The word Photography is derived and it literally means ‘the art of drawing with light’. The exposure we have in today’s age to photography is immense. Majority of us carry camera phones and hence snap pictures wherever we are. From the professional photographers to the amateurs, there are certain tips you need to follow to get a good picture. These basic tips can help you click fairly well and also develop your photography skills over time. So if you are an aspiring photographer or photography is your hobby or passion, you need to keep these simple rules in mind before you click a picture. Snap! Click!

10.Be Quick, Be Alert

Photography is about capturing moments. And yes, moments pass away in the blink of an eye. To be able to click photos that are worthwhile or the ones that truly capture the essence of the moment, you need to be quick and alert. Quickness enables you to click the picture at the precise moment and alertness helps you to click the right moment. It helps you capture the best around you. For example, capturing a monkey mid flight when it jumps from one tree to capture it air borne, you need to be super quick and alert for shots like this.

9.Composition

Composition is what makes the picture what it is. You need to have a good look through the viewfinder as to what you’re clicking. You don’t want to cut out your subject in question. Or you don’t want a lot of clutter in the background. You need to know what to include and what to eliminate from your picture. You can’t have plenty of litter showing in the background when you’re clicking your subject. You have to exactly know how to draw attention to the right elements in the picture by composing your shot well.

8.The angle matters

It is again very important to have basic knowledge about which angle you need to click from. There are various angles-top angle, bottom angle, side angle etc. You need to decide for yourself and experiment as to which angle is the best for the shot you’ve been deciding to take.

7.Know your Camera

It is not about the camera but about the photographer. The camera is just a tool until and unless you put it to use. For photographing well you need to know your camera through and through. Keep exploring for options, you’d actually be surprised to see how much of it you’re not aware of. Keep checking for which option helps you in which shot. Make use of the metering modes, white balance modes to create interesting photos.

6.Please talk to your subject…Or…You’d get horrible photos

Creating a rapport with the person you’re photographing is very important. You need to develop a comfort level between the two of you so that the photo session goes smooth and the camera doesn’t get the subject conscious. Conscious subjects make for bad pictures. You would succeed in getting awesome candid photos only if you make your subject comfortable enough to open up to you. Talk to them, make them feel as if getting photographed is the best thing to have ever happened to them. Adrenaline should be rushing in you as well as them once the shoot is over.

5.Travel….do more of that,yeah

You don’t get good photos when you shut yourself up in four walls. Whatever genre of photography you’re interested in, you get the best pictures when you step out. Travel, go and see the most unheard of and deserted places or for that matter the most unconventional ones. Just go and see and notice things around you. You’d get ample opportunity to click some great pictures. So, travelling even if its within the bounds of your locality or city, helps in improving your photography skills.

4.Ready….STEADY….Go

Did your eye catch STEADY written in all caps? Yes, it is meant to be that way. You need to keep your hands as steady as you can when you’re clicking. Steady hands give you sharp pictures as they eliminate camera shake. Camera shake leads to out of focus and not-so-sharp pictures that lead to the best pictures spoiling. So, before you click, take a deep breath, then hold it there, hit the shutter and release your breath. It will definitely give you steadiness and in turn sharp pictures.

3.You need to be patient

Patience is what you need to achieve success in photography. Good photographers wait for hours for one good shot without flinching or complaining. If you need to get that perfect shot you need to wait for hours to capture it. That is what makes a good photographer. It is always worth the wait, trust me.

2.Don’t rely much on post production

There are a lot of photo editing software packages available which help us get the desired images but still it is best to try and get the right photos by changing the settings in your camera itself. Editing may be needed just to touch up a little bit but if you want to qualify yourself as a real good photographer try and get yourself to click good photos and use post production software packages as little as you can, unless and until the situation demands you to do some heavy post production.

1.Practise makes a man perfect

It is said that your first 10,000 photos are going to be utter rubbish. So that means you have to keep clicking and keep practising. Practise helps you to develop he eye for photography. It helps you spot patterns, shapes, forms, reflections, expressions that any other person might not be able to see or spot unless you show him your perspective by capturing a photo of how you see it. So, you need to keep clicking as much as you can to become a good photographer.