I have always loved photography and when given the opportunity to take a three month course during university, i grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Since about 2002 I have been sharing photos online, and for a long time my photos were mostly shared and stored on Flickr. See my Albums here.
In more recent years as mobile phone cameras have advanced along with mobile phone editing and sharing apps, I took fewer big cam images and more phone cam images. I have shared many of those images on sites like Instagram. See my Instagram images here.
People tell me all the time that they like my photos and seem to think that they are unable or incapable of taking similar shots. They are wrong!
Here are five good tips that will help you take great photos starting today!
1. Clean your lens before each shot especially with smart phones. This is probably the most common reason people are disappointed with their photos. You can not get a good photo with a cloudy lens. Even the slightest fingerprint will mess up a framer. I just use my t-shirt (i wear soft cotton ones).
2. When you see something interesting or beautiful, then imagine it hanging on a wall inside of a frame. Take the photo putting what you are looking at inside that frame. “Framing” is critically important as you are shooting it. There’s much to learn about framing but with the tip above, move the viewfinder or screen of the camera around your subject to get the nicest bits in your photo before you click. Read up on “framing” as there’s much to learn here.
3. Be still! Yes it’s hard to take crisp clear photos if you are not steady especially if it isn’t very sunny or bright. In low light settings think TRIPOD still. Maybe don’t have that third cup of coffee before you go snapping away.
4. Make sure you are shooting from an angle that helps your subject receive the most light. If the subject is between you and the sun, it’s going to be hard to get a photo that shows the subject in beautiful detail unless you have a massive flash or light. Use the sun or whatever happens to be the brightest light source. I hate using a flash to be honest but you can get some amazing shots with your flash too.
5. Play with a photography app. They are fun and can really take the art form which is photography to levels that you only imagined before. Snapseed, instagram, google+, flickr and many many more apps on your smart phones will help you play.
If you take photos while in Antigua remember that if you are sharing them online, tag them with the #antigua #antiguabarbuda or #antiguaandbarbuda tags, and if you took the shot while out with us please use the #adventureantigua tag too. Thanks much!
