The basic essentials of taking good photos?

The basic essentials for taking good photos are as follows:

First, hold the camera steady.

Holding the camera steady is the prerequisite for obtaining high-quality photos. At the moment of pressing the shutter, even a slight shaking will affect the clarity of the photo. The key to holding the camera is to master the correct posture of holding the camera, and be good at using stable and solid objects such as trees, walls and railings to support the hand holding the camera or make the body feel dependent. If possible, use a tripod to stabilize the camera and press the shutter with cable release (see Figure 2-4-3), especially when shooting with a slow shutter or a long focal length lens.

Secondly, select the appropriate autofocus area.

Modern cameras basically have autofocus function, but it is not foolproof in actual shooting: sometimes, the subject you pay attention to is blurred in shooting, while the other parts of the picture are very clear. In this case, you should check whether the autofocus area is selected. In some cameras, the autofocus area is located in the center of the viewfinder screen, so the subject must be placed in the center of the viewfinder screen to achieve correct focusing. What should I do if the subject should not be arranged in the center of the picture from the perspective of composition? In order to solve this problem, many autofocus cameras are now equipped with focus locking devices. The operation method is: first place the subject in the center of the viewfinder screen to focus, and then press the focus lock key (usually half-press the shutter). As long as the camera does not change the shooting distance, no matter how to adjust the picture composition, the subject can be clearly imaged. Advanced single-lens reflex camera adopts multi-area autofocus, and the corresponding focus area can be selected according to the position of the subject.

Third, correct metering and accurate exposure.

In the process of taking pictures in the past, you may have had such an experience: press the shutter against the rosy clouds all over the sky, and all the photos you can take are pale, and you can't see the wonder and splendor of the clouds; I photographed the snowy mountain, but the snow in the photo is a kind of depressing gray. Why is this happening? The light metering system of the camera measures the light with light reflectivity of 18% to determine the exposure. Accurate exposure can be obtained when the photometric picture is dominated by medium gray tone. The reflectivity of most scenery, such as the skin color of urban buildings, mountains and rivers, yellow people with trees, grasslands and cement floors, is very close to the medium gray tone. Therefore, metering these objects can usually get accurate exposure. When the illumination of the object is uniform; There is little difference in brightness between the subject and the background; Or the proportion of dark parts and bright parts on the screen is balanced, and the photometric value of the exposure meter is close to the gray tone of 18%, so that accurate exposure can be obtained according to the photometric value. When the subject is in front of a large bright background, the exposure should be increased to compensate; On the other hand, when the subject has a large dark background, compensation should be made to reduce the exposure (see Chapter 4 for details). If the home pocket camera you use doesn't have an exposure compensation button, then you should "find the right metering object" when metering, that is, try to avoid shooting too bright or too dark background when metering the subject close to the medium gray tone, otherwise the exposure will be inaccurate.

Fourth, use the flash correctly.

The flash index (a photographic term used to describe the luminous intensity of the flash, just like the power of the household lighting lamp) of the built-in flash of the household pocket camera is small, and the maximum flash range is usually between 3 and 4 meters, so it is necessary to ensure that the subject is within the effective range. The higher the sensitivity of the film used, the wider the range. The flash also has functions such as red-eye flash prevention, forced flash and slow flash synchronization for you to choose from. The independent flash used in a single-lens reflex camera has a larger flash index and more functions. Please read the instructions carefully before use. Refer to Chapter 4 to introduce the skills of using flash to help you take more perfect photos.

Fifth, get close to the theme.

As mentioned above, the subject of a good photo must stand out. Being close to the subject (or using a telephoto lens) makes the image of the subject larger on the screen for the audience to see at a glance. This is the easiest way to highlight the theme. Close to the subject, until only the most important scene is left in the viewfinder, you can abandon the scene that has nothing to do with the theme, or avoid the irrelevant background that disturbs the line of sight. This is also an effective way to get a concise picture.

Sixth, let the subject deviate from the center of the picture.

Many photographers often put the subject in the center of the picture when looking through the viewfinder. This over-balanced and stable composition makes the picture look dull and monotonous, which can make the subject deviate from the center of the picture. You can usually learn from the nine-palace format in traditional painting composition. Divide the picture into three parts horizontally and vertically, and place the main body at the bisector or the intersection of bisectors. Because according to the psychology of visual perception, people's vision is selective, and the objects in these positions are easy to arouse people's visual interest and focus people's attention on these parts, so these positions are also called interesting central positions.

7. Use a simple background

When a novice takes a photo, he often focuses on the subject and ignores the background behind, while the camera will record everything in front of the camera, and there are often unnecessary scenes in the photo that you don't want to see. If you leave a background that has nothing to do with the theme or even the opposite, it will inevitably interfere with and distract the viewer's attention, weaken the prominence of the main image and affect the full expression of the theme content. Before pressing the shutter, pay attention to the background and avoid unsightly objects, such as garbage, branches and bright light. Avoid the phenomenon that trees suddenly grow from people's heads, build on people's shoulders, and cut the horizon on people's necks. We should also pay attention to simplifying the background by various means, such as choosing the shooting angle to avoid clutter in the background. Choose a long focal length lens or use a large aperture to shorten the depth of field, make the subject clear, and deal with scenes that are easy to interfere with the subject outside the depth of field. In short, the fewer images irrelevant to the theme on the screen, the better. See Chapter 5 Depth of Field Control for details.

Eight, good at capturing instant expressions

Photography is a kind of instantaneous art, which can only capture a certain instantaneous state of an object in space-time coordinates in a very short moment when the shutter clicks. Photographers should be good at observing and capturing moving instantaneous expressions, skillfully innovating forms and capturing the most distinctive moments, which is the key to the success of their works. When the subjects face the camera, they usually appear quite stiff, which can immerse them in familiar things or engage in specific activities. At this time, their expressions are more relaxed, and it is easy to capture natural and vivid moments.

Nine, the observation and selection of light

In photography creation, light is the basic modeling factor to shape the image of an object. Through the selection, scheduling and control of light, the shape, texture, color and three-dimensional sense of an object can be vividly reproduced. Through the use of specific light, we can selectively emphasize and highlight some aspects of the subject, while hiding some aspects, guiding the audience's line of sight and forming the focus of the picture; In addition, light can also render the picture atmosphere, produce artistic conception, strengthen emotional expression and form a beautiful visual space. The dynamic and ingenious application of light can create infinite charm in your picture, so people often say: "Light is the soul of photography." Photographers should study the ever-changing light in life, understand the basic laws of light, and master the modeling function and performance function of different light, so as to dynamically and skillfully use light and add charm to the picture. In order to improve the sensitivity to light, we can choose a scene around us and observe its light and shadow effects in different seasons, different climates and different times of the day and its influence on the modeling effect of this scene from different angles. Beginners mostly focus on the selection and refinement of shooting subjects, but ignore the selection and control of light according to the needs of specific subjects, which is often the key to the success or failure of a work.

Ten, take more photos.

Even the most experienced professional photographer can't guarantee that a photo can shoot an event successfully. Take important photos or meet a particularly good subject, and you can take different photos from different angles. Taking more photos can improve your success rate, especially for moving subjects. Taking more photos can help you capture the most touching moments. In the morning and evening, sunrise, sunset and other scenes with rich light changes, taking more photos will enable you to capture the most wonderful moments of light and shadow, avoid "missing" and leave lasting regrets.