1. Read your camera manual. I know, it's longer than many novels and has terms you've never heard before. Besides, who reads manuals? I used to feel the same way too, but there is so much good information in there! You don't have to read it from cover to cover, but go through it a page at a time just once. I'll bet that you find an answer to a question that you have about your camera or at least find one cool tip that you can use.
2. Use shutter priority mode. If you want to keep your images of moving objects sharp, you’ll need to set a minimum shutter speed for your camera. You can do this by using your camera’s shutter priority mode (usually called S or TV). This mode allows you to choose a fixed shutter speed and your camera will figure out the correct aperture to use. If you use too slow of a shutter speed, moving subjects will be blurry. How fast of a shutter speed do you need? It depends. For children you might need at least 1/160 of a second, but for sports you should try to use at least 1/500 of a second. A general rule of thumb to avoid blur from hand-holding your camera is to use a shutter speed faster than 1/(the focal length of your lens) when you‘re not using a tripod. This means that if you’re using a 50mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/50 of a second. If you’re using a 200mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/200 of a second. This becomes especially important in low-light situations when your camera might try to drop your shutter speed so much you get blurry photos.
3. Use aperture priority mode. If you want to have more creative control over your photos, you’ll want to start using different aperture settings. This is done with aperture priority mode (usually called A or AV). This mode allows you to choose a fixed aperture and your camera will figure out the correct shutter speed to use. Do you want a nice, crisp subject and an out of focus background? Use a low aperture. Do you want to make sure everything in the photo is in focus? Use a high aperture. This mode can provide you with drastically different images than you might be used to, so I’d highly recommend trying it out if you’ve never used it before. This is a great mode to use when your lighting conditions are constantly changing, such as when you’re shooting outdoors.
4. Use manual mode. So, you’ve mastered both shutter and aperture priority mode and want complete control over your camera? Switch to manual mode. That’s the big, intimidating “M” on the control dial. In manual, you control both the shutter speed and the aperture. The camera just handles focusing (assuming you’re using auto-focus). Don’t know where to start? It’s easy. First, decide how your want your photo to look. Let’s say you’re taking a photo of one person. Generally, for a single-person portrait, a low aperture provides a pleasing photo. If you’re using a kit lens, set your aperture to it’s lowest setting. Now take a photo and look at your LCD screen. If it’s too dark, decrease the shutter speed. If it’s too light, increase the shutter speed. Take another photo and repeat the above process. Usually you can nail your exposure in 3-4 shots. Now, as long as the lighting conditions don’t change, you don’t have to change anything. Just take photos and enjoy consistent exposures in every photo. That’s the power of M!
5. Boost your ISO. If you’ve dropped your shutter speed as low as possible, your aperture is set to it’s lowest and you still don’t have enough light, DSLRs provide one more option to let in more light: boost your ISO. ISO is basically how sensitive your camera is to light. The higher the number, the more sensitive your camera is. All digital cameras have different ISO capabilities. Some will only provide usable photos at a maximum ISO of 800. Some new cameras provide usable photos at ISOs as high as 6400 and beyond! Experiment with your camera in low-light situations to see what it’s limit is. Then, the next time you want to take a photo in a low-light situation but don’t want to use a flash, you might just be able to boost your ISO and get the shot!
Keep in mind, you can use a higher ISO anytime, not just when you have no other options. Let’s say you’re photographing some indoor sports and get properly exposed photos at 1/125 of a second and an ISO of 200. Unfortunately, the action photos are coming out blurry because you really need to shoot at 1/500 of a second for sharp action photos. Just boost your ISO to 800 and now you’ll get the same exposure at 1/500 of a second as you did at 1/125 of a second and ISO 200!
6. Use a filter, but be aware of the consequences. Just about anywhere you look, you're told to buy a Skylight or UV filter for your lens. It's a great idea, as it protects the actual lens from smudges and damage. Chances are, though, you went out and bought the filter that cost $20, not $200, right? I did too. Then I noticed that I'd get some really bad flare or reflections in my photos when there were bright, individual light sources (like windows or light bulbs) behind my subjects. Some were so bad I couldn't save them. Once I realized which situations caused the glare I was able to remove my filter and capture great photos in similar situations.
7. Know when to use different f-stops. Do you know the difference between f/1.4 and f/32? Do you know when to use which? Here's a quick lesson. The smaller the f-number, the more light the lens lets into the camera. The larger the f-number, the less light the lens lets into the camera. This means that f/1.4 is going to let in a lot more light than f/32, which means if you're shooting in a dark environment, you're going to want to use a smaller f-number to let in more light.
