Beginner Photography Lesson

General — By Leonie on September 30, 2011 at 6:59 am

Introduction

This beginner photography lesson has been written to help new photographers learn the very basics of photography using a digital SLR camera. It should help you to take your camera off auto mode and start using the semi-automatic and manual modes. I can give you an overview of the different settings and what they do but as each make and model of camera is different you will need to refer to your user manual for detailed instructions of how to navigate through the menus and make changes to the settings on your particular camera. I have also included some very basic composition information. There is a huge amount of information available about composition on the internet which you can read more about if you feel you are ready for more detail. If you are not already a member of the Photozo forum please register and introduce yourself. We have many members with a wide range of skills many of whom are happy to share information and help beginners to learn more. Remember we all started photography as a beginner and no question is too silly to ask. We also actively run challenges and assignments which will help you to improve your skills, learn and develop your photography further.

Basics of good exposure

A lot of new photographers buy a DSLR camera, set it to the green auto mode and take photos. Some of the photos will turn out well but others will be disappointing. The beginner photographer does not understand why the photo was unsuccessful or how to make it better. If this sounds like you then keep reading as I am going to explain how to take photos on the manual and semi-automatic modes and when to choose between the different modes. But first we must cover some basics.

Exposure

A good exposure is when you take a photo and it’s neither too light nor too dark. Three factors or settings work together to make a good exposure: Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO. If one of the three settings is changed, then one or both of the other settings must change to counter-balance the changes made to the first setting. Think of it as a three-way balancing scale, if one weight is changed it will affect the balance and one or both of the other settings must be changed to compensate. The more light that reaches the camera’s sensor, the brighter the photo will expose, the less light that reaches the camera’s sensor, the darker the photo will expose. An over exposed photo may be very light or white, an under exposed photo may be very dark or black.

Aperture

Aperture is the size of the opening inside the lens. The size of the opening, or aperture, can be increased or decreased i.e. the hole which allows light through the lens to enter the camera sensor can be made bigger to allow more light to the camera sensor, or the hole can be made smaller to decrease the amount of light allowed to the camera sensor. The size of the aperture is referred to as an F-number or an F-stop. The larger the aperture (the bigger the hole) the smaller the F-number will be. If your camera is set to f2.8 then that means the aperture is wide open, the hole is bigger, and more light will be allowed to reach the camera’s sensor. If your camera is set to f32 then that means the aperture is closed down, the hole is smaller, and less light will be allowed to reach the camera’s sensor. Different lenses have a different range of apertures, some can go as big as f1.8 whilst some can go as small as f32.

Photo showing different size apertures – © SLDigi – Fotolia.com

Please take a few moments now to read the user manual for your camera to learn how to adjust the aperture. Practice changing the aperture setting to a low number like f5.6 and also try changing it to a higher number like f16. Whilst we are learning how to change aperture, shutter speed and ISO make sure your camera is set to manual mode which is usually represented on the dial by a “M” on most cameras. If your camera is set to the green auto mode you won’t be able to make changes to these settings.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed refers to how long the sensor inside your camera is exposed to light in order to expose the scene you are photographing. Shutter speed is measured in whole seconds or fractions of seconds. When you’re working in fractions of seconds remember the larger the denominator the faster the shutter speed. For example 1/400 is faster than 1/60.  A fast shutter speed will allow less light to reach the sensor making the exposure darker, a slow shutter speed will allow more light to reach the sensor making the exposure brighter. Think of the camera shutter as blackout curtains covering a window on a bright sunny day. If you open the curtains and keep them open for 3 seconds before closing them that will allow light in for longer than if you open the curtains and then close them again within 1/500 of a second. The longer time light is allowed to enter the camera the more the photo will expose and the lighter the exposure will become. Likewise the less time light is allowed to enter the camera the less the photo will expose and the darker the exposure will become.

An important point to consider when using slow shutter speed is that the slower the shutter speed the more likely your photo will be blurred due to camera shake. Camera shake happens when you are hand holding your camera, as opposed to it being mounted on a tripod, and using a slow shutter speed. You are unable to hold the camera perfectly still for the duration of the exposure and the slight movements made by your hands will cause the photo to be blurry. Everyone is different and some people can hand hold at slow shutter speeds better than others. As a rough guide I work on the shutter speed not being slower than the focal length of my lens for me to hand hold successfully. This means if I’m shooting with a lens set to 100mm, I will not allow my shutter speed to be slower than 1/100, if it is then I must either adjust my shutter speed or mount the camera on a tripod.

