So, you’re interested in photography but need some guidance on actually carrying out this passion? Or maybe you’re already well on your way into the world of taking photographs but looking for ways to get better. Look no further! This article presents in 10 steps, a consensus view, based on research and personal experiences of our board, on how to embark on a journey into photography, specifically digital photography.

• Step 1: Understand camera basics
• Step 2: Understand camera equipment
• Step 3: Upgrade lenses before upgrading the camera body
• Step 4: Stabilize your photos with a tripod
• Step 5: Keep your camera with you constantly
• Step 6: Understand the exposure triangle and transition to manual settings
• Step 7: Experiment with composition
• Step 8: Socialize your photography
• Step 9: Store and post process
• Step 10: Enjoy!

Step 1: Understand camera basics

What basics you ask? The basics of camera options, elements and costs. When delving into photography you have some choices to make. First, you’ll need to decide whether you want to engage in analog or digital photography. Analog requires film, while digital requires a memory card. Most of you reading this will likely be choosing digital photography, so your next choice will be between five basic digital camera options:

• Smartphones
• Point-and-shoot (compact) cameras
• Interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras
• Digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras
• Medium format cameras

While each option has its pros and cons, if you’re serious about photography, but don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on a medium format camera and accessories, we’d recommend a DSLR camera. While photography can still become an expensive hobby with a DLSR and its system of flashes lenses and memory cards, you can drastically reduce costs and get necessary equipment for high quality photos by catching sales and buying used. Another way to save money is by not subscribing to the concept that any single piece of equipment will perfect your photography. Upgrade equipment over time, but in between the upgrades focus on improving your implementation of concepts mentioned in the following sections. Concepts surrounding exposure and composition are the same regardless of the price of the equipment.

Step 2: Understand camera equipment

Speaking of equipment, you also should understand the basic equipment that you need for high quality photography:

• Camera body
• Flash
• Lenses
• Memory cards
• Tripod

The camera body is the main part of the camera. It has various controls that affect the resulting photograph and often has a built-in flash. The lens is critical, because it works with the camera body to create a focused picture as opposed to a blurry mess. Memory cards are used for storing images that you capture, while the tripod offers stability to the camera as you take photos.

Step 3: Upgrade lenses before upgrading the camera body

Once you go beyond point-and-shoot cameras, you will need a lens separate from the camera body. Camera bundles typically come with a starter lens also known as a kit lens. The kit lens is normally an 18-55mm lens with a slow/narrow aperture (f/3.5-5.6), which means it has modest zoom capabilities, but limits you to getting pictures of more stationary subjects and/or subjects in well-lit places. So, while you might be able to get some decent pics of a near by soccer player outside on a sunny day, don’t expect to get high quality pics of a dribbling basketball player in your typical poorly lit indoor gym. The kit lens is sufficient for getting started, but as time progresses, you will likely get the itch for producing higher quality photos under varying circumstances. Some think immediately about upgrading the camera body to increase quality of photos, but upgrading the lens will have a much greater impact. In addition, as you upgrade the camera body, you will likely be able to use the lens on each new body you buy, making it a better investment over time. The first lens upgrade you may want to consider is a 50 mm with a fast/wide aperture (f/2, f/1.8 or f/1.4). This lens is economical relative to the quality it offers and is easy to find used. It is great for capturing nice quality pics in low light situations and offers more control over depth of field, which leads to better isolation of your picture’s point of focus. One other note about lenses: get a lens cloth. You might find yourself getting fogger shots and thinking something is wrong with the lighting or lens, when the real issue is that the lens just needs to be wiped.

Step 4: Stabilize your photos with a tripod

Oh well. I guess you don’t fell like taking better pictures. Tripods very sneakily make drastic improvements to your photography at a price that is much lower than other equipment you’d buy for a similar purpose. When holding a camera, even if you have the steady grip of a surgeon, your hand is going to shake a little. This slight shake can be the difference between an amazing picture and a blurry one, particularly in low light situations where the shutter needs to stay open longer to allow for more light to enter the lens. The longer the shutter remains open, the more susceptible it is to being affected by camera shakes. With a tripod, the shutter can stay open as long as necessary, because the camera will remain still. So, while it does add to the equipment you have to carry and set up, it will be worth is for sharper pictures. You can find some nice bags, however, that can hold a tripod, to make transporting it easier. To maximize the benefits of using a tripod, be sure to set it up on solid ground and use either a remote or the delayed shutter feature of your camera with at least a two second timer. Without a remote, the two second timer will delay taking the picture for two seconds after the shutter release button is pressed, helping to ensure that you finger pushing the button doesn’t shake the camera while the picture is being captured.

