Sometimes a few simple tips and a bit of inspiration is all the motivation we need to fall in love with a new skill or hobby. Let’s jump right into these 7 tips for photography beginners to get you excited about photography!
1. GET THE RIGHT CAMERA
First of all, you’ll need a camera if you don’t already have one. If you’re just getting into photography, I suggest starting with a point and shoot instead of hopping right into a DSLR. This way, the more you use the camera, the more you’ll start to get a feel for what you like to photograph and then you can decide if a DSLR is even right for you.
For example, when I took my point and shoot camera to Italy, I started playing around with some of the features it offered. I was able to get a bit of a soft background, good night shots and decent dynamic range in my photos.
When I say dynamic range, I mean I was able to get a good balance between highlights and shadows in my photos. If I was taking a sunset shot, both the brightness of the sky and the darkness of the foreground balanced out well to create a nicely exposed photo.
Once I had a taste of those features, I was hooked. My point and shoot only allowed me to take those features so far, and to take them even further, I needed to upgrade to a DSLR.
The DSLR that I’m currently using is the Canon 70D and the creative freedom it allows is perfect for me. I feel like my passion for photography has grown so much because of the creative freedom too. Bonus!
If you’re considering what type of camera to get, perhaps ask yourself the following first:
- do I want more creative control?
- photographing subjects with a soft background?
- capturing smooth waterfall shots?
- getting into astrophotography?
- do I want to print my photos on a larger format like 8×10?
If you’ve answered yes to many of these, then consider looking into a DSLR camera. If not, something like a point and shoot camera is perfect for you!
2. FIND INSPIRATION
There are so many incredible photographers out there. Don’t let this deter you though. Instead, let this inspire you!
One of my biggest inspirations in photography was finding out that you could actually capture photos of our Milky Way Galaxy. If you check out Mark Gee’s photographs, you’ll see what I mean. I’ll include a link to him in the bullets below.
Instagram is another great source for constant inspiration. Here’s a few of my absolute favourites you may want to check out:
- Elia Locardi – landscape & cityscape
- Mark Gee – astrophotography
- Ananya Ray – travel photography
The trick here is to pay attention to the details that you like in photographs. Do you like how a photographer has captured a subject looking out into the distant mountains? Are you in love with that macro leaf shot? Take notes of the bits and pieces that are appealing to you and mold that into your very own photography style.
3. MESS WITH THOSE DIALS
Honestly, just play around with your camera! Between all of the courses that I’ve taken, this is the one constant that the pros suggest and it’s true. The best way to learn is to fool around with those dials and see what they do! Some of my favourite photos I’ve taken are the result of me just playing around.
If you’re thinking, “But wait Claire! What if I mess things up so bad that I can’t fix it?” Don’t worry, you’re not the only one with this worry.
I remember being so afraid to mess something up that I simply didn’t bother touching the dials at first, but here’s a helpful tip. Your camera will have the option to “Clear all Camera Settings” in the menu. So, if you mess up real bad just choose this option and voila, you have a brand new camera all over again! I’d suggest looking into this on your menu first, just so you know what it’s called. Sometimes there’s a “factory reset” option, which will do the same thing.
4. SET GOALS
The key to moving forward is to keep setting new goals! And man-oh-man does it ever feel good to achieve those goals. Here’s some examples that you can try:
- First Week: Master the blurred background
- Second Week: Create an intriguing perspective with a worms eye view
- Third Week: Capture star trails in the night sky
- Fourth Week: Get that silky smooth waterfall look.
Excited to get out and achieve some of these? Awesome, here’s a virtual high-five for you! Get ready for the next tip because it’s what helped me achieve some of these goals!
5. KEEP YOUR INTEREST WITH GOOD RESOURCES
Sometimes, it’s tricky to find inspiration on what to photograph. With so much else going on in life, it’s easy to put down the camera and leave it there for a while. In addition to that, I’ve found that sometimes I’m not sure what I want to learn next.
This is where the Digital Photography Complete Course book came in handy for me. Investing in this book specifically really helped me boost my skills because:
1. it gave me tasks to complete on a weekly basis to keep progressing my skills
2. it taught me about certain things like colour space and whether to shoot in JPEG or RAW before I even knew to ask the questions!
I have to attribute a lot of my photography skills to this lovely resource. To the authors of this book, I’d like to say a great big thanks because you’ve really done a great job at making learning photography fun!
6. TAKE PHOTOS AT HOME
There aren’t always mountains and waterfalls nearby to practice on and that’s okay! Some of my favourite things to do when I first got my DSLR was set up products to practice on in my house and honestly, it helped so much. By taking photos at home, I had time to fool around with my settings and actually see the difference different settings made.
Here’s an example to try when you get home today. Find a teddy bear from somewhere in your home (even a dog toy will do). Get your camera, set your camera mode to Aperture Priority mode and choose an Aperture of f/5.6.
Set your teddy bear up on the coffee table and make sure there’s something about 4 feet away in the background like a fireplace mantle or photo on the wall. Now, stand about 5 feet away from your bear with your lens zoomed all the way out, focus on the bear and take the shot.
Next, zoom in, focus on the bear and take another shot (be sure not change any of the settings). Notice anything about the background? Check it out!
The background is softened more when you’re zoomed in! I go into details on why in this post if you’re curious to learn more.
To sum this one up though, practicing at home helps things become more natural. This way, when you’re out adventuring, you’ll know what to do to get the shot you want because you’ve done it before!
7. STOP RESEARCHING
If this is the 3rd article that you’ve read on this topic, stop right now and as soon as you get home from work, pack your photography bag and get out there! Honestly, the best thing you can do to become better at photography is to practice. You’re going to make lots of mistakes. Believe me, I’ve made too many to count and am still making them. But at the end of the day, you’ll become better for it.
Every time I use my camera, I learn something new. Even if it’s just the tiniest tweak to get that right amount of blur in the background, or if it’s trying a different focus mode to get that eagle soaring in the sky, I always come away with learning a little more each time and so will you!
This is a good note to leave on, so I hope this article inspired you to get started with photography. I certainly love what photography has done for me. Being able to see those memories captured in time and feel some of those emotions again sure makes me smile. I hope it can do the same for you! If you’ve enjoyed this article, feel free to leave me a comment down below. I’m always happy to say hello to a new photography friend!
Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful rest of your day.
jim
Pretty inspiring!
Thanks
Claire
Thank you for your kind words Jim! Glad to hear you liked it.