Camera Tips
All tips tagged camera ✕
Before moving into a rental, take pictures of any repairs that need fixing. Take pictures again when moving out to prove in what condition you left the place.
Keep a camera in your car for capturing scenic sites, odd or unusual signs, animals, or a great sunset.
Get your toddler to sit still for a photo by placing a piece of clear tape around his/her finger. The tape will act as a distraction. Say the toddler's name to get him/her to look up.
Stabilize your camera for taking photos or video by setting it on a bag of rice.
Label your camera with your first name and phone number so it can be returned quickly if lost.
Camera flash is not only useful in the dark. It also works in daylight as a fill flash to soften or lighten harsh shadows, especially in your subjects' faces.
When traveling, especially abroad, take pictures of interesting warning signs. Examples include moose crossings or tractor crossings.
Use photos of your pet to make fun greeting cards. Edit digital versions of them for holidays or other events by drawing in hats, costumes or speech bubbles.
If you don't have a case for your small digital camera, just slip it into a sock before placing it in your bag.
When on a business trip, take some candid pictures for your spouse. They may not be exciting but it will help you two connect when you send the pictures via email or look at them together when you return.
Take better action shots with a digital camera by holding the shutter button halfway down until the perfect shot is in view.
Always take pictures no matter how small the event may seem. You will want to remember the details later.
Soften the look of a photo by taping a small piece of waxed paper to your camera's flash to diffuse the light it creates.
Avoid photo clutter by setting up a cataloging system for your digital pictures. A good option is to arrange by year, month and event.
Before taking a picture, pre-visualize your shot. You shouldn’t need to look through a viewfinder to frame up a shot. Rather, look with your eyes to see the story visually unfold. Don’t be afraid to simply turn around after establishing a view to check for a possible different perspective.
In photography, exposure relates to two factors: aperture or iris controls the amount of light transmitting on the film or sensor plane, while the shutter speed controls the duration of light transmitting on the film or sensor plane. These factors are reciprocal, meaning if you adjust one you must adjust the other to compensate for proper exposure. Changing the aperture affects depth of field or what is sharpest in the picture. The shutter speed affects the movement of the subject being photographed.
When taking photographs during the day with full sun exposure anywhere in the world, set your exposure to F/16 at 1/film speed. If using 50 an exposure index of 50 ISO, and want less depth of field or the sweet spot of the lens, simply open up two stops and close down two stops on your shutter speed. That would equal F/ 8 at 1/250. If it’s cloudy use your intuition and open up two to three stops to compensate for less daylight.
Before accepting a photography job, make sure you’re truly passionate and invested in creating the content. Many people take the “fake it until you make it” approach with photography, but doing so gives you a false sense of fundamental knowledge and will ultimately take away from your integrity, which is something that must be earned.