Step 5: Keep your camera with you constantly

Getting better at photography is like trying to get better at anything: you must practice. The recommended approach for practicing is to keep your camera close on a regular basis and take pictures every chance you get. You may even consider creating assignments for yourself to make taking pictures more interesting. The right camera bag can make carrying your camera around much easier, and it keeps you from having to walk around holding the camera in your hand or swinging from your neck on a strap, which can be cumbersome, especially with a lens attached. In addition, the bag will have compartments for additional lenses and various accessories. We also recommend a bag with straps for connecting a tripod.

Step 6: Understand the exposure triangle

When first getting started in photography, its probably best to not get bogged down by the details. Just start taking pictures and developing an eye for what makes a good shot. To help with that, DSLRs typically come with standard modes like Portrait, Close up, Sports and Landscape. So, if you’re taking a picture of a scene in nature, turn the dial to landscape. This is a great way to get you off and running in the world of photography. As you begin to get more comfortable, however, you’ll want to step out of the confines of these modes and learn more about what is behind them. These modes are largely the camera making determinations about what is known as an image’s exposure value (EV). Exposure is the amount of light reaching a photographic film or digital sensor (of a digital camera), while the exposure value, also known as the exposure triangle, refers to three variables that collectively determine the exposure of a photograph. These variables are aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Aperture affects depth of field (the extent which the background is blurred), shutter speed affects how motion is captured (how sharp or blurred a moving object appears in a picture), while ISO determines the camera’s sensitivity to the light it receives (how bright the pic is and whether it is sharp or grainy). Each variable impacts the other, so picking the right values under the right circumstances can be a delicate balance, but its an important step in taking greater creative control over your photography. It is advisable to ease into this step. You might first begin by adjusting the ISO to see how it impacts your picture quality. Then move to modify the shutter speed, followed by studying the impact of modifying aperture settings.

Step 7: Experiment with composition

Taking pictures is more than just snapping whatever’s in front of you and capturing a sharp high mega pixel image. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase: “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Truth is, that’s only the good pictures. Some pictures are only worth two words, tops. To make that thousand-word picture you need to have the right composition. Composition is the arrangement of all elements of a photography. A clock on the wall behind a smiling guy with a gray beard is not just a clock. Collectively the elements of that picture could be a representation of how a person chooses to enjoy life because he’s fully aware that the , represented by the ever present ticking clock over his shoulder. A person staring at a bright orange pumpkin that is the same color as the shirt he’s wearing, adds multiple dimensions to a picture.

As you take pictures, begin to play with the composition in different ways. Move items around. Move yourself and take the picture from different angles. Be cognizant of what’s in the frame and make some judgement calls about whether it is pleasing to the eye, and/or tells a compelling story.

Also, be aware of the balance of the photograph. For example, too much sky may create an unbalanced picture resulting in those viewing it to lose interest quickly. Learning about the rule of thirds may help with this.

Step 8: Socialize your photography

We’re social beings and therefore motivated by the effects of social feedback and interaction when it comes photography. While completely enjoyable on its own, photography can be equally or maybe even more enjoyable when done alongside others that share your passion for it. You can bounce creative ideas off of one another, and get someone else’s take on a shot. If you don’t know anyone in your inner circle to call on, there are plenty of meetup groups that you can join that will connect you with other enthusiasts.

In addition to socialize the taking of picture, you should socialize the pictures themselves. There are numerous social media platforms for doing so.

Step 9: Store and post process

Ever fill up a multi gigabyte memory card with great pictures, then lose the card? It’s not a good feeling. Save them to a drive and/or in the cloud. Then get a computer with some sort of image editing software and begin performing post processing on your pictures to get a feel for how you can enhance them after you’ve already captured them. Sometimes the exposure and composition can be effectively modified during the post processing phase. DSLRs allow you to capture pictures in both raw and jpeg, so consider choosing this option. Jpegs are shareable immediately and represent how the camera chose to process the image, but raw files capture a lot of data that make manual post processing more effective. Note: you can also perform post processing on jpegs if you don’t have the raw image.

When first beginning with post processing, you may want to consider doing some simple brightness, contrast and color correction.

Step 10: Enjoy!

Don't take it too seriously. If you take a bad picture, just take another one until you have one that you like. Have fun with the process.

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