Ultimate Guide To Get Started With Photography

Every moment has the story within it and the story to which even words fail to describe can be described through photography. Every one of us has a hidden photographer in ourselves. However, it requires just one kick to bring that photographer out from us. For newbies, photography can be attractive but can also be a daunting prospect equally. Some people took over a year to produce the first photo which they want, as there is a very steep learning curve to photography. However, if someone approached in the right way, learning photography could be made quite easier. Pointing a camera and pressing the shutter is easy enough, but this art requires something extra including passion and creativity.

If you want to start or just starting your photography journey, here is the ultimate guide to photography. The guide also includes some of the fundamentals that you are going to encounter as you take your first step. In this guide, you will learn the pragmatic approach that will help you in establishing the basic building blocks of photography which you will need to build experience as you progress. Along with that, we will also give you some photography challenges to sharpen your fundamentals.

Start Photography with What You Have

First thing you need to keep in mind that cameras are important for photography but not mandatory for learning it. Start learning with the camera that you already have, mobile photography is fine. Remember, owning a costly camera doesn't make anyone photographer as owning a good pen doesn't make one writer.

Almost in every way, today’s mobile camera captures much more beautiful and detailed photos than the earlier top-of-the-line film SLRs ever captured. Even with those cameras, film photographers had managed extremely well to capture beautiful and iconic photos which still look great today. So, it is recommended to use the camera that you already have and learn more important creative skills and knowledge of camera settings rather than collecting camera equipment.

Learn Managing The Lights

The most fundamental thing in photography is managing light. Managing light means controlling the amount of light that reaches the sensors of our camera. If the camera sensor gets too much light, the photo will become over-exposed and if the light will be deficient, shots will be darker (or underexposed). The amount of light that reaches the camera sensors depends on how long the sensor is exposed to light, the shutter speed, aperture, and the sensitivity of the sensor towards the light i.e. ISO. Also, the cameras consist of various modes that allow us to control these elements.

Photography is all About Going Out and Taking Pictures

It is difficult to understand what is good or bad until you are going out and experience the views around you. Photography is all about capturing photos, freezing a moment and revealing how rich that moment is. The chronology is very simple - you will go out, feel something (moment or thing) worthy or capturing and will snap it. This will also keep you in practice and with practice, you will see the progress. The more you experiment, the more snaps you take, the more you will see improvement in your photos. Doing this, you will also find that later photoshoots are better than the former.

Start With The Basics Of Photography

Merely looking at any photo, you can sense whether it is captured by an amateur photographer or someone who is professional. This is because of composition as amateurs often don’t have a feel for composition. Remember, the greater the composition better will be the photo as great composition is the heart of a great photograph.

Composition is the Key Element

Basically, composition describes how a photo is composed i.e. positioning of the objects in a frame. Elements of composition are: patterns, texture, symmetry, asymmetry, depth of field, lines, curves, frames, contrast, color, viewpoint, depth, negative space, filled space, foreground, background, visual tension, shapes. Use one or more of these elements to create a composition that works for your image. The composition should be such that the viewer’s eye is automatically drawn to the most significant area of the photo. Someone who ignores the composition can only shoot good photos by coincidence. However, if you have truly understood the concept of composition, you are not far from creating great shots out of any moment.

Rule Of Thirds

Rule of thirds is the easiest compositional guideline to learn. The rule of thirds is a type of composition according to which you have to mentally divide the shot into thirds using two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. After that, the subject of the image or elements of high visual interest is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines. Following this will draw the eyes of the viewer to make the photo look more pleasing and natural. This technique is used by almost every photographer some use it as a crutch, whereas some use it as a fallback method when other compositional techniques fail for a given shot. Regardless, always keep the rule of thirds in your arsenal.

Follow Good Photographers For Inspiration

When you initiate something, you need the inspiration to carry it on. Learning from other professional photographers is one of the best ways to maintain the pace of learning and improving. GoSocial App gives you the platform to learn from pro photographers. You would be surprised how much these well-seasoned photographers enjoy sharing their tips and techniques with budding photographers. Later, you can apply those techniques and tips while capturing photos. You can participate in the challenges created by expert photographers on GoSocial. No matter what, you have to keep learning as there is always more to learn.

Make Yourself Better By Challenging Yourself

There is no option other than practice to make yourself better. Practice makes progress. Irrespective of the fact how many YouTube videos you watch, how many photography articles you read, or how many Instagram photos you analyze, if you are not shooting, you are not going to improve.

Where to find challenges?

There are many newbie photographers who face difficulty in finding photography challenges or ideas to work on. As a solution, GoSocial has introduced photography challenges and streaks (click a photo every day based on a theme).

You can participate in the photography challenges on GoSocial. These challenges are created by experts with some guidelines. To know more about challenges - Get GoSocial App.

More Beginner Photography Tips

As you will keep practicing and spending more time on photography, you will find it easier to take shots that you have in mind. That should be your goal - translating the image in your head, and the emotions you feel, into a photo that makes other people experience the same thing. There are many other elements to the basics of photography including exposure, focus, lens selection, composition, time of day and light. Understanding these elements is truly the most fundamental part of learning photography. To understand these elements keep on taking up the challenges and practicing through it.