How to Take Better Photos: 3 Easy Steps

In order to take a "good" picture, you must keep three things in mind. It is much simpler to take a good photo than you would think.

1) the SUBJECT...

The first thing you need keep in mind is the "subject". You need to define what is the subject of the picture. Decide whether it is a person, animal, building, place etc. that you are taking picture of. With the subject in mind, you are nowmore keen to the placement of the subject in the photo. This will lead to better composition and good perspective.


2) LIGHTING <<<

The second thing to keep in mind is lighting. You don't want it to be too bright or the picture will be overexposed. You don't want it too dark either because the picture will be too dark. If you find that your picture is being over expose, then you can either lower the film sensitivity (ISO) or the shuttle speed or both. If the picture is too dark, then you can crank up the film sensitivity (ISO) or increase the shuttle speed. Another good easy tip is to adjust the white balance (WB) on your camera for appropriate lighting. Set it to tungsten, fluorescent, daylight etc. Keeping these simple ideas about lighting in mind will give you much be quality pictures, no matter what camera you use!



3) FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!

Thirdly and probably the most important is focus. If a picture is not in focus, then nothing else really matters. You probably noticed already, but if you compare a pro's photo with an amateur you can really see the difference. Most of the time, the pictures taken by amateurs are grotesquely out of focus or blurry. To ensure good focus, make sure the laser light beeps on the subject before you snap away. Another way to get sharp picture when you've tried everything already is to turn on your flash. This tend to give me the result I want when I can find no solution, but it is at the cost of sometime harsh lighting.

the "Holy Trinity of Canon Lens": the 35mm, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2

So when I got my first serious camera, a Canon Rebel XT, I didn't know which lens to invest in. I mean who could blame me, do you know how many lenses are out there for the Canon SLR series? Anyways, I did my research and stumble upon a small inexpensive lens people call the 'fantastic plastic'. This was the 50mm EF f/1.8 of course. So since then for 2 years, I've been shooting with this lens trying to master it.

I gotta say, I've hit the learning curve on it pretty hard. And now that I have some extra cash laying around, I thought I invest into a new lens, something a little pricier that has a little more range.

Of course, before diving into something that cost more than 5 bucks, I feel you should always do a little research. I talked to my brother, who is a huge photography enthusiast like me, and he recommend 3 lenses which he and other people have deemed the "Holy Trinity of Canon Lens". i.e. 35mm, 85mm f/1.2, 135mm f/2

The 35mm f/1.4-2/0

Now for this lens depending on which f-stop you want, the price can range greatly. For the f/1.4, amazon range it from $950-$1500 and for f/2.0, amazon range it from $230-$300. So is f/1.4 and f/2.0 difference really worth $1200? One thing for sure, the f/1.4 has a red ring and the first thing you should learn from lens is when it has a red ring, it's a damn serious lens. You don't see many amateur walking around with those kind of lens usually. As for what this lens can do... you can check out some sample here. Honestly, I think with the 50mm f/1.8, I pretty much can come up with the same shots.

The 85mm f/1.2

This lens cost about 350-400. It's dept-of-field seem much better than of the 50 mm for sure. Although close to the 50 mm I think the quality of its shot is much crisper. I am considering upgrading to this one, it's not too steep of a investment and can provide me something better to use for the wedding I got line up in July. Some sample shots can be found here.

The 135mm f/2

This lens ranges from $1000 - $1200. Also one of the lens I am considering to upgrade to as well. Although at $1000 it is a little steep. But what specs does it have? Check some sample here.

The Business Side of Photography: Princing

So as we all may know once you get good and decide to work for some cash, you might need to know how to charge your client. Depending on your skills of course will results in the prices you can charge.

Usually, for a quick session, 1/2 - 1 hour shoot, I charge around 50-100 for the session. Then for editing

I charge around 20 bucks an hour. Now keep in mind that this is not just for the labor, it is also charge for the equipment as well. You charge for the laptop, camera, lenses, and the programs you will use to process the photos. Just like a taxi cab driver does not just charge you for his time, but he also charges for gas and the depreciation on his car. A photographer must do the same.

Don't ever let your client haggle with you, the price is set. If they can't afford it then it's okay to tell them no. Let them find other photographers who will do for dirt cheap price. People will learn that nothing in life is free and you will get what you paid for.

Here's a video I came across of David Airey's blog about this...



