Tips on how to take better photographs

This will be ongoing and I will add techniques and procedures as and when I come across them.

Make your photos POP by controlling your Depth of Field

Whilst the photos above won’t win any prizes they do illustrate the way you can emphasise the subject and make it pop out of the surroundings by controlling the depth of field and blurring the background. This is one of the techniques that I have mentioned below.

Whilst Auto settings are fine in certain ideal circumstances for taking holiday snaps – if you want to control your images – READ ON!

The one thing that will improve your photography is to understand what I call the “HOLY TRINITY” or the Exposure Triangle. This is the relationship between Aperture – Shutter Speed – ISO. So if you’re not sure what I mean or how they affect your results – then check out this section.

1. The Holy Trinity

The effect that each has in fundamental to producing the desired image that is properly exposed.

Aperture: – The size of the hole that the light hits the sensor.
Shutter Speed: – The time the hole (or shutter) is open to allow light to hit the sensor.
ISO: – The acronym stands for “International Organization for Standardization” and can be thought to denote the sensitivity to light of the sensor.

A small aperture (e.g. less than f8) would allow all parts of the image (near & far) to be in focus BUT it may result in the image being too dark (under exposed) as a small aperture restricts the amount of light hitting the sensor.

A large aperture (>f4) would reduce the depth of field so only a small part of the image is in focus BUT may allow too much light in and the image be over exposed

A fast shutter speed (e.g. above 1/500th sec) would result in the subject being frozen in motion BUT again a fast shutter would restrict the amount of light entering the sensor and the image may be too dark.

A slow shutter speed would increase the amount of light entering the sensor BUT it would blur any movement and increase the risk of camera shake and a tripod may be necessary.

A high ISO (e.g. over 800) would allow for a brighter image BUT this comes with increased “noise” or grain in the image and at high ISO this may become unacceptable.

So exposure is a trade off, therefore to arrive at the correct exposure for any given composition, the first thing I do is to decide what type of image I want to capture.

A sports shot needs a fast shutter speed and shallow depth of field – so a large aperture.
A landscape shot needs a large depth of field – so a small aperture.
A shot in low light will need a slow shutter speed so that I don’t have the ISO too high to cause too much noise. A tripod may be necessary.

Most cameras have a built in exposure meter to ensure you get it right but the camera doesn’t know the type of shot you actually want to achieve. This where the A (Av Aperture) and S (Tv Shutter speed) setting on your camera’s dial come in. They give priority to either aperture or shutter to help produce your desired effect. The P (Program) setting gives a series of presets that the manufacturer thinks may be helpful.

Most cameras allow you to set the ISO manually and also an A (Auto setting where you set the shutter speed and the aperture and the camera automatically sets the ISO to give you a properly exposed image. CAUTION – this may give a high ISO setting and excessive noise.

The M (Manual) setting gives you complete control over the setting and exposure and you can either set the ISO or put it on Automatic mode.

A couple of rules about exposure:-

For hand held shots – keep the shutter speed above the focal length of the lens (i.e. if your lens has a focal length of 150mm then keep your shutter speed above 1/150th sec.
Below this level use a tripod, monopod or some form of support.

2. Depth of Field Control

Depth of field is the amount of the image (front to back) that is in acceptable focus and is dependant on 3 factors:-

Aperture (f-stop)
Distance from the subject
Focal Length of the lens

Now there are varying scenarios when you might want a large depth if field (where everything in focus) such as a landscape – to a very shallow depth of field (where only a small part of the image is in focus) such as a an individual flower, an insect, a bird or a sports player action shot.

So for a landscape shot where I want everything in focus I would set my aperture to f8 or less and if it was daylight I would set my ISO to 100. For a landscape shot I would normally be using a wide angle lens with a small focal length – say 24 mm – so as long as my shutter speed was above say 1/50th sec, everything would be in focus and sharp. If I was using a tripod then I could drop my shutter speed right down – conceivably to 10 sec if I was doing astrophotography.

