# 10 Easy Tricks for Better Beginner Photography Photography isn’t solely a gig reserved for experts with pricey gadgets; you don’t need fancy DSLR or mirrorless gear to shoot stunning photos! In fact, the very camera you carry in your pocket – your smartphone – has some pretty slick capabilities these days. If you’ve picked up your first camera (be it phone or high-end device), these 10 tips will set you up for success. 1. Get acquainted with your device! You’d never drive a car without first looking at the controls, and your camera is no different. Learn to use every button, setting, and shooting mode that your camera has. The more you understand what makes your camera tick, the faster you’ll be able to nail the perfect shot! 2. Learn about exposure (how much light your photo receives!) This one is HUGE! Understanding your camera’s exposure triangle will put your photos leaps and bounds beyond those with boring and flat, over- and underexposed images: * Aperture: controls how much light enters the lens and can also affect background blur (bokeh).* Shutter speed: affects how long light touches the image sensor, which can create motion blur or freeze action.* ISO: dictates how sensitive your camera is to light, meaning lower numbers create less “noise” (digital grain). 3. Harness the Power of Natural Light! A photograph is all about light, so your goal is to photograph what the eye can see most favorably – and natural light is always going to be the answer! Anytime you get a choice, take it with a natural source and dump the built-in flash and a big room lamp every single time! Look at that awesome light during morning and late afternoon – that’s what people call “golden hour”, and it rocks for photography! Or stand inside near a large window to get some naturally lit shots of people! 4. Stick to the Rule of Thirds – it works! Think of your camera’s frame divided into 9 equal parts by 2 imaginary horizontal and 2 imaginary vertical lines. Whenever your subject – whether that be a landscape focal point or a person – intersects one of these lines, you should be sure to place him or her there rather than in the middle of the shot. Believe it or not, it creates some amazingly better-balanced photographs and you don’t necessarily want your photo to look staged and centered – use the rule of thirds! 5. Get rid of camera shake! The number one killer of digital photos is usually shaky, blurred images from an unsteady hand holding the camera! Just keep both your hands on the camera, press the button as lightly as you possibly can, hold the camera close, brace yourself, and just like that, your photos will not have that horrible blur effect from motion shake! The trip is even simpler! Just get yourself a nice, sturdy tripod. 6. Put your subject where you want it and in focus! Focusing is a huge skill to have, so always remember where your main topic for the photo is; make sure that the picture itself is always sharply in focus on exactly where you want it! If you’re shooting with a phone camera all you have to do is tap on your subject or if you’re trying for a professional shot with your own camera, use your cameras focus point just as the manual directs you! 7. Change your perspective! One of the things most of us overlook when taking photos is that our normal eye level can sometimes present quite a bland and “Seen it all ready to death” photo opportunity. Try walking around your object or even lowering and elevating the cameras! Look around what is on top, below and to the side! It does something unique with each new camera angle and perspective! You’ll quickly find different things that catch your eye and will result in more striking shots. 8. Minimize the background! When you go out and take pictures, avoid complicated backgrounds whenever you can! This sounds really simple, yet many of the photos we see are taken while the camera man is actually standing there trying to shoot his or her intended focus with chaos behind! Try standing off to the sides to avoid the distraction; what’s the goal here; is to capture the story or to photograph? That subject of a photo deserves attention so clear the clutter around it! 9. It’s okay to edit and retouch your images. So long as you aren’t distorting the truth of what the photograph presents, your image needs the touch-ups that every single magazine photo needs as well! Add to that the fact that even in a fully-automatic-mode photograph a “true” image is just the “beginning” you get from the camera… the world is an amazing and crazy colorful place so your edited photograph should be an extension of that reality, right? 10. Just Take Photos! That’s all there is to it! Take as many photographs as you possibly can in order to reach the maximum possible learning curve! It will take several months (and possibly even more depending on your determination!) to work through this 10 step learning process so be persistent and remember to not get too bogged down in the technology, instead, work on developing that eye for detail and composition.