Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Photography | How to Achieve Better Photos

     When I was about 14 years old I grew into a mild obsession with the pretty images in the Limited Too catazine and owned countless framed photos of the amazing work of Anne Geddes. At the time I didn't quite understand why I loved the images so much, to me it was simply because they had this professional look to them that I just couldn't achieve. 
     Of course I didn't have a top of the line camera or flash, but there was something much more important than all of those things that I was missing. The single most important key to beautiful photos is.....light. You see without light, there is no photography. You can have the most expensive camera and equipment in the world, but without the understanding of how light affects a photo....the results will be just the same as a disposable camera you bought at the store. 
     Shocking? Yes, as was I before I realized with a little practice and reading anyone could take beautiful photos. And so I'm here to tell you that even with a point and shoot camera, your images can still be beautiful!

     Okay I will stop babbling on and demonstrate exactly what I mean...


This is an image I took with my Canon PowerShot SD870 IS camera, with the flash pointed at my little doll. 


Then I set my camera to the Macro setting, opened up all of the windows and shut off the flash.

Much better right? I didn't move the doll, just simply used the available light that came from the window to the right. The key is if there is enough natural/available light in your surroundings... use it to give your photos a more natural look. 

Many photographs in magazines and ads are beautiful because of lighting, but also because you can see every detail. 


In this photo, I wanted to show my bracelet but since it is so far away and there isn't enough light, you can't really see the pretty rhinestones covering the links.


 I then set my camera to Macro, got up close to the bracelet and opened up the windows to let in some light. Now you can see the pretty details as well as the name on one of the links. 

Granted they aren't as crisp and clear as the photographs in a magazine, but you can still achieve great detail and beautiful light with images you take everyday as well as on vacation. I always take my PowerShot with me on vacation for certain events that I don't want to lug my dslr around to. Many of my underwater and landscape shots came from my point and shoot...and they came out great!

And so in summary:

1. When there is natural/available light, shut off the flash setting. 
2. Get your subjects closer to the natural/available light before snapping the photo.
3. Set your camera to Macro and get in close for details on smaller subjects.

I hope you enjoyed this post and helped give you a little understanding into the beautiful world of photography and light! If you have any suggestions for any posts or topics, let me know! 
Happy Tuesday! =)

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