At the other end of the scale for a sports action shot or a bird in flight I want my subject to be frozen in their action and the background to be blurred so the subject pops out of the picture.

To achieve this I would want a lens with a large focal length e.g. 200mm and as wide an aperture as I could get – say f4 or greater. I would also need a shutter speed of at least 1/500 sec and hopefully the light is sufficient to keep my ISO below 800.

You may have seen sports photographers at football matches with those huge grey lenses. They typically have a focal length of at least 300mm, an aperture of f2.8 and a lens the size of a saucer. They cost upwards of £6000 so don’t worry if you don’t get quite the same quality as they do from your £150 lens.

Distance from the camera to the subject will affect the depth of field whereby the greater the distance then the deeper the Depth of Field – and conversely the closer to the subject then the shallower it will become.

The depth of field is also dependant upon the focal length of the lens – the larger the focal length then the shallower the depth of field.

The sensor size also alters the depth of field for a given focal length of a lens i.e. a cropped sensor camera would have a larger depth of field than a full size sensor camera.

Top Tip The amount of your image in focus at the back of your subject is approx. twice the distance in focus in front of your subject so you will not blur the background if your subject is too close to it.

Most cameras have a Depth of Field Preview button somewhere under the lens – the lens doesn’t normally stop down to the set aperture until you press the shutter release. By pressing this doF Preview button you can see what you final results should be.

Overall controlling your depth of field can give some stunning action shots or crisp landscapes. Take some time and practice!

3. Raw Photography

Shooting in Raw – no it’s not a ritual for naturists – it refers to retaining the full information that your camera captures when you take a picture.

When you shoot in JPEG, the software in your camera compresses the photo information (discarding large parts of it) to produce an image that an engineer decided would be what you want. Most of the time the result is acceptable and can be tweaked somewhat by other software such as Photoshop but the scope is reduced as there is only limited information to work with.

However if you set your camera to shoot in RAW the the whole of the information (raw data) is retained and can be manipulated and “developed” in Photoshop, Affinity or other software programs (most cameras come with their own software for doing this). The file sizes are large (even larger if you opt to keep both a Raw image and a jpeg) but storage nowadays is relatively cheap and the advantages of being able to alter the exposure, white balance, clarity, colour balance, etc., etc… amply compensate for the large file size. (See my post production workflow for tips on Raw processing or Developing)

The other very useful consequence of shooting in raw is that the “developing” is non -destructive so that you can manipulate your image to your hearts’ content and save the resulting jpg, gif, png, etc. but your original raw image is preserved so you can go back to it at a later date if you wish and process it differently.

Basically if your captured image is reasonably in focus then, when shooting in Raw, you can rectify most mistakes and resurrect an otherwise ruined photo (very useful if you’re shooting a wedding!).

Top Tip – take care with the shot in the first place and it will save you literally hours on the computer in post production.

4. Back Button Focusing

One of the key areas many photographers often struggle with, especially when starting out, is focusing. Being able to properly acquire focus on a subject or a scene is critical in making sure that the photograph is sharp where it needs to be. This is where back-button focusing comes into play.

Basically, back-button focus is a technique that takes the autofocus function away from the shutter release button, and re-assigns it to another button on the back of the camera. Although the name only suggests a button on the back of the camera, it can be any physical button (provided it can be set up for engaging autofocus). Most advanced digital cameras on the market today have a dedicated AF-ON button that is specifically designed for back-button focusing.

This can be useful when getting a focus lock on a difficult subject e.g. through glass or when branches or leaves are waving in front of it; you can get your focus, press the AF-ON button and the focus will be locked (until the next press) allowing you to concentrate on the exposure and composition of the photo. When you press the shutter release the camera will not refocus so preventing it locking onto the wrong area.

Most cameras have a custom setting section where you can assign the focusing to the AF-Lock button and it is well worth the effort to get used to it

Useful to note that on most cameras this function disengages when you revert to Auto mode so if you hand your camera to someone to take a photo of you say, change it to Auto mode first then you don’t have to explain back-button focusing to an oblivious novice!

