Digital photography has made the medium more accessible. People are taking more images than ever before and sharing a record number of them online with friends and family. If your photographs aren’t as good as those you see online, it’s tempting to blame the camera (or your smartphone). Still, by following a few simple principles, you may increase the quality of your snapshots without spending a fortune on a new camera. Keep these 5 simple suggestions in mind the next time you go out to photograph the world around you.
1. Master the Fundamental Composition
The composition of a photograph is its heart—the placement of various components in a frame. Divide your frame into nine squares of nearly similar size. Try to place your photo’s topic along these lines and intersections, and visualize the main image divided into nine compartments. This results in a more dramatic, visually appealing photo than if your subject is placed dead center.
2. Use the Proper Color Temperature
White balance is critical. Use the proper location for the light you’re working with to guarantee whites are whites since you want your images to reflect a natural scene.
Every light source has a distinct color temperature. The sun’s rays are hotter than the moon’s. Moonlight, on the other hand, is warmer than a brilliant blue sky! These changes in color temperature must be considered.
The majority of amateur or inexperienced photographers will choose Automatic White Balance (AWB). This might assist them in photographing without overthinking the scenario. It will not, however, offer them with the best and most realistic color cast.
3. Crop It
Sometimes all a terrible shot needs to be cropped. Remove distracting elements from the image’s background or borders to give it a whole new appearance.
There are several cropping software alternatives available.
- Photoshop – It is regarded as an outstanding alternative and is perhaps the most well-known. Are you afraid it will cost you an arm and a leg? Wrong. They have price levels starting at $9.99 per month.
- Pixlr – This free service provides a tool package like Photoshop.
- PicMonkey – Another free site that provides the tools you need to crop photographs properly.
- Preview – If you’re using a Mac, you can make basic photo edits by opening Preview.
- HubSpot – It even includes a built-in picture editor, so when I upload a photo for my blog or website, I can crop it straight away. Something similar may exist in your CMS.
4. Filter
Yes, filters are overused and trite but bear with me. A modest, elegant filter may let a drab shot shine. I enjoy the Facebook photo editing features for adjusting contrast and enhancing color. And, of course, Instagram has apparent, harsh effects to avoid, so choose subtle filters that don’t increase the contrast to absurd levels.
5. Make Good Use of Your Flash
A flash blazing too near to a subject has ruined many photographs. Step back and zoom in to acquire the proper framing if you need to use the moment. If the scene is still too bright—or too dark—look into flash adjustment.