Please take a few moments now to read the user manual for your camera to learn how to adjust the shutter speed, remember to ensure your camera is set to Manual “M” mode. Practice changing the shutter speed to a slow setting like 1 second and also try changing the shutter speed to a fast speed like 1/800. A 1 second shutter speed might be represented as 1”, a 1/800 shutter speed might be represented as 800 on your camera. When you set the shutter speed to 1 second, take a photo (don’t worry if the photo comes out too light) and listen to hear when the shutter starts and finishes. The sound you’re actually hearing is the mirror lifting up into position and then returning to it’s resting position. The delay between the two mirror movements is how long the shutter is operating for. There should be a roughly one second delay between the two. Try taking a photo again at 1/800 and listen to the sound the camera makes. Notice the difference between the two speeds? One second is much slower, a longer delay between the two sounds, than 1/800.

ISO

ISO refers to the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor. The lower the ISO number the less sensitive the sensor is to light, the higher the ISO number the more sensitive the sensor is to light. This means that a low ISO, for example 100, will expose more slowly resulting in a darker photo than an ISO setting of 1600 which will result in a lighter photo. ISO is a useful setting to adjust if you are shooting in low light conditions where you need the sensor to be more light sensitive i.e. require less light to expose the photo. The disadvantage of using a high ISO number is that the higher the number the more noise your photo will have. Noise is the amount of grain and imperfection in the photo.

So why use a high ISO setting? If you’re shooting in a very low light situation you may need to choose a higher ISO setting rather than a slower shutter speed. For example you might be photographing a school play, the stage is dark, you are hand holding your camera and the students are moving around on stage. If you choose a low ISO setting you may have less noise in your photo but the slow shutter speed needed would result in blur from movement in your hands and the students moving on stage. A high ISO would result in a noisy photo but you are less likely to suffer blur from movement as you would be able to set a faster shutter speed. A noisy photo can be filtered during post processing to improve the appearance and reduce the noise, a blurry photo cannot be fixed in post processing.

Please take a few moments now to read the user manual for your camera to learn how to adjust the ISO. Practice changing the ISO to a low number like 100 and also try changing the ISO to a higher number like 640.

Manually adjusting exposure

When your camera is set to auto green mode the camera will work out the exposure automatically. This works often but sometimes it does not give us the creativity and flexibility that we want.

If you take a look at the dial on your camera there will be some different options that you can turn it to. You will probably already be familiar with the green auto mode setting. Different brands and models of cameras have different names, abbreviations or symbols for the different modes. Look at your camera’s user manual to determine which mode is “Manual” on your camera. On my 5D the manual mode is abbreviated by “M” on the dial. Turn your camera to manual mode.

Inside your camera there is an internal light meter, this little device displays the light readings as a scale. Depending on your make and model of camera it might display inside the viewfinder, on the LCD display at the back of your camera, or on the LCD display at the top of your camera. You will need to look at your camera or read the user manual to determine where the light meter scale is located on your camera. I recommend you set the light metering to centre weighted metering whilst you are a beginner, your user manual will explain how to do this. The light meter display will look something like the image below, it will vary in appearance between different cameras but you’re looking for a scale similar to the one below.

Internal light meter scale with the pointer at the centre suggesting a good exposure.

Turn your camera on, set the aperture to f5.6, the shutter speed to 1/10 and the ISO to 100. This is just a starting point, you can have your settings slightly different if you want. Point your camera at a test subject and take a look at the light meter scale. Can you see the pointer at the bottom of the scale? It might be near the centre or to the left or right on the scale. Try adjusting your shutter speed either to a faster or slower setting. Can you see the pointer move along the scale? Adjust the shutter speed until the pointer is sitting in the centre of the scale.

The light meter inside your camera is assessing the light levels being reflected off your subject. When the pointer on the light meter scale is sitting at the centre mark it means your exposure in most instances will be good. This is what we’re aiming for as photographers, a good exposure and knowing what combination of aperture, shutter speed and ISO to set so that the exposure is good i.e. the pointer is at the centre of the light meter scale. There are some exceptions, this usually occurs when most of your subject is very light, for example snow, or when your subject is very dark, for example a black cat sitting on a dark background. For the average scene however you want to get the pointer sitting at the centre mark of the light meter scale. Remember the light metering is a guide to help you determine a good exposure, it’s there to give you a starting point so is not always an exact measure. There may be times when you look at the photo and decide to over-ride the light meter’s suggestion and expose more or less depending on what you feel is right.

