Fundamentals of Good Photography

Costco Photo does a great job personalizing photos, but it’s only going to be as good as the images you provide, so it’s essential you learn the fundamentals. A common mistake novices make is assuming photography is easy: you just buy a camera and take photos, but nothing is farther from the truth as you’ve got to hone your skills.

Use the Right Camera

The most expensive camera isn’t always the most necessary and if you’re a beginner you’ll just be wasting money. Learn as much as you can about how cameras work so you can get an idea of what features you need. If you only use one lens there’s no need to splurge on a camera with multiple lenses and tripod. Purchase only according to your needs and upgrade only when necessary.

Keep Your Camera Clean

Make sure the sensor is clean before and after use, and keep the unit clean. Store it when not in use and follow the instructions for cleaning it. Do the same for your tripod and make sure that it’s in good condition. If you take photos along the beaches and dirt ends up in the locks and joints this will affect its functionality. Once you’re done for the day, dismantle the tripod and perform a thorough cleaning, lubricating the joints if necessary.

Use Shutter Speed Properly

This can be done by following the Reciprocal Rule in photography, which states that you can obtain sharp results if your shutter speed is equal to the lens’ focal lens. This isn’t as difficult to understand as it sounds because it simply means that if your lens’ equivalent focal is 20mm, the shutter speed must be at least 1/20 sec. If the length is 200 mm the shutter speed needs to be at least 1//200 sec, and anything less will reduce image sharpness.

With these settings you need not worry about the vibrations and whatever effects the camera can have when shaking. Although some would opt for even lower shutter speeds, it’s not required if you’re after sharper images.

Get the Image Right in the First Place

Thanks to photo editing software, some try to cheat and get lazy with their camera work, hoping they can fix the errors with a photo editing app later. That is unacceptable because those applications can only go so far. If you don’t get the color balance, composition and exposure right with your camera, there’s no way a photo editor can fix that.

Overusing special effects and filters is another bad idea because people today can tell when a photo has been heavily edited. Use photo editing only if there’s no other recourse.

Last but not the least, remember the rule: do not buy any equipment you won’t be immediately using. Don’t use the excuse that you might use it someday: if that time comes, that’s when you buy and it will probably be cheaper by that time. And do read the manual and learn how your camera works because it might already have the features you’re looking for.