How to take photos that will wow your friends?

Short article published on http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Take-Photos-That-Will-Wow-Your-Friends&id=2016030, written by yours truly, enjoy.


Digital cameras are getting smarter and more affordable. However, this doesn't make us a better photographer automatically. Almost everyone has a camera now, wouldn't it be nice to awe your friends with the photos that they can't seem to produce? Here are a few tips which they might not know, hence giving you an edge:

1) Learn to see the light:
- The colour of sunset and sunrise are warm and orange. It is hard not to take a good photo with this colourful and uni-directional light.
- Mid-day sun casts harsh shadows. Turn on your flash, it helps fill the shadows and you might be surprised at the result
- Unless you know what you are doing, don't place the sun or the main light source behind the subject. It will render the subject black. Exceptions to this include taking photographs of silhouette.
- Window light are soft and directional and will produce flattering portraits.

2) Learn to compose your photo:
-Placing your subject off centre. By default, most cameras will autofocus on the subject in the centre of the frame. Put your subject in the centre first, press and hold the shutter button halfway to lock focus, and recompose by placing the subject off to one side. Continue to depress the button all the way down.
-Photos taken at eye level are boring, climb up high or get down low.
-Most people hold their camera horizontally (it's just fits the hands perfectly). Try shooting verticals or even 45 degrees!
-If there are multiple subjects (like a flock of birds), take a photo of 3 (or any odd number) of them.
-If you are taking a landscape shot, divide the photo in horizontal thirds. Place the horizon on the top or bottom third.

3) Learn your gear:
The camera has many functions and customizable settings. Each of them can produce varied and interesting result. Read the user manual and try each different setting. Buying an expensive camera and putting it on auto, is like buying a Rolls Royce but using only it's radio. Here are some popular settings that you can experiment with:
- White balance: It changes the colour/tint of the phoograph from Blue to Orange.
- Exposure compensation: If the photo looks too dark, re-shoot it with exposure compensation turned up. If the photo looks too bright, turn the compensation down.
- Finer settings such as contrast and saturation could also be play around with.

Photography is an art. The thing about art is to learn the rules and then know when to break them. The tips above are meant as a general guideline only, don't let them hinder your creativity. Now go and wow your mates.

Teddy Tan is an award winning photographer based in Melbourne. Check out his website http://www.teddytan.com.au.