Try adjusting the aperture to f16. Point your camera at the same test subject again and see what the light meter is telling you. The pointer should have moved over to the left on the scale, it is telling you that the current settings will under expose your photo. The reason this has happened is because you have selected a smaller aperture, the hole in the lens is now smaller as you have set it to f16. The smaller hole allows less light to reach the camera sensor, less light means a darker photo. To get the pointer back to the centre of the light meter scale for a good exposure we must adjust either the shutter speed or the ISO setting.

Try adjusting the shutter speed and see what happens to the light meter pointer. Adjust the shutter speed until the pointer is situated in the centre of the scale. Did you notice that a slower shutter speed (not a faster shutter speed) is needed to compensate for the smaller aperture? Change your shutter speed back to a faster setting, the pointer on the light meter scale will go back towards the left side of the scale indicating that your photo will be under exposed.

Now try adjusting the ISO to a higher number. Do you notice that as you set a higher ISO the pointer on the light meter scale moves back towards the centre? Setting a higher ISO means that the camera sensor is more sensitive to light, it needs less light to expose the photo.

Assuming your exposure is good and the pointer is centred on the light meter scale, if you make a change to one of the settings you should follow the guidelines below.

• If you select a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number) you must decrease your shutter speed and/or increase your ISO.
• If you select a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) you must increase your shutter speed and/or decrease your ISO.
• If you select a faster shutter speed you must select a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number)and/ or increase your ISO.
• If you select a slower shutter speed you must select a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number) and/or decrease your ISO.
• If you select a lower ISO value you must select a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) and/or decrease your shutter speed.
• If you select a higher ISO value you must select a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number) and/or increase your shutter speed.

For each single change you make one or both of the other factors must also be changed to compensate. Remember exposure is controlled by three factors: Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.

Dark and light scenes

In the previous paragraphs we learnt how to change the shutter speed, aperture and ISO and how to watch the light meter scale to get a good exposure with the pointer positioned in the centre of the scale. For the average evenly lit scene of grass, sky, trees or people this works well and you’ll get a good exposure. But there will be times when the scene and lighting can confuse the internal light meter of your camera.  Examples of when this can happen is when your scene is mostly very light, for example snow, or when your scene is mostly very dark, for example a black cat sitting on a dark coloured chair.

The light meter inside your camera will assess the average colours in the scene and try to expose for a middle grey tone. Let’s use the example of the snow scene. You point your camera at the scene you want to photograph, it is nearly all white snow. The internal light meter in your camera assesses the scene and shows that the current aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings will give you a good exposure, the pointer is at the centre of the light meter scale. You’re good to go and take the photo. But when you review the photo on the LCD of your camera the snow is showing as a grey dull colour, not a nice bright white snow. So what went wrong? The camera’s internal light meter tried to expose your scene for a middle gray tone, but snow isn’t a middle grey tone, it’s a bright white. In these situations you need to over-ride what the camera suggests and change your exposure settings so that it indicates you will over expose your photo. The pointer on the light meter scale will be near the +1 number. If your camera is set to the green auto mode you cannot over-ride what the camera suggests, but as you’re in manual mode you can either: slow down your shutter speed, select a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number) or increase the ISO so that more light is allowed to reach the camera sensor and you get a brighter exposure.

You may need to over-expose according to the cameras internal light meter to correctly expose
for a white scene like this one. © Peter Wey – Fotolia.com

Let’s look at the other example of a black cat sitting on a dark coloured chair. Remember your camera’s internal light meter will try to expose for a middle gray tone. You point your camera at the scene and the light meter scale shows that you have selected a good combination of shutter speed, aperture and ISO to get a good exposure. The pointer is at the centre of the light meter scale. You take the photo and review it on the LCD of your camera. Rather than a nice dark black cat you have a washed out grey looking cat on a lighter chair than what you saw in real life. So what went wrong? The camera’s internal light meter tried to expose the scene for a middle gray tone, but your cat isn’t a middle gray tone, it’s black. You need to over-ride what the camera suggested and change the settings so that the light meter scale suggests you will under expose your photo. As you are shooting in manual mode you can either: select a faster shutter speed, select a smaller aperture (larger f-stop number) or decrease the ISO so that less light is allowed to reach the camera sensor resulting in a darker exposure. The light meter scale on your camera should display the pointer closer towards the -1 mark rather than at the centre.

