The Portland Metro Photographic News

by Tom Hubbard, PMPN Publisher, August 24, 2009

Getting started in DSLR photography is not easy.  Just look at the number of dials, controls and menus presented to the beginner on even the least expensive DSLR.  It can be mind boggling.  Internet help isn't always accurate or written in a beginner-friendly fashion.  So PMPN is offering this list of suggestions that are designed to provide both immediate and longer term help for enhancing your picture taking experience.

The list is divided into three topics: Educational, Mechanical and Compositional.  The list is only intended to help beginners get started.  There's much more to all of these topics that time, education and experience will eventually teach you.  But here are several things you can do immediately to improve your pictures and increase your photographic confidence.

Educational

• Read your camera's manual.  Camera manufacturers provide excellent operational manuals.  Get to know your manual.  It's your first source for functional camera information.  Unfortunately, these companies have discovered that using 4-point type allows them to cram more information into a smaller book -- and save printing dollars.  Go to your camera manufacturer's website and DOWNLOAD your camera's manual.  Now you have a digital version that can be enlarged on your monitor so humans can read the text.
• Join a local camera club or Internet forum.  I prefer the camera club option for the one-on-one experience of sharing and learning with fellow photographers from my community.   Great way to make friends.  Online forums also provide a sharing and learning experience, but they are, obviously, less personal and hands-on.  Take a look at Photoforum.com (a very friendly online photo community) and the Beginners' discussion section of dpreview.com.
• Take a local beginning photography class.  Most community colleges offer beginning photography classes that will fit your schedule.  Local photographers often subsidize their income by giving beginning photography classes.  You shouldn't have to spend a fortune to find excellent beginning classes in your community.  For our Oregon/Washington area PMPN provides a section that announces upcoming classes and workshops - called Photo Education.  Nothing is more supportive and educational than joining a class/workshop filled with photographers who are at the same learning level.
• Visit photo galleries and libraries to experience the photography of others.  Seeing the work of other photographers is a mind-expanding experience.  You'll not only gain insight into skilled photographers' styles, but you will begin to identify the types of photography that most interest you.
• Watch other photographers.   Whenever possible, watch a professional or advanced photographer at work.  I have had more picture-taking questions answered by just watching other photographers than I care to count.
• Take pictures.  Sounds obvious, but getting out in the real world and taking lots of pictures is your best teacher.  Pictures are dirt cheap!  Shoot, shoot and shoot some more.  Download your images and REVIEW every picture on your monitor.  Make note of what worked and what didn't work.  Learn from every single click of the shutter.
  

Mechanical

• Use a tripod and a cable release or the camera's self timer.  For several reasons:

• The solid base a tripod offers ALWAYS produces the sharpest pictures your camera can capture.
• Using a tripod automatically requires you to slow down and think about composition and camera settings.  The more thought you put into taking a picture, the better the results.
• Using a cable release or the self-timer feature of your camera totally eliminates any camera movement you may cause when pushing the shutter release button.  Remember: a stable camera produces the sharpest images.  Here's a beginner's article on the importance of using a tripod.

• Except when taking quickie family snapshots, learn to avoid "auto" mode.  Manual, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes are the functions you need to learn.  Auto mode takes away all exposure control and does not necessarily ensure a "good" picture.  Go back to your manual.  Here's an article that walks you through these camera "mode" settings.
• Learn to control depth of field and to use the depth of field preview button.  Nothing is more frustrating that downloading a picture to your computer and discovering that only a part of your subject is in focus.  Depth of field determines how much of your picture will be in focus.  Learn how your camera's aperture and shutter setting work together to provide the depth of focus every picture requires.  Here's an article that brings these elements together to control depth of field.
• Start your action stopping photography experimentation by using a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second or faster.  Stopping action is partially a learning experience since action occurs at various speeds.  But use this general rule as you start experimenting with stop action.  You'll soon discover when you need a faster or slower shutter speed.  Here's an article that explains the workings of your camera's shutter and how it stops action in your pictures.
• Use your camera's histogram feature.  Knowing how to use that little graph (histogram) that appears on your camera's preview screen after each picture will ensure that you will walk away with a picture that is well exposed.  Make this a "must do" tip!  Here's an article that describes the use of the histogram feature on your DSLR (read the Method 3 section of this article for the histogram discussion).

Compositional

First of all, rules are not created to be broken.  The common Internet chatter that "compositional rules in photography can be ignored" omits one vital piece of information.  A "rule" of composition can be broken assuming you have mastered the rule to begin with!  Most beginners do not know these rules and should begin their compositional indoctrination by adhering to these time-tested guidelines.  If you do this, "when to break a rule" will eventually become second nature and a natural part of your photography.  Give yourself and your photography a break.  Start by mastering these basic rules.  Your pictures will likely be much more rewarding.  Here are three of the most fundamental rules of composition for beginners.

• Start by shooting subjects that you know or interest you.  If you know your subject, you are more comfortable and confident.  You also will have a good "feel" for the best angles, important features and moments of action to concentrate on.  For example, one of those subjects for me is softball.  My college daughter has played softball since she was 8.  I now know everything about the sport and exactly when the most important moments in game will occur.  So, I don't worry about the game.  I'm free to concentrate on the players, their interaction and their moments of peak action.  There are bound to be hobbies, sports and personal interests where you have a similar comfort level.  Start your photographic journey by shooting these subjects.
  
• K.I.S.S.  (Keep it simple, silly.)  Simple pictures are almost always the most powerful images.  Eliminate the unnecessary, the background clutter and anything else that detracts from your subject.  Focus your attention and your camera on the elements that tell your visual story.  Get close to your subject.
  
• Use the Rule of Thirds.  Mentally dividing your viewfinder image into thirds -- vertically and horizontally -- and placing your main subject at one to the four intersecting points is a fundamental concept in art and photography.  It doesn't ALWAYS work, but it's an excellent place to start.  Here's an article that addresses KISS and the Rule of Thirds in down-to-earth terms.
  

This is only the tip of the composition iceberg.  You'll soon learn that you never stop learning about composition.  Start with these simple tips, and you will see a noticeable improvement in your pictures.

Don't forget.  There was once a time when Ansel Adams knew nothing about photography.  So, there's hope for all of us.