How to take a good shot?

<p>Hi everybody ,<br />i'm new to this system and to photography.<br />This because around me i've seen many guys handle their cameras skillfully and i just said mimicing them will be really funny.<br>

So what photographer equipments and techniques may be combined to take good shots?</p>

 

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<p><br /> So what photographer equipments and techniques may be combined to take good shots?</p>

 

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<p>My take on it is this:</p>

<p>Any decent camera/equipment with the right technique, good light and a lot of luck...though it varies depending on what field of photography...</p>

<p>And are we talking landscape, portraiture, journalism, sports or what?</p>

 

<p>Equipment, well any halfway decent camera, even a compact will do.<br>

Techniques, learn about lighting, study your subject to understand where the best opportunities lie, get totally familiar with your gear and what it will do in given situations, plan ahead to make sure you are in the right place at the right moment then pray!</p>

<p>If I knew the answer, I'd be a pro! Seriously, forget camera equipment for a moment. Key issues are: Light - the right amount of the right type in the right place from the right direction at the right time; Composition - subject(s) in the right place and properly arranged with no distracting elements; colour and tone appropriate to the image; appropriate use of pattern and texture where relevant; clear identification shape and form as appropriate. Of these, the first two are critical, the remainder a matter of taste. Overarching all this is creativity - making something interesting and/or beautiful from what you see.</p>

<p>On the camera equipment front, use whatever you find easiest and can afford and concentrate on the important things given above. I'll use anything from a compact to a semi-professional DSLR.</p>

<p>Three things: practice, practice, practice.</p>

<p>I agree with Simon's first point: at its essence, photography - irregardless of what type of equipment is used - is about the study of light. The quality, color, direction, intensity of light all play a major role in making a successful photograph. And it is fleeting (which I just learned again, for the thousandth time this past weekend); when you see the right light, make the photograph NOW because things can change in an instant. I was walking in the woods this weekend, camera ready to shoot and attached to a tripod which I was carrying over my shoulder. I saw a beautiful ray of sunlight hitting a dead tree stump; looked around for the proper spot to shoot from, and maybe one minute later, the light had changed.</p>

<p>And of course, technique, and practice, practice, practice.</p>

welcome to photonet. there are some great tutorials right here on photonet which go a long way to seeing a photo....use the random photo site... it takes you into other fields of photography. ask at a local camera club for help/ local photography courses. tip... you could come back tom ask about various cameras et al. wwe will do our best to help you friend. regards mike.

<p>Yes, "It's all about light!"<br>

For example, . . . just yesterday morning, I was up before daylight, and had planned a trip to a nearby lake to get some images of the fast disappearing Autumn colors. (Gear all packed, Tripod, Monopod, Flash, Remote Shutter, and several lenses and accessories.) We were forcasted to have a partly cloudy day. I wanted some of those "puffy white clouds" in the sky. Well, . . . I arrived very shortly after dawn and it remained totally cloud covered all morning. "Go figure!" So I started looking for alternatives whether they be macro, wildlife or about anything that presents itself with "near" the proper light & composition. I even used my flash for some of the shots that I did take. So far, they look o.k. on the Camera's LCD, but I haven't downloaded them as of yet. But <strong>I worked</strong> (took about 60 shots) for three or four hours and I think I will have maybe two good exposures, or "Keepers!"<br>

My point is, . . .</p>

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<p>This because around me i've seen many guys handle their cameras skillfully and i just said mimicing them will be really funny.</p>

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<p>I did have fun, but don't know that I did anything I would consider "really funny!"</p>

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<p>Three things: practice, practice, practice.</p>

 

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<p>To add to that, practice doing it correctly. Doing it wrong over and over again isn't going to make you any better. :)</p>

 

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<p>So what photographer equipments and techniques may be combined to take good shots?</p>

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<p>1. Find an interesting subject<br>

2. Compose it in a pleasing way in the view finder<br>

3. Take the picture</p>

<p>Camera equipment doesn't have much to do with a good result if you follow 1, 2, 3. You won't believe how hard #1 can be. #2 can be learned with some book learning and practice. #3 is instinct.</p>

<p>lots of practice, discuss and show what you are doing with someone experienced, they will be able to explain about depth of field vs shutter speed, and motion blur caused by slow speeds.<br>

equipment plays a minor role-while any camera can take a photo, each camera type has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, and one or more type(s) or camera will just...click (no pun intended) for you. you may find that professional DSLRs and advanced amateur range digital movie cameras are perfect for you, while film SLRs just aren't your thing.</p>

<p>Assuming that this is a serious question, first you have to define what a "good shot" means to you. Interesting subject? Vivid colors? Moody black and white? Action? Portrait? Landscape? Bird or animal shot? Nude model?</p>

<p>Next, you need to determine where to place the image in the frame. Center, top, bottom, on the side, fills the frame, small in the frame, alone or with other objects around it.</p>

<p>Next, you need to choose the lighting that you want. Evenly lit, high contrast, low contrast, directional light, shadowy, lots of texture, do you need to add artificial lighting, etc.</p>

<p>Other considerations: what else do you want to include? Is the background dark or light, blurred or sharply in focus?</p>

<p>Once you settle all of those questions (and more, of course), you need to start thinking about the details of capturing the image - exposure value (light, dark, medium), shutter speed for freezing or emphasizing motion, depth of field required.</p>

<p>Next, you have to take the shot and review it to ensure that the exposure was correct. Re-evaluate the composition and exposure values and make changes if necessary.</p>

<p>The next step is post-processing to see if you can render the image as your mind saw it.</p>

<p>If you want to increase your number of "keepers", then slow way down. Learn to think like a painter. Just how long do you think a painter plans a work before sticking the brush in the paint? Likely you've fired off a couple of dozen shots while a landscape painter is still staring at the horizon.<br>

Even if you are shooting 35mm, consider pretending that you've got a big 8x10 view camera to haul around. What will you then do? You will spend 5 or 10 minutes walking around and looking at the subject, getting high and getting low, moving to the left, the right, forward, and backward. After this mental analysis of the subject, you will then be better prepared to compose your shot through the viewfinder. If your subject is not moving, your camera is on a tripod right? Slowing down will reduce the digital clutter and greatly increase the quality of your camera work.</p>

<p>You have to learn how to use your camera. You must know your tools before you can use them in an effective way. When you can use your camera in manual mode, not automatic, without thinking about what things will do when you change them, then you are ready to start really making consistently good images.<br>

The other thing you should do is read as much as you can and practice what you are reading. Read about everything in photography and scour web sites for more information. There will become a point when you intellectually know everything about taking photographs and then it's just a matter of doing it, but until that time, read, read, read.<br>

And stay positive. There are tons of things to photograph and it's all worthy of pointing your camera at. Have fun.</p>