When you use a smaller f-number (f/1.4, for example), you're going to have a very shallow depth of field. This means that only a very small portion of the photo will be in focus. If you're taking a photo of two people, one will probably be out of focus. A larger f-number (f/32, for example) will give you a very deep depth of field. This means that almost everything in the photo will be in focus. If you're taking a photo of a group of people standing in front of a mountain, all of the people will be in focus, along with the mountain.
Although your lens might not go down to f/1.4, the concept still applies to any lens, whether it's range is f/1.4-f/16 or f/5.6-f/32.
8. Turn off your LCD screen. Don't look at the photos you've just taken. Just shoot.
I've seen this tip mentioned plenty of different places, so I'm not going to take credit for it. I will say that this tip is one of the easiest and most helpful tips on this list. You might be wondering why you'd want to turn off your screen? By not being able to see the photo you just took, you're forced to pay attention to what you're shooting. Not only that, but you are not being distracted by the technical details of the camera. Blown highlights? Oh well. Blur? Oops.
How does this help you improve? What does this really accomplish? It's kind of like losing a sense and having your other senses heightened. By not being able to see what you've just shot, you can start to think of what you're going to shoot. You start to use the information in your viewfinder (see #9 below) to make sure the exposure is correct. You pay a little more attention to your framing and composition. Hopefully you slow down and connect with your subject instead of chimping after every shot you take. Finally, it's always fun to go back and review the photos when you're done. You might just be surprised with the results!
9. Use the information in your viewfinder. Pick up your camera. Look in the viewfinder. Now, look at the bottom of your viewfinder. Have you ever noticed that information before? Most cameras display information about exposure, focus and shutter speed in the viewfinder. This means that you can control your settings without ever having to take your eye away from the viewfinder. The focus indicator is especially useful if you’re using manual focus and want to make sure your image is tack sharp. The exposure indicator is very useful if you’re working in manual mode. Remember how I said that while using manual mode you could get a good exposure by taking a photo, looking at the screen and adjusting your settings until you got a good exposure? Instead, you can just look at the exposure indicator in your viewfinder and get a good exposure in one shot!
Don't know what all that information means? See Tip #1!
10. Use spot focusing. Your camera has multiple focus points. Some have as few as 4, some have more than 50! When you use a metering mode like matrix metering, your camera surveys all of the focus points, compares them to a big library of images it has stored inside of it and chooses the best focus point based on what it thinks you’re taking a picture of. Although it works most of the time, if you want to make sure your camera focuses where you want it to every time, use a spot focusing mode. This allows you to choose which focus point the camera should use. You’ll find this especially useful in tricky situations, such as low-light and back-lit scenes.
11. Use spot metering. Similar to spot focusing, spot metering allows you to choose which part of the scene your camera meters from. This is most useful when you shoot in aperture or shutter priority mode and low-light or back-lit situations. By choosing to meter off of your subject instead of the overall scene, you’ll end up with a properly exposed subject more often.
As a side note, this can be very useful in manual mode as well (and it’s what I use all of the time). By metering off of my focus point, I know if my current settings will give me a properly exposed subject.
12. Know and use the Rule Of Thirds. Although this is a basic skill that’s applicable to any camera you use, with a DSLR you usually have an option that’s not available on a point and shoot. Many DSLRs have the option to add a graphic overlay of a grid in the viewfinder. I suggest using the grid that divides your frame into 3 rows and 3 columns. Now your image is divided into thirds. By placing your subject into one of these thirds (for people it’s usually the left or right third, for landscapes it’s usually the top or bottom third), your photo becomes more visually interesting than when you place your subject in the center of the image. If you place an interesting feature of your subject (a person’s eye, for example) at the intersection of two lines, you’ve just made your image a lot more interesting!
13. Focus and recompose. Although auto focus systems on DSLRs are very advanced, they can still be fooled. Have you ever had your lens “hunt” for focus? This happens most often when you’re in a low-light situation or if your active focus point isn’t right on the subject. Since auto focus systems use contrast to focus, you need to make sure your active focus point is on something with contrast.
Let’s say you’re taking a photo of a person. You might want to use the rule of thirds and put their face in the top-right corner of the image, but you have your center focus point active. No problem! Just hold down the shutter button half way while focusing on your subject’s face. Once you’ve locked focus, while keeping the shutter button half pressed, recompose your image and put your subject’s face where you want it. Then take your photo. If you’ve ever seen a pro shoot, you’ll probably notice them “twitching” their camera before they shoot. What they’re doing is focusing, recomposing and shooting!
