Note: These are tips for using a Canon T3i. Obviously, I don't know what kind of camera you have, and the settings may be completely different.
1: Start shooting in Manual mode as soon as possible. I was told to do that by a professional photographer, and even though it was difficult at first, I now shoot in Manual mode almost all the time. Occasionally, I will turn the dial to Macro, but for the most part, it's Manual all the way. =)
2: Get to know your camera. Read the instruction manual, or look up specific questions you have on Google or Pinterest. Seriously, Pinterest has helped me a lot. (If you'd like to look at my boards to see what inspires me, just Google, Denalyn Johnson on Pinterest. I should come up.) =)
3: If you shoot in the mode that the camera is automatically on when you first get it, and you don't switch it, then when it comes time to take some serious pictures you will not know your camera's full potential. Play with your camera. Especially inside. You need to know what your camera's limits are when it comes to indoor photo shoots. If you have a nicer camera than I do, shooting inside may be easier. The flash helps with indoor shooting, but I don't like using the flash. I prefer natural lighting, and the flash seems to always do something weird to the subject's eyes.
4: When switching lenses, keep the camera body facing down, so that dust won't get on the mirror inside. Also, keep the end of the lens that was attached to the camera facing down as well. Dust will get in and make spots on your pictures, or cause other problems. Keep your camera clean.
5: Shoot hundreds of pictures. Thousands, if necessary. Because, typically, 3 out of 10 pictures will actually work out. Keep pressing that button. Turn on burst mode, and leave it on. My camera doesn't have as fast a burst as the Panasonic Lumix, but it's still a handy feature.
I hope, for any beginners at least, that these tips were helpful. =)
Flash is dumb. :P I always keep it off cause it makes stuff look unnatural (as well as make the eyes of subjects look weird as you mentioned). A good alternative is a bounce flash that connects to the hot shoe mount on the top of the camera. I sometimes borrow my cousin's. :) Bounce the light off the ceiling or some other white object near by and it will look a whole lot more natural. Again, without a specialty diffuser on the flash, I wouldn't recommend pointing it directly at the subject. Bounce flashes also have adjustable settings that allow you to use different strength of light depending on what you need. :)
ReplyDeleteI've taken about 15,400 pictures with my camera since last April when I got it. xD How about you?
Thanks for the tip. I don't quite understand what you mean, but I'll just Google it. (Thank goodness for Google, right? =) )
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how many pictures I've taken since I've got my new camera. A lot, I guess. :D