You may need to under-expose according to the cameras internal light meter to correctly expose
for a dark scene like this one. © Pipalana – Fotolia.com

You might be wondering why using manual mode on your camera is a good thing, apart from the light and dark scenes where it’s obvious that you need to control the exposure yourself, why not use the green auto mode for everything else? If you’re happy with simple snap shots then there’s nothing wrong with using the green auto mode, but if you want to make creative and beautiful photos taking your photography to the next level, then you need to have more control than what the green auto mode will allow you to have. Read on to learn more about taking creative photos.

Creativity with aperture and shutter speed

Setting your camera to manual mode or a semi-automatic mode will open up a whole new world of creativity in your photography. Different apertures and shutter speeds not only allow you to better control the exposure of your photo but can also change the appearance of your photo and I will explain more about this below.

Aperture

Earlier on I talked about aperture, a small aperture means a large f-stop number (e.g. f22), this reduces the amount of light reaching the camera sensor because the hole allowing light through the lens has become smaller. A larger aperture means a small f-stop number (e.g. f2.8), this increases the amount of light reaching the camera sensor because the hole allowing light through the lens has become larger. In addition to affecting the amount of light reaching the sensor, aperture can also affect the appearance of the photo.

I have taken two photos to use as an example. The first photo on the left was taken using a larger aperture of f2.8, the second photo on the right of the same scene was taken using a small aperture of f32. To maintain a good exposure I changed the shutter speed to compensate for the change in aperture. Can you see the difference between the two photos of the same scene? Note that the change in appearance is due to the change in aperture, not the change in shutter speed.

The differences between the two photos are important to note. There will be times when you take a photo and want everything in the background behind the subject to be in sharp focus and clearly visible. For this situation you will want to choose a small aperture (high f-stop number) as a priority. At other times you may want to blur out the background, perhaps you are taking a portrait of someone and you want the distractions in the background to blur out so they are less obvious. In this situation you will choose a larger aperture (low f-stop number) as a priority. Whichever aperture you choose remember that the shutter speed and/or ISO may also need to be adjusted to obtain a good exposure.

Some extra tips to achieve a blurred out background: select a large aperture (small f-stop number); use a  longer focal length lens because more blur will be achieved with a lens of 100mm than a lens set at 30mm; a larger distance between the subject and the background will create more blur than a background close to the subject.

Here are some examples where photographers have used aperture to control the appearance of their photo.

This interior photo of a kitchen has been taken with a small aperture (large f-stop number). The photographer has intentionally created a large depth of field (as much as possible is in sharp focus) so that the viewer can clearly see every part of the kitchen in clear focus. Perhaps the photo is being used in a sales brochure for a kitchen company or an estate agent selling a house. It’s important that the viewer can clearly see all detail throughout the kitchen.

Photo showing use of a small aperture, everything is in clear focus throughout the frame
© pics721 – Fotolia.com

A large aperture (small f-stop number) was used for this photo. See how smooth and uncluttered the background is, there are no distracting elements to draw our attention away from the subject which is the meerkat. The large aperture has been used to remove detail from the background because it is not necessary for us to see the detail in the background.

Photo showing use of a large aperture, the background is blurred to hide unwanted distractions
© barryjones_2003 – Fotolia.com

In addition to the manual mode on your camera there is also an aperture priority mode. Read your camera user manual to learn which setting on the dial this is. On my camera it is abbreviated by the letters Av. This mode is known as a semi-automatic mode. Like manual mode the camera allows you to control which aperture size to use but like green auto mode the camera will then determine which shutter speed to use to get a good exposure and set it to this automatically for you. The semi-automatic mode is very useful if you don’t want to fuss about setting both the aperture and shutter speed, you do half the job by telling the camera which aperture to use and then the camera works out the rest for you. However like green auto mode, if you’re faced with a confusing scene for the internal light meter (remember the snow and black cat examples) you won’t be able to over or under expose your photo unless you set up the camera for exposure compensation. As this is a beginner lesson I’m not going to cover this but reading your camera’s user manual should explain how to do it. In these situations you can revert back to manual mode if you need to. Also remember to take note of how slow the shutter speed becomes when automatically set by the camera. If the shutter speed becomes too slow it may be difficult for you to hand hold your camera without causing blur. If this happens you can either increase your ISO or mount the camera onto a tripod to prevent camera shake. If your subject is moving and you want to avoid making the shutter speed too slow then you can increase the ISO or you may have to select a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number).

