How to Become a Better Photographer

Published in

Guide to Life

7 min readApr 17, 2019

By: Kylie Hoff

Photography is a common hobby that many people around the world share. With the invention of camera phones, it’s become something that many people can easily do without spending a lot of money. However, because it’s such a common hobby, you’ll find that some people who claim to be an expert photographer are really just someone with access to a camera. Here’s how you can take your photography from “a 13 year old wanna be with a photography instagram account” to “a professional with photos worthy of National Geographic.”

Practice

One of the only ways that you’ll get better at photography is by practicing. If you only break out your camera (or phone) once every couple of months, you won’t be familiar with it. You also won’t gain any experience and you’ll lose your photographer’s eye. Practicing consistently will also help you build a portfolio for you to show off. Over time, your technical skills will get better. You’ll start seeing everyday objects as a great photograph.

As you practice, you should also experiment. Play around with camera settings, try new angles, and find unique subjects to shoot. Experimenting can lead to unique, eye-catching photographs. By breaking out of your box and shooting new things, you’ll find yourself becoming more creative and willing to try different styles.

Find a Style

If you look at the work of any famous photographer, you’ll notice that they have a distinct style of how they capture the world. They also probably have certain things they like to photograph, such as sports, nature, wildlife, or architecture. You can find your style by looking at other photographers for reference and playing around with different styles. You may also use certain compositional techniques to further advance your style. Compositional techniques are the ways you set up the elements of your photos. There are 4 main types of compositional techniques:

Rule of thirds: The rule of thirds is one of the most widely known and use compositional techniques. It divides a photo into a 3x3 grid. By placing the subjects on the lines of the grid or placing points of interest on the intersections, you can make a photo more visually appealing and interesting to look at. You can do this when taking a photo by using a grid shown on your camera (if it has that option) or by cropping and adjusting the photo in photoshop later.

Before, the subjects are randomly in the middle

After, the subjects connect on a vertical line and intersection, and the ground is close to a horizontal line.

An example of framing by using leaves to frame the buildings in the background.

Framing: Framing is technique where the subject of the photo is framed or outlined by something to draw more focus on the subject. You can frame your photos by using things such as your surroundings, nature, objects, or buildings.

Depth: There are three parts of your photo; foreground, middleground, and background. By allowing your camera to focus on only one part of the photo, you can create emphasis on the subject.

The lines within the grass lead to the mansion in the background.

Leading Lines: Leading lines are lines found in a photograph that can do two things; draw the viewers eyes towards the subject or create a sense of movement in the photograph as the viewers eyes follow the line. They are used to make photos more interesting or to put emphasis on the subject.

Understanding Your Camera

You can buy the best camera in the world, have top-notch lenses, and get the most up-to-date gear, and still have bad photos. Good gear means nothing if you don’t know how to use it. You should understand how a lens takes a photo, what the different modes on a camera means, and how lighting, distance, and shutter speed affect a photo. First, you should read your camera’s manual to understand all of the modes and settings. Then you need to inform yourself on how a camera actually works, and how all of the different aspects (aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc.) work together to take a photo.

Most cameras have preset modes for you to shoot on. These are helpful if you’re not ready to shoot using a manual mode. Some of the most common ones are:

Auto mode: Auto mode presets all of the settings by accessing your surroundings and subject. It will set the ISO based on lighting, the shutter speed based on the movement of the subject, and the aperture based on the distance of/focus on the subject. Although this is a great mode to start on, it’s not the best if you want to manipulate your photo in certain ways. Older cameras also aren’t the best at auto mode, because they aren’t as good as accessing lighting.
Sports mode: Sports mode will use a high shutter speed to capture moving subjects. This is great for photographing a soccer game, kids playing tag, or dogs running around. However, you may find the lighting of the photo doesn’t always look the best.
Portrait mode: Portrait mode will use a high aperture, so that the person you are photographing is in focus and the background is blurred out. It doesn’t work well for fast moving subjects or landscapes.
Landscape mode: Landscape mode uses a lower aperture to capture a landscape scene. The whole photo is in focus. It typically uses a lower shutter speed and does well in well lit scenes.
TV mode: TV mode lets you set the shutter speed and automatically sets the aperture. It’s a good step up from sports mode.
Aperture Priority mode: This mode allows you to choose the aperture you want to shoot at, and it automatically sets the shutter speed. This is great for manipulating the blurriness of the background and focus of the subject, but is not the best for fast subjects.
Manual: In manual mode, you can control everything. You control the aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. This mode often takes a lot of practice to handle, but is great for manipulating photos.

The Exposure Triangle

ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are commonly known as the exposure triangle. These three aspects work together to create a photograph by adjusting the amount of light in the photo, the blurriness of the background, and how fast the photo is taken. It’s important to know how each of these work and what they mean.

ISO: ISO refers to how sensitive the sensor of your camera is to light. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive the camera is to light. The higher the ISO, the faster possible shutter speed. However, higher ISO values will make your photos appear more grainy.
Aperture: Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the camera lens. It is measured in f-stops, and the lower the f-stop (such as f1.4) the bigger the opening and the blurrier the background. The higher the f-stop (such as f12) the smaller the opening and the crisper the background.
Shutter Speed: Shutter speed refers to how fast the lens opens and closes while taking a photo. The faster the shutter speed, the less blurry a photo will be. However, faster shutter speeds let in less light, and can therefore make your photos darker if taken in poor lighting.

Editing Your Photos

One of the most surefire ways you can improve your photos is by editing. By just doing a few quick tweaks in photoshop, you can bring your photos from good to great. To start out, try editing the brightness, contrast, and exposure of your photo. Play around with the saturation and be sure to color correct to get rid of any tints the photo may have. You should also crop the photo. By doing this you can focus in on the subject and remove unnecessary background objects. Furthermore, you should straighten your photo by using the straightening tool. This will make your photo more aesthetically pleasing to a viewer’s eye.

If you want to get really good at photoshop, you should google it. Watch tutorials on YouTube or use the free tutorials on Adobe’s website. These tutorials often teach editing techniques like removing something from the background of a photo or putting something in. By doing this, you can learn new techniques that will better enhance your photos.

Combining Methods:

Overall, there are many ways you can improve your photography and distinguish yourself as a photographer. By understanding your camera, finding a style, and using compositional techniques, you will be able to bring your photography from “8th grader with a VSCO” to “Published on National Geographic.” Furthermore, as you learn to edit your photos you can enhance them further digitally. All of these techniques will bring your photos to life.

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How to Become a Better Photographer

Written by Kylie Hoff