Whether you’re reading this because you want to take better pictures with your digital camera or because you want to get into photography as an art, it will help you understand the basic principles of a good photograph and hopefully, get you started if it tickles your fancy.

There’s so much more to learn and if you want to get serious about photography, I strongly suggest you do some reading, practise as much as you can, and look at other photographers’ work for inspiration.

I still buy fashion magazines, for instance, to get ideas of what’s trending in fashion photography. I look up tutorials, follow my favourite photographers and participate on sites like 500px and Flickr. The tools and skills are only a means to capture that great shot, but the way you see a subject and present it is what distinguishes your shot from anyone else’s. Happy shooting.

• Choosing your camera and lenses

Let’s start by establishing what camera you should use and why. People often ask me what camera they should start off with. Does it have to be a DSLR, which is a type of camera used by photography enthusiasts and professionals?

When I started getting into photography, back when I was 16 or so, I couldn’t afford a professional camera. Instead, I used my parents’ regular point-and-shoot camera, which at the time boasted a whopping 3MP.

Despite how basic this camera was, I learned the principles of composition and lighting by experimenting with it. I got a 24/25 grade in a photography project I did using that camera. I posted photos on my Flickr account and got positive feedback from professional photographers using this low-budget, basic camera. So the first fundamental rule you need to learn is that it’s not about the tools – rather, it’s about how good you are with making the most out of those tools.

If you’re a beginner, I suggest starting off with a point-and-shoot camera with manual settings. Master that first, learn the basics, and then upgrade to a bigger and better camera if you’re serious about taking your photography to the next level. All the best photography brands offer different camera ranges and even if you don’t go for a DSLR, modern advanced point-and-shoot cameras allow you to play around with almost limitless settings on manual mode, with good image quality to boot.

So pick your camera according to your budget and your goals: ideally choose one that allows you to shoot in RAW format because you might not think highly of your shots now, but they might hold future potential.

Choosing your lenses depends on what kind of photography you want to do.Choosing your lenses depends on what kind of photography you want to do.

• Lenses

If you decided to go with a DSLR you need to figure out which lenses to get. Do this wisely. First of all, always question what you want to achieve from your shots. What type of photography do you want to do? For instance, if you’re looking at landscape and travel shots, I suggest a walk-around lens and a wide-angle lens. If you’re looking at portrait photography I definitely recommend going for some prime lenses (in other words, fixed focal length lenses without a zoom mechanism) and getting a basic 35mm or 50mm lens.

Those are often cheap, yet can deliver super sharp images. For nature and wildlife photography you definitely need a good telephoto lens (one with a big focal length range). There are plenty of books and articles on these different lenses so I encourage you to do some reading up before purchasing any lenses.

It’s not about the tools – rather, it’s about how good you are with making the most out of those tools

• Lens filters

Whether you go for a DSLR or stick to a point-and-shoot, you might want to add a few lens filters to your gear. A UV filter is a must as this will protect your lens. Then, once again depending on the images you want to achieve, there are other lens filters you can use like a polariser or ND filter to bring out the details the sun is over exposing. Think of a polariser as your camera’s sunglasses. Again, do your research before parting with your cash as some filters are quite expensive.

• Other essential gear

If you’re planning on shooting outdoors, I recommend a good camera bag. Choose a type which is water-resistant and which has additional compartments for your lenses. Keep in mind that you might add a few lenses to your collection, so don’t go for the smallest bag you can find.

A good tripod makes a real difference to the quality and sharpness of your images.A good tripod makes a real difference to the quality and sharpness of your images.

Another must-have is a tripod. Again, which tripod to use depends on the type of photography you’re after. If you’re travelling you want to carry something light like a gorilla pod, a small bendable tripod which is handy for travel. However, if you’re doing landscape, wildlife or night photography, you’ll want something sturdier to keep you camera steady in different locations and weather conditions. Proper tripods can be really expensive, especially if you go for the carbon fibre type, but you’ll be grateful for every single cent you spend on it as it makes a real difference to the quality and sharpness of your images.