This article may not help you take better photos, but it surely will help you be smarter about hiring out your time and effort. There's no worse feeling when you're on the job and feel like you're grossly under paid. This can effect the level of photography you produce.

Annie Leibovitz, A Glimpse Into How She Shoot

One my favorite photographer of all time, Annie Leibovitz has a unique style that makes he photographs timeless and at time like paintings. I love her style and we can all learn a thing or two from her. Watching this videos will directly and in directly give you Better Photos.





stills from the previous video



These are the capture images after processing... they are simply amazing. Her attention to light is mind blowing. Of course her processing is of pro quality, but her composition is what makes the photo in my humble opinion. Looking at all these pros makes me want to change to film... it is too bad I cannot afford to do so yet.





Annie answer 10 questions for TIME.com


If you would like to watch more video about Annie Leibovitz click here. Was this article helpful? Please do leave comments and feedback.

Nikon D3

Okay. It's time to look at the new Nikon D3. If you're not drooling yet, you will soon.

ISO: 200-6400
Weight: 2.7 lbs
Resolution: 12 megapixel
Continuous shooting speed: 9 frames per second
Price range: $4,349.00 - $4,999.95



My only complaint is... if I am dishing out 5 grand for a camera I want more mega pixels please. It's not like I will be able to afford one of these baby anytime soon anyways.

What is ISO?

So if you're new to the digital world and you have a nice camera, you might have a setting labeled ISO. You may not know what this is or what it does but you soon will. What ISO is the equivalent to film sensitivity with film cameras. Basically it set how sensitive you're image sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor is and thus you can take picture with lower light. Keep in mind though, the higher the ISO setting is, the more noise you will get in your photos. It is a trade off of course.

So ISO setting... range from 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600.
Unless you have a nice camera, 1600 ISO is out of the question because the (image) noise will become too much of a factor. I tend to shoot with ISO 800 at night and 200-400 during the day time. The number represent how many pixels you are willing to sacrifice to noise. So at ISO 1600, that is a lot of pixels!

My advice to you guys is this, keep the ISO as low as you can while changing the shutter speed and f-stop. Who likes noise in their picture right? So keep ISO in mind and you'll have less noise and less noise makes Better Photos!

If you like further details about this subject I recommend these articles...What is... ISO? | What is ISO setting on your digital SLR (DSLR) camera and how do you use it?

What are the Visual Elements in a Photograph?

So if you're new to photography, which I sometime feel like I am still after two years, this should be the first article you read on my blog. When we look at a photograph, we can most of the time decide if we like it or not. Most of us however, rarely give a second thought to why we like or dislike something.

It's like when we dine, we can say immediately if we like certain dish or not. Yet we may not know how to create that dish or even what goes in it. So it helps to learn the basic visual elements that makes a photograph and understanding the visual elements will make your photos better.

So what are the visual elements of a photograph? They are focus, light, value, lines, shape, space, texture and repetition.

Good. That's awesome, but what are they exactly?

focus: is the area that is clearest/sharpest in the photograph. If a photograph is blurry, it is said to be out of focus.

light: is how the subject is lit. It usually concern the direction of light, high or low contrast, direct or reflected, natural or artificial and hard or soft.

value: is related to light. It is the range between the darkest dark and lightest light.

lines: Some time certain objects can create lines in a photograph. These lines can lead the eyes in the photograph and can make the piece more or less interesting. The line can be thin or thick, straight or curve and real elements or implied.

shape: no matter what we look at, our mind is trained to see shapes. So when we look at a photograph, we instinctively find familiar shapes.

space: is the area the photograph convey. Is the space shallow, or is it deep. Are there more negative or positive space?

texture: texture can add another dimension to your photograph. Whether if it's fur or rust, make your viewer imagine what the texture feels like.

repetition: sometime objects repeat and create patterns, this can also make your photograph more interesting.

So now you have an idea of what a photograph is made of, just keep these things in mind and you'll definitely take better photos! Just don't get too bogged down with the elements and have some fun as well. There's no better way to learn than doing!

About this site.

Here I am are all about improving the photos you take. Each photo you take should improve from the last. Each session you do should be better than the last. Even great photographer still have things they can still learn. So I dedicate this blog to learning and taking better photos.

Community is a crucial part of learning. One can learn by oneself but the improvement is slow. In the community environment trades secret can be trade and we can all improve each other. So lets build a community where we can all feed off on!