So let’s recap on this section. If you want to take creative control of your photography by controlling the amount of background blur in your photograph it is best to use the manual or aperture priority mode in your camera – M or Av. To take a photo with sharp focus detail throughout the field (all the way from the foreground to the background of your photo) you will want to set your camera with a small aperture (high f-stop number). If you would rather have a photo with a blurred out background to eliminate distracting elements in the background then you will want to set your camera with a larger aperture (low f-stop number). You can control the amount of blur between foreground and background by selecting an aperture anywhere between the minimum and maximum aperture available on your lens.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed can affect the appearance of a photograph too, either by adding motion blur intentionally by using a slow shutter speed or by eliminating all motion blur by selecting a fast shutter speed. Deliberately causing motion blur in a scene can make for a very artistic photo but there will also be times when you don’t want any motion blur in your photo. Controlling the shutter speed will determine whether or not your photo contains motion blur and to what degree. Motion blur is blurring that occurs in the photo when a slower shutter speed has been selected, motion blur will be created by movement from the subject or photographer whilst the shutter is open.

A slow shutter speed will create more blur, a fast shutter speed will reduce the amount of blur. In addition to shutter speed the speed that your subject is moving at will determine the amount of blur created. A slow moving subject will cause less blur than a fast moving subject assuming the shutter speed for both examples is the same.

Let’s take a look at some examples to better illustrate the creative use of shutter speed.

The photo below has been taken with a fast shutter speed. The subjects are fast moving, but with a fast shutter speed the photographer has frozen the action resulting in a sharp crisp photo with everything clearly visible and no blurring. This is called stop action because everything in the photo appears to have been stopped during action, there is no sense of movement created by blurring.

A fast shutter speed has frozen the action in this photo, everything is in clear focus with no motion blur
© Shariff Che’Lah – Fotolia.com

The photo below has been taken with a slow shutter speed. The buildings are static so remain in focus but the vehicle lights are moving creating streaks of light running through the photo. The photographer would have had his camera mounted on a tripod for this photo otherwise the buildings would suffer motion blur from the movements in the photographer’s hands during the slow shutter speed.

A slow shutter speed has been used to create streaks through the photo where the lights of vehicles have travelled.
© kalafoto – Fotolia.com

Here is another example of a photo taken with a slow shutter speed. The shutter remains open for long enough to capture the flow of the water resulting in a silky appearance. The rocks and leaves are static so they remain in focus with no blur. The photographer would have used a tripod for this photo otherwise the rocks and leaves would have been blurred too.

A slow shutter speed has been used to create the silky smooth appearance of the flowing water.
© Radu Razvan – Fotolia.com

An artistic impressionist feel can be given to photos by selecting a slightly slower shutter speed and then creating blur by moving the camera whilst the shutter is open. See the photo below as an example.

A slow shutter speed can be used for creative effect.
© SVLuma – Fotolia.com

Panning can be done by following your moving subject with the camera whilst the shutter is open. This is a fairly difficult technique to perfect. It results in the subject (which is moving) to be in clear focus without any blur but the background to be blurred through the movement of your camera. See the example below.

Panning creates motion blur in the background but keeps the moving subject in clear focus.
© wojtek – Fotolia.com

Determining what shutter speed to select is a creative process and something the photographer has to determine after considering factors like speed of subject and how much or little blur is required. This is a trial and error learning process, the best way to discover what works is to get out there with your camera and start taking some photos, experiment with different shutter speeds and learn from your results.

In addition to the manual mode on your camera there is also a shutter priority mode. Read your camera user manual to learn which setting on the dial this is. On my camera it is abbreviated by the letters Tv. This mode is known as a semi-automatic mode. Like manual mode the camera allows you to control which shutter speed to set but like green auto mode the camera will then determine the aperture required to get a good exposure and set it to this automatically for you. The semi-automatic mode is very useful if you don’t want to fuss about setting both the shutter speed and aperture, you do half the job by telling the camera which shutter speed to use and then the camera works out the rest for you. However like green auto mode, if you’re faced with a confusing scene for the internal light meter (remember the snow and black cat examples) you won’t be able to over or under expose your photo unless you set up the camera for exposure compensation. As this is a beginner lesson I’m not going to cover this but reading your camera’s user manual should explain how to do it. In these situations you can revert back to manual mode if you need to.