• Exposure

Mastering the use of light in your shots is crucial. To be able to nail the exposure you seek for your shots, you need to understand how your image exposure works.

Exposure is the level and quality of light that hits your camera’s sensor, which you can manipulate through a set of settings that work together: ISO, aperture and shutter speed. I will take you through the principles of these three briefly, but the only way you can truly learn is by switching your camera mode to manual and experimenting.

• ISO

The ISO setting manipulates your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. In traditional film photography, the ISO would indicate how sensitive the actual film would be. You’ve probably seen the numbers 100, 200 and 400 on old films. Just like in traditional film photography, in digital photography the lower the number of the ISO is, the lower the sensitivity of the image sensor. Although most cameras support high ISO settings, it’s important to know that higher ISO settings can cause noise on digital cameras, reducing sharpness of your image and introducing colour imperfections.

As much as possible, your ISO setting should be the lowest you can afford to keep it. In bright daylight ISO100 or ISO200 are fine and you’ll rarely need more than ISO400. In mixed situations or low light, that’s when ISO becomes a vital part of your exposure settings.

• Aperture

The camera’s aperture is the size of the opening in the lens when you’re taking a shot. It is measured in f-stops and when you move from one f-stop to the next you’re doubling or halving the size of the lens opening. What you’re doing here is deciding how much light you want to allow to get through. The larger the aperture, the more light gets through; the smaller the aperture, the less light gets through.

Why would you choose a large aperture instead of a small aperture? The two main reasons are exposure and depth of field.

With a large aperture, a lot of light hits the sensor, which means you can afford to keep your ISO setting low and use a high shutter speed: a quicker shot, so to speak, since it takes less time to expose your sensor with a wide aperture.

Depth of field refers to the range of your scene or object which is in focus. Picture a landscape with a tree in the foreground and a hill in the background. A large aperture (for instance, f/4) will limit your depth of field, meaning the tree will be in focus while the hill will look blurry. However, a small aperture (such as f/22) will ensure that both the tree and the hill behind it are in focus.

The sometimes confusing bit is that large apertures (a large lens opening) are reflected in smaller f-stop numbers while smaller apertures (where less light gets through) are measured in larger f-stops. So, for instance, if I shoot with f/4 I’m allowing a lot of light in, while if I shoot in f/22 I’m allowing little light to get to the sensor.

Learning how to make the most out of your aperture settings will pay so much in the long run. If, for instance, you want to capture a portrait and you want the viewer to focus on the model rather than the background, it makes sense to go for a large aperture like f/4. On the other hand, if you’re taking a landscape shot, you probably want to get everything in focus, so shoot in the smallest f-stop.

• Shutter speed

Shutter speed and aperture work hand in hand. The shutter speed is the amount of time it takes for the sensor to be exposed to the light coming through the lens. Usually, if your shutter speed is fast, then you will need your aperture to be lower. If you’re shooting a long exposure (meaning a very slow shutter speed), you will need a higher f-stop. Having said that, you can also help these out by bumping up the ISO.

Choosing which settings to use depends entirely on the shot you want to achieve. If, for instance, you want to take a landscape shot where you want to get a glass-like effect of the sea, you need to mount your camera on a sturdy tripod and set a slow shutter speed, what is referred to as a long exposure.

If, on the other hand, you’re taking a picture of runners and you want to get a still shot of them in action, you need to be very fast to capture them sharply, meaning a fast shutter speed compensated by a larger aperture and higher ISO setting. In a nutshell: know what you want the end result to look like and match your settings to the story you want to tell the viewer.

• Composition

Your composition is also part of what tells your picture’s story. How you frame your shot – the setting, the angle, the positioning of your model – can make or break your picture.

When it comes to how you compose a shot, the sky is the limit and the perspective is entirely up to you. However, you need to follow the basic rule of thirds. The principle is that of having three vertical and three horizontal lines intersecting. You can pick one (or more, depending on how many subjects you have) of the points where the lines intersect for the subject to be.

Although many suggest using this as a hard rule, use it as a guideline and experiment. Use composition as a tool to help the viewer focus on what’s important in the story you’re telling them.

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