Do you think you can’t take good photos with your compact camera? You are wrong. You don’t need a fancy DSLR to take beautiful photos. Compact cameras are small, easy to use and a lot cheaper than DSLR camera. You can put them almost everywhere. They don’t bother you while travelling and they are perfect to get acquainted with photography.They have made a big progress in image quality in recent years. Read through this tips and you will take better photos with your compact for sure.
1. Hold your camera with both hands
This is the most important tip if you don’t want to have blurry images. Most people use extend one hand in front of them and take a picture.
If you have an optical viewfinder view through the viewfinder while holding your camera with both hands. Put your elbows in for better stability. If you don’t have an optical viewfinder, hold your camera with both hands closely to your body. Try not to move camera while taking photo.
If its getting dark, you need to lay your camera on something stable like a wall, a table or something where your camera will not move while taking photo. For ultimate stability you should get a tripod.
2. Get in close
Standing too far away from the subject is one of the biggest mistakes most people do. If your subject is surrounded with other elements which don’t add nothing to overall composition, then your viewer will be distracted. The solution is to step closer to your subject and fill the frame with it or use your zoom which today compact cameras have plenty of.
Subject of this photo is this gentleman and if I had taken this shot from the distance there would be a lot of different elements in the photo distracting viewers eye from the subject.
3. Rule of thirds
What is rule of thirds? Imagine you split your photo with two vertical and two horizontal lines. You get four intersects. These interesects along with the lines are the best positions for your subject.
If you put your subject on these positions photo becomes more balanced and the viewer will interact with the photo more naturally. Its is more natural for our eyes to check intersection points and lines first, rather than checking the center of the shot. When taking landscape shots try not to put horizon in the middle of the frame. Either put it on upper or lower intersecting line, depending on your subject. You will instantly have a better looking photo.
Bridge could be located in the center of the image but placing it on the vertical line adds impact to the photo and its more pleasing to the viewer. Also notice that the river bank is located on horizontal line, which is also better than if it would be located in the center of the image.
4. Move your feet
Don’t be lazy 🙂 Most people shoot everything from the eye level perspective, which in many cases is the most boring perspective. If you want to make your photos more interesting change your perspective. Get low and observe how the change in perspective affects your image.
You will have more foreground in your composition, which will change your photo completely comparing with the photograph shot from the eye-level. For example try photographing flowers from ground level. Point your camera up into the sky or align your camera with the ground.
You will get two completely different photos.Get up high and shoot from different perspective. Photos taken from this perspective will carry a different message.
5. Use camera modes
Every compact camera comes with a lot of different modes you can use. There are modes like portrait, landscape, night scene…Yes in general you will get great results using auto mode but in certain situations it is better to use specific modes. This way you are letting your camera know what type of settings it needs to use for the best possible result. Read through your camera manual and discover which mode to use when.
6. Notice the light
Now that you have your camera in your pocket, you can take advantage of every situation you run into. If you got up early it is time for landscape photo, when the sun is starting to rise. Light will be soft, shadows will be long and colours will be magical. This is also true for sunset. The light around these hours is also very flattering for portraits. If you want to take a portrait in the middle of the day, move inside or in the shadow. This way there are no strong shadows on your subject face.
7. Check background carefully
Our eyes are selective. When we shoot our eyes focus on the subject and blur everything else in background. We snap a photo but it looks different from what we have seen with our eyes. Backgrounds can be in context with the photo and they can add a special feel to the image. They can also be busy and distract viewer from the main subject. Be sure to check background to determine what suits you best.
Summary
Yes, DSLR cameras take sharper images we can’t argue that. But on the plus side compact cameras are smaller and their image quality is getting better and better. If you learn to use your compact camera you too can take beautiful photos, maybe even better than the ones taken with DSLR. Since compacts are cheaper then DSLR, you can invest your money in a photography course. You should focus on learning as much as you can on photography and your photos will definitely improve.
