Three Everyday Photography Tips and a Book That Will Change the Way You Use Your Camera
Khara Plicanic, my wife, a professional photographer and an amazing educator wrote a photography book, and even though I may be biased, I have to say—it’s pretty
awesome.
In her book Your Camera Loves You; Learn to Love it Back, she not only explains the basics of photography in a simple, concise, and even—entertaining—way, she also brings to light the often overlooked idea that you don’t need a fancy or expensive camera to get great photos. In fact, she says that any camera can be a great camera, if you know what you’re doing.
I’ve taken what she says to heart and wanted to share three tips she taught me early on that I keep in mind every time I pick up a camera—even if the camera in question is actually just my phone.
Get out of “auto” mode
The default setting on nearly every camera is “auto” mode. This is where most folk’s cameras spend all their time, and while it can sometimes produce great results, the results are often more frustrating than jaw dropping.
Becoming familiar with the other shooting modes your camera offers gives you options that better your chances of getting great images. Modes like “program” are still automated (taking any guesswork out on your part), but offer you more options with the freedom to change things like exposure compensation and white balance, among other things (check out the book for more details).
When it comes to your camera phone, it may not have as many control options as your regular camera, but if you dig around, you might find that you’re able to make exposure adjustments (making the photo brighter or darker) or tweak the white balance. If you have an iPhone check out Camera+ app!
Play with the white balance
In a nutshell, white balance affects the way your camera interprets color. It’s amazing how dramatically this setting can sometimes affect your image. This is the setting to go for first when your photos look too blue, yellow or are off-color in general.
For example, here are two shots of the famed “Music Wall” in Minneapolis—one taken with the white balance set to “auto,” the other set to “shade.” Which one do you like best?
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| Auto | Shade |
Composition counts
In her book, Your Camera Loves You, Learn To Love It Back, Khara writes about composition in greater detail, shows numerous examples, talks about the rule of thirds, and teaches you how to “see the light” to help better compose your photos. I highly recommend reading that chapter, but one thing you can do right now to make a difference in your images, is to move around your subject. Instead of shooting everything from standing eye-level, get up, get down, or move to the side.
For example, I could have stood right in front of the “Music Wall” and shot it head on creating a shot that is pretty flat. Instead, I got close to it, squat down and shoot it from an angle that made the wall look exactly what it is, a huge mural.
And the recap is pretty simple
- Get out-of auto mode
- Play with white balance
- Shoot from an angle that makes the subject shine
