Tips and Tricks

Here are some helpful tips to improve the quality of your photos, whether you have a DSLR camera or just a cell phone with a camera built in.

Use the light to your advantage.
Lighting can make all the difference when it comes to photography. Whether you’re inside or outside, make sure to take note of where the light is coming from. Depending on where you stand, the light can cast shadows and show silhouettes, or highlight and brighten your photo.

Silhouettes can be created by facing the camera lens towards the light source, capturing the dark side of the subject.

Take multiple pictures.
When there’s a good opportunity for a great photo, don’t take just one! Take multiple photos at different exposures, angles, focuses, etc. Some might turn out blurry, too light or dark, or even just have a thumb over the lens. When you look back at your photos later, it will be easy to delete ones you don’t need, but difficult to retake ones you never got.

Try different angles.
Instead of taking every photo from the same height, try different things. Position your camera on the ground, pointing upwards to make your subject seem to tower over you, or shoot your subject from above to achieve the opposite effect. If you’re taking a picture of a small child, bend down so that the camera is at their eye level for a more interesting photo.

This photo of a patch of clovers was taken from above. The photo would've looked much different if it had been taken from a closer angle, even though the subject hasn't changed.

Remember the rule of thirds.
Cameras usually have a setting that will turn on a 3x3 grid to help you with this. The rule of thirds is a guideline to help you take better photos. It states that photos are most aesthetically pleasing when their subjects are on or near any point where two lines intersect.

This photo follows the rule of thirds. The tree in this photo is positioned at one of the points where the lines of the 9x9 grid intersect.

Shoot photos at different times of day.
The lighting varies depending on the time of day, weather, and location. Different combinations of the three can make for very interesting photos. Morning and afternoon are generally the best times to take outdoor photos at, because the light is soft and doesn't cast harsh shadows.
Focus on your subject.
Some photos can get too distracting when there’s a busy background. That’s why it’s sometimes better to use a short depth of field and focus only on your main subject, like in this example below.

Experiment with shutter speed.
Depending on what you’re taking a photo of, varying shutter speeds will change the photo drastically, For example, a photo of a waterfall would look much different with a faster shutter speed than it would with a slower one, because the water would be captured differently in each.

The exposure for this photo was only 1/1000 of a second.

The expsoure for this photo was 1/4 of a second.

Get to know your camera.
Some cameras include a lot of different settings, which can be great, but also overwhelming. Make sure you figure out how your camera works before you start using it. Some cameras come with modes that will auto-adjust certain settings, which can be extremely helpful for beginners. If you are using a phone, check to see what settings you can change, and what photography apps could improve your photos or give you more freedom to change settings.

Remember that you see things differently than your camera does.
When taking a photo, make sure you look at the screen (or through the viewfinder) to see what your camera is seeing. Get in close and adjust the focus and saturation so that your camera notices detail and color the same way that you do.

Sometimes, it’s better just to go for it.
There are some moments when the perfect opportunity for a photo goes by too quickly to make little adjustments and worry about composition. Sometimes you need to just take the picture and fix the rest later. It’s easy to crop images and make slight adjustments when needed, but it’s difficult to recreate the perfect scenario.