Five things every aspiring photographer should know.

This week I decided to create a list of things that an aspiring photographer should do. These are things that will improve someone’s image quality and consistancy. This list is geared towards beginners as well as others who wish to improve their photography skills. While numbered, this list is in no particular order of importance.

These are things that will help you regardless of whether you shoot people, flowers, or landscapes.

1. If your camera allows it, shoot RAW. RAW images not only give you more control over your final output, but they also give more control over exposure and are more forgiving.

2. Shoot with your camera on manual exposure where you control the aperture and shutter speed. You will learn about depth of field and camera movement which will give you much more control over your images.

3. There is direct and strong relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. LEARN IT! As a side note, there is a another direct relationship between minimum shutter speed and focal length. Learn it as well.

4. Learn your equipment and how to use it. Whether it’s a flash unit, light meter, or your camera, learn how to use it.

5. Learn how to hold your camera. I’ve seen a ton of people that don’t know how to securely hold their cameras. It’ll make a big difference when you have to shoot with a slow shutters speed hand held. Shooting a photo with a long lens at a slow shutter speed is very much like shooting a rifle. When you pull the trigger you have to be absolutely still.

I hope these tips are helpful. While I didn’t have the time to get real specific  about each one, there are plenty of online resources/tutorials that will give you more detail.