Article by Binny Varghese

How to click like a Pro:

The much awaited article on photography tips for beginners/ armatures is here !

Today lets look at simple tips for for those who have just started with photography or have a niche but are clueless on getting the professional touch to the pics.

My first tip  is – Think that “I am a Photographer” &  believe in it. This will help to think out of the box.

Hey ! photography addicts, it is not important to go for a digital SLR to begin with because jaw dropping images can be  clicked with a good digital camera or a cyber shot too. The trick is in the hands of the Photographer i.e “YOU”

O.K here I go with my friendly tips :-

1. Try to be different :-

Divide the screen/viewfinder (for SLRs) into 9 part grid. The usual tendency is to have the subject of the photo in the center of the grid. Try keeping the subject in different grids parts of the imaginary grid and you will create wonders. In the two sample of grids given below, spots are the subjects.

The left one is the traditional one, where the subject always stays in the center while clicking. Try to have the subjects in different grids and check out like illustrated in the right grid.

2. Don’t be lazy:-

Well photography is all about angles and the positions.  Most of us do not have all the accessories of photography like flexible and changeable tripods with loops and fittings, lighting and electronic motion sensor camera holders etc. So what ? Just lie down on the floor to get an appropriate angle or to just bend at an awkward position in the most embarrassing place if doing so gives you an outstanding viewpoint

3. Lighting:-

Professional photographers use a lot of lighting techniques, boards, reflectors and what more, but to start off and in reality you don’t need all of that ( at least not now ). The key to outdoor photography is to use the time frame of either 2-3 hours from sunrise or 2-3 hours before sunset. The light that earth gets from sun during these time frame is slanting, and is said that scientifically during these time frames you get every minute details about the subject that you are taking picture off, it is not just me who is telling this, photographers of National Geographic and Discovery and many more also say and use the same. It is said to be the “Christ’s Light”.

4. Good story teller:-

A good photographer is one who can tell good stories through his/her photos. One should be able to showcase to the viewer, the actual motive that the photographer has in his/her mind. The way you click a photo, the way you edit and the way you showcase it is what and how the viewer sees and reciprocates. Thus its necessary to have a motive and then to showcase the same through the photos. Whether the photo clicks happiness or sadness, whether it showcases the bright dawn or a dull sunset, whether the photo is on a quite serious issue or just taken for fun etc. If you portray something it should also say so.

I clicked this pic a couple of days ago near Vadodara and had it portraited. I usually give the pics another look & see if the photograph is really conveying the intended message.

5. Play with your camera:-

No matter which camera do you use, a cyber shot, a digital camera or a digital SLR, they all have lots of options like landscape , portrait, with/without flash, macro (one with flower symbol),kids, motion , and etc and for the SLRs you have Aperture and shutter settings also.  Use all of them tactfully and get good images. For starters, fiddle with the focus of the camera, for this simply put your cam in auto and then click photos whilst first clicking half-way for the lens to set and then fully to click the photo. Most people don’t click the click button half-way for the first time to set the lens in digital camera and cyber shots which is a big mistake. Do this and get amazing pictures with an awesome blurred effect automatically.

This photo taken by me while I was simply standing at the railways, I take this kind of photo almost wherever I go.

Can you see the high detail effect on my hand and the lens cover while the blurred effect on the other far-away things. That is about it.

6. Everything around you is a subject:-

Some people complain that they don’t go to good places, and they don’t have anything interesting around to actually click, I did that too. Let’s start profiling our place and see everything with a different prospective and we can see good pictures in almost everything even the wackiest thing around. Like a nice tree next to your house,  view from the balcony or a flower in your garden, people around us,  the room you stay , any toy or article in the house etc etc ………

7. Use photo-editing software:-

A photographer’s work does not end by just clicking photos, it’s very important to give that final touch in the editing software. Professionally Photo Shop is used for editing, lighting and other effects but for an amateur and for those who are just starting Picasa 3 is more than enough. It has got various options to work with & it is free too. I also use the same.  Working on the pics is as much fun as clicking them.  I have attached some pics below which are taken by me and then edited using Picasa 3. The left pics are the edited ones where as those on the right are the originals have a look at them.

I will share about wacky and not-so-normal photo ideas in my next article , for now have a look at the pics below and do give your comments.

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