14. Frequent photography forums. With digital photography and the internet being accessible to so many people, there are many people with photography questions who go online to get them answered. You can benefit from the wealth of knowledge that’s out there by visiting a photography forum. Many sites are frequented by pros but are amateur friendly. It’s amazing how many people just want to help people enjoy photography and get better photos! One of the best sites around is OSP. Flickr is also a great site to visit if you have questions about a specific camera, lens or technique. Just find a group about your subject, find the forum and search for topics on your question.
15. Start a project. More specifically, start a photography project that requires you to take photos every day. Have you ever heard of a 365 project? It's a project that requires you to take a photo every day for an entire year. A year is a big commitment and is very hard to do. Sure, you could just pick up your camera, snap a photo of the floor and be done for the day, but how does that help you? To get the most out of a 365, try to push yourself and create a quality image every single day. If a year is too much, start out with a month or even a week. You'll be amazed at how much you improve by challenging yourself every day.
16. Don't use live-view. Most point and shoots lack viewfinders and live view is the only option you have when taking photos. With most new DSLRs, live-view is an available option. I highly suggest learning to use the viewfinder instead of live-view to compose your photos? Why? DSLRs are larger and heavier than point and shoots. To use live-view, you need to hold the camera out away from your body to see the screen. When you hold your camera away from your body, you are more likely to get a blurry photo due to camera shake. When you look through the viewfinder, the act of pressing the camera against your face actually steadies the camera and reduces camera shake. I promise you’ll get a higher number of sharp photos looking through the viewfinder than you will when using live-view.
17. Don‘t be too hasty to delete photos. Sometimes you’ll take a photo, look at it on the screen and think that it’s underexposed, overexposed or blurry. Don’t delete it right away! If you’re shooting RAW, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to use a photo editing program to recover an over or underexposed photo and have something usable. Of course, it’s always good to get the correct exposure in-camera, but if you don’t, give it a chance at home. If the photo that was overexposed captured a special moment, you’ll be glad you kept it.
The same goes for a photo that’s blurry. While having sharp photos should always be your goal, a soft, or slightly blurry, photo can still convey emotion. Sometimes it’s more about the emotion and feeling the photo has than how technically perfect it is. I often convert my soft photos to black and white and somehow they just seem to work. If I just deleted them in-camera, I would have lost some of my favorite photos!
18. Don‘t rely on photo editing programs. Even though I just said that you can recover photos with poor exposure in a photo editing program, try your hardest to get the exposure correct in camera! A properly exposed photo will always be better than a poorly exposed photo. If you’re going to take photos, try to take the best photos you can.
19. Understand your lens’ compression and distortion. Lenses of different focal lengths do more than just give you a wider or closer view of your subject. They also compress or distort your subject. For example, a wide-angle lens used for a portrait will really distort a person’s features if they stand too close to the lens. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a telephoto lens that’s used for a portrait will compress a person’s features. This means that if your subject has a big nose, a telephoto will de-emphasize the person’s nose while a wide-angle will over-emphasize it.
Another thing to consider is the distance you stand from your subject. I know that with my 50mm lens, I can stand a few feet away and get a nice portrait of a person that includes their head, shoulders and chest, but if I move in too tight and just get a person’s head, I know that their features will start to distort and I will not have an attractive photo. I know the usable limits to all of my lenses and you should as well.
20. Utilize backlight. Common sense usually tells you that you should face your subject looking into the light. You want them to be well-lit, right? There are a few things to watch out for when you do this, including harsh shadows and squinting. So, what can you do? Put the light source behind your subject. As long as there is enough ambient light, there will still be enough light on your subject for a good exposure. The difference is that instead of having a subject with the same exposure as your background, you’re exposing for the shadows and now have an over-exposed background, which isn’t always a bad thing. How can you minimize this so that you don’t have a pure white background? Put something, like a tree full of leaves, between your subject and the sun. You’ll get a nice wash of color that breaks up a monotonous white sky.
21. Turn off the flash. If you're shooting a back-lit image, you can use a flash for fill light. Try not using the flash and exposing for ambient light. It can give you very different looking images. If you’re using on-camera flash, you’re going to get harsh glare, flat light and unattractive shadows. By learning how to expose for ambient light, you’ll get an image that’s much closer to what you see in reality. You’ll also be able to shoot longer, as your subjects won’t be blinded every time you take a photo!
