How many times have you taken a photograph with your new digital camera and been excited thinking that you’ve taken the most amazing shot in the world, only to discover when you see the picture on your computer or in print, that everything is so dark; that you can’t tell who is who? Or you find that all you can make out is a line of rather fuzzy things that could be people, or trees, or a piece of abstract art?
So what went wrong?
Modern digital cameras are getting smarter and smarter. Set in automatic mode they are able to do fantastic things that help you and I take better pictures. But sometimes putting the camera on automatic isn’t enough and we need to use and change some of the controls and settings in the camera’s help menus to get better pictures. Does the thought of changing any camera settings fill you with self-doubt because you’ve never even opened the manual, never mind taken the camera off automatic and looked at a menu? So what is holding you back? Are you completely in the dark when it comes to your digital compact camera, can’t tell your ISO from your AF? These can all be explained in very simple language
Three things you need to take any photograph:-
• A subject, that you want to photograph
• Light
• A camera (recording device)
The subject – of your picture can be anything you choose – a landscape, a person, a building, a pet; in fact anything that you see and want to capture an image of.
Light – is something we take for granted. It’s all around us and is the reason we can see anything. It lights up objects and can be produced by natural means – such as the sun, the moon or lightning; or by artificial means; artificial lighting is something man made like street lanterns, candles, fluorescent lights and light bulbs.
The camera – is the tool you use to record your photographs. The functions and the tasks may vary among different cameras, but light is light, a subject is a subject and the ultimate end result hoped for is a good photograph.
The first step on the road to taking something even resembling a good picture is to know the camera you’re about to use – its strengths, its weaknesses and its limitations. How do you use any tool skillfully? Firstly, by getting to know fully how it works, and secondly by use – that means practicing with it to develop your skills.
There is always the option of turning to the manual. But the camera manual, only outlines how to turn each function on and off. It does not give you any understanding of the principles involved, or what is happening inside the camera. Because the terminology is unfamiliar to you, or because you don’t understand the concepts involved, you begin to think that the only option is to give up in frustration. But even more important you don’t want to be reading a manual while the family is posing and impatient to get it over with.
By going through the controls learning how and why they work, practicing until you get the hang of it, you will develop the confidence and skills to take outstanding photographs.And armed with these fundamental principles and your new skills, you will be able to not only understand why a picture may not turn out the way you had planned but also work around your camera’s specifications to produce consistently better photographs.
Who knows, you may even be able to turn your hobby into an income opportunity.
