A lot of you have asked me for some photography tips. I am very flattered by this considering I pull up websites of professional photographers all the time and I cringe as I glance at the pictures I have on my desktop. I do try to learn what I can in the limited amount of time that I have but I don't have time to explain everything that I have read and you would be really confused at the end. Trust me.
So, I am going to take the easy way out and link you to a couple of sites that I found helpful. On our "dates" sometimes Shawn and I will just go to Barnes & Noble and read books. (Yeah, we do a lot of reading around here. Have I mentioned that?) It is one of the best bonds that Shawn and I have.
Ok, so we go there and I just look at digital photography magazines and books and take notes. I am not a genius but I did get fairly good grades my entire life. How did I do that? I took lots and lots of notes. Something about the process of writing it down helps me to retain it. Even if I never look at my notes again it really works for me. So take notes and carry some of them with you when you are practicing with your camera.
I will give you two of my own personal tips before I refer you to the experts. : )
#1.
Lighting is EVERYTHING. If you don't have to use your flash then don't. I rarely shoot in auto mode because the flash is always popping up. I typically shoot in manual mode. Natural light is the best, indoor or outdoor. Morning and evening
sun is the best of the best. If you are shooting in the middle of the day and there
aren't any clouds to filter the sun then try to find some light shade to diffuse the sun for you. Here is an example of two (unedited) pics of my friends sweet baby Marlee. The first pic I took in front of the window with the blinds closed. The second one is with the blinds completely open with herfacing towards the window.
Marlee before
Marlee after
Makes a huge difference! These photos were both taken at ISO 400, 1/400 shutter speed, and 2.0 aperture. After you read the links I will give you below you will semi-know what this means.
#2.
My Canon T1i came with an 18-55 mm lens. This lens works great but it only has an aperture of 3.5-5.6. After a lot of research I bought an additional lens. I got a Canon 50mm 1.8 lens. This is the lens that the Pioneer Woman (surely you know PW right?) keeps on her camera most of the time. It is great for a variety of shots, especially portraits and at $100 it is a real bang for your buck. The 1.8 aperture is important because the lower this number is the more light you can let into your camera, meaning you can use your flash less often! The catch is that the lower the aperture is the less depth of field you will have in your shot. This is great for the "fuzzy background" effect but not so great for group photos or landscape shots.
Okay so now I want you to read these two links when you have time to process it and let me know if I can help explain further. Just keep playing around and remember to bring your notebook when you practice!
Okay so I started reading this when you posted in and now that I am outside taking pictures of the kids I had to run in here and read the whole thing. I for sure need the new lens.
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