22. Try shooting in RAW. This is a big one. My photography started improving by leaps and bounds once I started shooting in RAW. Was the image quality better? Not necessarily. Could I save more poorly exposed photos? Yes, but even that’s not why I got better photos.
When I started shooting in RAW, I took full control over the look of my photos. Similar to shooting in manual mode, shooting in RAW takes the photo processing decisions away from your camera and puts you in control. Once I was in control of the way my images looked, I was able to learn the limitations of shooting in RAW, play with different looks and ultimately develop my own personal look and feel for my photography. If I had continued shooting in JPEG, my camera would continue to make decisions about how to process my photos and I would be stuck with them with no say in the matter.
Shooting in RAW is more work. You have to touch, or “develop”, every photo that you want to keep. They come out of the camera looking pretty plain compared to JPEGs. Since most cameras will shoot in RAW+JPEG, saving two copies of each photo (one in RAW, one in JPEG), I’d suggest trying this mode when you’re just starting in RAW so that you have a JPEG that you don’t have to do anything to, but you also have a RAW file that you can play with and develop. Once you’re comfortable working with RAW files, you might be more inclined to shoot in RAW only so that you have fewer files to deal with.
23. Use your exposure lock button. Here’s a good trick to have in your arsenal. You might not use it very often, but when you need it, you’ll be glad you know what to do. The exposure lock button allows you to meter your exposure from a particular point in a scene, lock that exposure then focus and recompose on a different subject. Why would you want to do this? The scenario I use it most often for is when I’m shooting in aperture priority mode and I want to create a silhouette. If I focus on my subject and there’s a strong backlight, I’ll almost always get a properly exposed subject with a blown-out background. That’s normally what you’d want. When I don’t want that, though, I’ll meter the background, press the exposure lock button, recompose on my subject, then take the photo. Now I’ve got an underexposed subject that’s in focus silhouetted against a properly exposed background!
24. It‘s not about the camera. Let me repeat that. It’s not about the camera. Don’t get caught up in which model or brand is better. Sure, advances in technology give newer cameras an edge over older cameras in certain areas like ISO noise, metering and auto-focus, but under good conditions the differences become almost negligible.
Whether you have an entry-level DSLR that cost $500 or a pro-level DSLR that $5000, they both can take great photos if they have good light. It usually comes down to light, not the camera (and if you don’t believe me, watch this). That pro-level camera will be able to take photos of an elephant, in a dust storm, at night, in the rain at 10 frames per second. An entry-level camera can’t do that. But really, how often do you need to do that? Instead, in the everyday world, if you know how to use most of the tricks I covered above, you’ll get great photos with any DSLR. In fact, I’d argue that if you don’t have much experience shooting with a DSLR, you’ll get worse photos with a more expensive camera. Why? More options, more buttons and bigger cameras almost always get in the way of just taking photos.
So, it’s about the light, not the camera, right? Well, almost. More than anything, it’s about your lenses. Read on for my last tip…
25. Buy a "nifty fifty". I tried to make this list so that you’d get big results without spending any money. Well, I’d be crazy if I didn’t include this last tip in here. If there’s one lens that every DSLR owner should own it’s a 50mm lens. Every brand of camera should have an inexpensive 50mm f/1.8 available. Most can be had for around $100. If you don’t mind an older, manual-focus lens, you probably can find one for less than $50! Why is this lens so useful and how will it improve your photography?
A 50mm lens is what’s known as a prime lens. This means it doesn’t zoom. You have to move yourself and the camera if you want to change your composition. This will force you to look at every situation more critically and find ways to get the best composure by moving around your subject.
Prime lenses are almost always faster than zoom lenses. If you pick up a 50mm f/1.8, or spend more money on a 50mm f/1.4, you’re going to be able to let in a lot more light than any zoom. This not only gives you more shooting options in low-light conditions, it also makes auto-focusing much easier for your camera, which relies on the light entering the camera to function properly.
The biggest reason this will improve your photography is just in the way your photos look. Do you love that "pro" look that photos have where the background is nice and blurry and only the subject is in focus? That is exactly the look a 50mm lens can give your photos.
Well, that’s it for now! Please, do yourself a favor. Don't look at this list and start trying everything you can. If you see something that sounds interesting, try it out, experiment with it, see what kind of effect it has on your photos. Then you'll know how you like it. If you change 10 things at once, you won't know what you like and what you don't like.
I hope you found this list useful. I'd love to hear which tip helped you out the most. If you've got any other tips that you found useful, let me know. Maybe I'll make a follow-up post with the best reader's tips!
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