So let’s recap on this section. If you want to take creative control of your photography by controlling the amount of motion blur in your photograph it is best to use the manual or shutter priority mode in your camera – M or Tv. To take a photo without any motion blur you will want to stop the action by selecting a fast shutter speed. Just how fast the shutter speed needs to be will depend on a number of factors e.g. how fast your subject is moving, how far the subject is away from you, focal length of your lens etc. Asking what shutter speed is necessary is a little like asking how long is a piece of string, it depends. I would suggest starting with a minimum shutter speed of 1/300 but you will need to review your photos in camera and determine whether or not that needs to be faster. If you would rather have a photo showing motion blur then you will need to select a slower shutter speed. Once again the actual speed necessary all depends on a number of factors. The best way to work it out is to experiment and evaluate your results as you go on, this is the creative side of photography where you just need to experiment and decide what you think looks good. Remember that as your shutter speeds become slower (shutter speed is slower than the focal length your lens is set to) you may need to make use of a tripod unless camera shake is the type of motion blur you’re looking for.

Composition

Composition is another important part of photography and something beginner photographers should work towards improving if they want to take creative looking photos. Often in our rush to take the photo we overlook the basics of a good composition. I will touch briefly on composition, there is a lot of information available on the internet if you want to read up more about it.

Rule of thirds

Imagine that two lines run both horizontally and vertically through your photo at equal intervals creating a grid over the top of your photo. Where the lines intersect each other imagine there are circle shapes. See the image below.

When you take a photo, placing your subject or point of interest on or near one of these circles often creates a stronger and more pleasing composition. Many new photographers compose their photo with the subject or focus of interest bang in the centre of the frame.

If your subject is moving or looking in a certain direction try to place the subject in the frame at a circle point where the direction of movement or direction of gaze allows space for your subject to move or look into the frame rather than out of the frame. See the photo below as an example.

Point of focus is falling on one of the intersecting grid lines. The couple’s direction of sight is facing into and across the full length of the frame rather than immediately out of the frame.
© AVAVA – Fotolia.com

When photographing a landscape or seascape scene try to keep the horizon on one of the horizontal lines. You will either have two thirds of sky or two thirds of sea/land. Try to avoid placing the horizon through the centre of the photo. When photographing water always try to keep the level of water on the horizon level. The photo below shows a good example of the horizon being at the top third of the photo and the horizon is level.

The horizon on this photo is level and falls along the top horizontal line on the rule of thirds grid.
© Andreas Karelias – Fotolia.com

Point of view

What makes one photo of the same subject more interesting than another? Often it can be as simple as a different point of view. We all know what our family pet looks like from a standing position looking down at it, how often do we see our pet from the opposite direction, laying down on the floor looking up at it? Seeing our pet from this point of view can be interesting because it’s something different and not what we see every day. The same applies to any subject, photograph it from a different point of view and it can be a whole new experience looking at that subject. Next time you’re photographing a subject, take your usual photo but then take some from a different point of view. Try taking a photo from above looking down, try getting down on the ground and take a photo from ground level looking up. Experiment and see what interesting photos you can come up with.

Below is an example of a photo taken from a different point of view. It’s not every day that we usually see daisies from this angle. Doesn’t that photo look interesting, it’s something different which makes us linger for a little longer to take a better look.

Try taking photos from a different point of view to add interest.
© silver-john – Fotolia.com

Backgrounds

Another common problem we run into in our haste to take the photo is that we forget to check what’s going on in the background. We’re so focused on our subject that we’re oblivious to the ugly cluttered background that might we spoiling our photo. It might be that a larger aperture can be used to blur out the background in which case we don’t need to worry too much. But in most cases we really must remember to check the background. It is much easier to fix the background before we take the photo than to try and edit it out in post processing.

When you’re framing up your shot take time to look at the background. If it’s cluttered and ugly can you move the subject to a different location, perhaps a nice neutral fence or hedge would offer a more pleasing background? If your subject can’t be moved can you move the point of view from your camera? Perhaps by taking the photo from a higher or lower angle might help to avoid the unwanted background. Can you move yourself left or right of the subject, perhaps take the photo from another angle, when you move the background will change and perhaps it will change enough to improve the photo. You can also try setting a larger aperture (lower f-stop number), if the background is far enough away from your subject and if the aperture is large enough it might blur out an unsightly background. Sometimes waiting for the right moment is all you need, if people are walking past behind your subject it may just be a simple case of patience and waiting for a quiet gap when no one is passing to take the photo. It might simply be that there is something in the background that you can pick up and move out of the way. If you’re thinking about the background you can take measures to improve it so remember to pay attention to your subject, but also give the background some thought before taking the photo.

Conclusion

I hope this lesson has helped you to feel more confident about moving your camera off auto green mode and taking control of your photography in a more creative way.

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