Hello there!
My previous post about improving your photography skills popped out really popular, and it's still the most popular post on my blog, so I decided to gain some more tips and picked them in this post today!
If you haven't seen the first part yet, I really advise you to check it out!
1 \\ Learn your camera's settings
Probably it sounds a bit funny, but it's actually important as many people don't do it. After you got your camera, I advise you to explore and discover it's settings. There are a lot of tabs in my camera settings and, to be honest, I'm still not sure where to find some things, even after using it for 4 years.
Of course, there are a lot of things that you don't need every day, but some basics I suggest you know.
2 \\ Shoot & focus on manual
This point follows the previous one.
I bet we all used Auto mode at the beginning. But if you want your pictures to have the best possible quality, it's important to start using Manual mode.
Shooting on Manual allows you to control aperture, exposure, white balance, flash settings, ISO and lots of other things, that are crucial for taking a good photo.
Manual focus is good for situations with unusual focusing, for example, for macro shooting. I prefer using it all the time though.
3 \\ Use a tripod
Using a tripod is especially important while shooting in a darker place with a slow exposure (from 1/50 a lower, I would say).
4 \\ Don't hesitate using cropping tools
In the previous post, I warned you about using too much of photo editors. But surely there is one really helpful tool - cropping tool. In case you're in doubt with your photo composition, you can try to crop it and find the best way to fix it.
This tool allows you to take a sequence of the same photos and you always can choose the best one. Especially if you photograph a model - different mimics can change the whole photo and its mood.
6 \\ Show and share your photos
If you are not afraid of criticism, I suggest you show your photos wherever you can! Of course, it's not about the most amateur photography (when you photograph literally everything you can), but when you start planning your photos and when you've already got some experience, share your pictures and get comments. There might be a lot of unjustified negative (and trolls and just not nice people) but always listen only to constructive criticism. Find related communities, create an account on DeviantArt and 500px, share your art and learn!
xx, D
