an image that holds more data and information than a regular jpeg image.

It helps you a lot when is comes to recovering highlighted parts or shadows in your shots as it contains more data on the picture to help it restore to your desired edit.

The seting to shoot images in RAW is one of the first things you should do with your camera.

Tip #5 - Keep going strong.

Only practice can help you achieve your results.

No matter how much you read or how many tutorials you watch on Youtube,

These are just information. Information that you should put into practice.

Take your camera with you. Just Shoot.

Learn from your mistakes.

Learn how to frame your subject. Practice your composition.

Experiment with different settings of your ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture.

But never, ever again in Automatic Mode.

Well then,

You have all the information you need.

You got this buddy ! I believe in you.

Now go out and start shooting.