5. Get Low – then get Lower!

Controlling the height of your camera in relation to the subject is another fundamental aspect of a good photograph and applies to all types of shots – and yes – I have bad knees and take longer to get up nowadays than to get down!

When photographing people, ensure your camera lens is at least level with their eye-line – preferably below it to get a proportioned shot that is similar to what you would see with your eyes – this vital when photographing children or animals.

Having your camera too high will give the impression of a large head and compressed body and feet – too low and you get elongated legs and body along with double chins – not a good look!

Take a picture of a landscape from high up and you may well get a nice shot of the valley full of trees, grass, etc. but with very little contrast. Get lower down into the valley and now you can still get the trees and grass but you can also get the horizon and the sky, creating a more pleasing and balanced photo.

Take a picture of a duck in a lake from the bank and you get a duck in the middle of water – boring! Get down to as near to the water level as possible and you get the duck, the water, the opposite bank and the sky – an altogether more interesting shot.

6. Framing the Shot

Whilst you can crop, enhance, add, subtract, lighten, darken, dodge and burn any image in your post production software of choice (Affinity, Photoshop, Paintshop pro, etc.) it is both more satisfying and more efficient to frame the shot correctly in the first place. Believe me, you can spend literally hours trying to resurrect a badly taken shot that, with a little more care and following simple rules, you could have taken it satisfactorily in the first place!

I include exposure in this section but I want to focus here (no pun intended) on the physical content of the shot. Here are a few simple guides that you can follow to produce a better shot (although I won’t call them rules as anything is allowed to produce artistic effects).

Check your verticals – keep all items that are meant to be, vertical – or the main ones if your using a wide angle.
Ensure the focus is where you want it to be and not changed by near objects like fence posts, windows, grass or leaves or branches wafting over the subject – switch to manual focus if necessary.
Remember the rule of thirds – avoid positioning you subject in the centre of the frame but offset it to the side. For landscapes have the skyline or horizon positioned roughly on the 1/3rd or 2/3rd “lines” depending on your shot emphasis.
Make you subject look into the photograph – not out of it by leaving more space in front of the subject than behind; similarly with action shots of a dog running for example.
Look for leading lines in a composition such as a path, road, tree-line or fence to lead the viewer into or out of the photograph.
Check you have no unwanted objects in the frame like dustbins, signs & posters, animals, graffiti, etc. – remove the item if possible, zoom in or move your position.
Frame your shot with tree branches at the sides or top and something in the foreground.
Check that your subject is not compromised by a tree sticking out of their head for instance or part of them is not in adverse shadow or sunlight – be prepared to move if necessary or possible.
Wait for cars, bikes, pedestrians, dogs, cats and other interlopers to move through before taking the shot – if possible.
Check the position of the Sun. Whilst having the Sun behind you is great for illumination, your poor subject may be squinting and unable to look their best.
The best times for landscapes is the first and last hour of the day when shadows from the low Sun can come and go very quickly alter your shot dramatically.
Carry, if possible, a tripod or monopod so that longer exposure times are achievable.
Control your depth of field by keeping your subject away from the background or zooming in.
Be patient – wait for the Sun or clouds to impact your shot. Wait for animals to move into a more pleasing position. Professional wildlife photographers sometimes wait months on location for a shot of a rare animal – so don’t expect to get an award winning picture every time you go out for a Sunday afternoon stroll in your local park.
Leave you viewer in no doubt what the picture is about – is it a picture of a duck in a lake or a picture of a lake with a duck on it?
Get as low as you can to alter the viewing angle and the background.
Bracket your shots if you are unsure of the exposure.
When out walking with your camera looking for a shot – turn round occasionally and check out what you have just walked past from a different perspective, you’ll be surprised how often something that looked mundane form one angle , can look exciting and dynamic from another.

These a few tips on taking better photos and there is a lot to remember – but the main advice I can offer is get out there with your camera and practice all different genres from landscapes to still life in all different lights.

Top Tips:

Learn how your camera works (yes – read the manual)
If want to take more interesting pictures – stand in front of more interesting subjects!!!