Photography tips from an amateur

Every now and again I get a photo or two that looks semi-professional, and so I think that qualifies me to offer other people advice on photography. So here are a few points I’m currently trying to remember as I take photos, that another budding photographer might find useful:

• Don’t get so fixated on the subject that you ignore what is going on in the background. Pay special attention to the background immediately around your subject.
• Don’t use your camera’s “black and white” mode unless you have filters and you know what you are doing. Take the shots in full colour and use your editing program to experiment with different amounts of the RGB colour channels. The shots below were converted to black and white using Photoshop’s “Green filter” preset.
• When taking a shot with several people – keep hitting that shutter button. People’s expressions change continually, so you want to up your chances of getting that one shot where everyone looks their best.
• Aim a flash at someone and you’ve got a 99% chance of taking an ugly photo. The mirror shot below was taken using my external Sigma flash and bouncing it off the ceiling.
• Use your editing program’s levels function to get a good lighting range from pitch black to bright white (not appropriate for every shot…but usually works well).
• Be adventurous with your composition. This is the hardest one for me, as my first instinct is always to go for a very classical composition.

I got a Sigma 10-20mm lens while I was in the states which I used for the shot of the Lincoln Memorial. It’s a fantastic lens – and the 10mm opens up a whole world of shots you wouldn’t get with a regular lens – particularly good for trying to get a sense of scale shooting big monuments in DC!