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Best Photography Tips for Beginners in 2020

I’ve been a photography hobbyist for more than 3 years. In this period, there were a lot of useful photography tips and tricks that I discovered through the internet or by experimentation. This guide consists of the photography tips that I have personally implemented and benefited from.

Some of the tips are related to the gadget (DSLR camera, lens, filter, etc.) while some are related to understanding yourself and discovering a unique style. All of these tips are equally beneficial for you to develop as a beginner photographer.

So, without any further due, let’s dive in the best photography tips for beginners.

1.       Taking care of your camera and lens:

Along with understanding how to click better pictures, it is equally important to take good care of your camera and lenses. Protecting them from dust, damage, or other harm can improve their lives and maintain their ability to produce quality images. There are a few things that one can do in order to take good care of your equipment.

Every camera body and lenses will have a front and a back cap for protection. Make sure when you want to attach a lens, the camera sensor and the back portion of the lens is not exposed to the harsh sunlight. Sometimes, the camera sensor gets damaged due to overexposure to the harsh sunlight or dust. The same goes for lenses.

Buy a lens care kit that is inclusive of brushes, cloth, cleaning solution, and bulb blowers. Use them effectively at regular intervals to prevent your lenses from any damage. If you do not have a lens care kit or you do not want to do it yourself, then give it to a camera repair shop near your location.

Avoid storing your camera and lens in a damp, moist atmosphere. Rather keep them in a hard-cased bag with a lot of partitions. This way, it is easier to carry all of the equipment even while traveling.

 2.       Do not stress your camera:

A lot of beginner photographers keep on clicking the shutter button without thinking about the right setting and framing. They end up wasting a lot of their shots. Every camera model has a set number of shots that it can take in its lifetime. It is often called as the shutter life of a DSLR camera. This gives you ample opportunities to click, learn, and improve your art.

Since we have moved from film to digital, one has the option to delete unwanted images later. But this does not mean that you keep on stressing your device. Think about the composition, camera settings, and lighting conditions before clicking. Of course, you can take a few test shots before getting to the right setting. But wasting your shots and stressing your camera is something that you should avoid.

 3.       Click on RAW mode:

RAW is a file format that photographers use to click sharp and crisp images. When I started photography, I clicked pictures in JPEG mode thinking it was the only file format. All of the images lacked clarity, details, and got blurry upon expanding. Later, I was introduced to RAW images which gave a solution to this problem. In simple terms, RAW files contain much more details and information as compared to other file formats.

Since they have a lot of information, they are heavier in size as compared to jpeg. One can capture minute details within a frame that are not visible to a human eye. It becomes easier to bring out rich colour tones and minute details while editing. So, make sure the selected file format is RAW or else change it in the settings.

 4.       Try different things:

Photography for beginners should be more about trying different things in order to expand their knowledge and understanding. Do not restrict yourself to taking photos in a particular pose or angle. Try to capture the subject from a different angle. It can make a lot of difference to the composition as well the picture. Travel to different locations, experiment with different lenses, try your hands on different photography genres like street, travel, landscapes, portrait, nature, or even wild-life.

Take manual control and explore your camera setting, play with the exposure triangle, manipulate the existing lighting conditions to get the desired impact. The more you explore, the better you get at identifying your style of photography. Implement all the basic photography tips that you may have learned from the internet or from your peers. And yes, always keep a record of your learnings so that you do not forget it in the years to come.

 5.       Join a photography community:

Learning comes naturally when we see the good work of our peers and learn from them. A photography community does not necessarily mean a photography class or course, but it can also be an online community where people share ideas, opinions, doubts, and solutions to each other’s problems. There are certain platforms that provide extensive information related to photography.

Explore platforms like Quora and Reddit by joining relevant groups related to your interest. By becoming a member you can put forth a question, answer a question put by another member as well as comment your opinion related to the post. Apart from these two, there are various forums on the internet where you can get a lot of camera-related or DSLR photography tips.

You can also join various groups on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You can share your pictures by participating in the daily thread, compete in the weekly or monthly contest, and keep yourself updated with the latest happenings in the photography world.  

 Also read: Top 10 – Best Photography Tips for Beginners (+2 Bonus Tips)

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Essential Photography Tips for Beginners in 2020

Introduction:

Photography is an ever-evolving art form. There is always something new to learn and explore. Like most of you, I am an amateur photographer who was introduced to the art form a few years ago. It is more like an addiction to me. An addiction that has taught me a lot of things about capturing the subject, discovering my style, and most importantly the gadgets.

As a beginner photographer, you tend to be in a dilemma of what to begin with? So, don’t worry, in this blog article, I have mentioned some of the essential photography tips for beginners that can act as a guide and help you to improve at the art step by step.

1.       Understand the exposure triangle:

The exposure triangle is the basic foundation for explaining the concept of image formation. Perhaps this is one of the first concepts that you will learn if you join a photography class or attend a seminar. The exposure triangle consists of three major components. i.e. aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

The combination of these three components results in the image formed on the camera sensor. Of course, any changes that you do to these settings, it is to capture the right amount of light.

Aperture: It is basically called the eye of a DSLR camera. It is indicated as f/2, f/2.8, f/5.6, etc. Remember that the smaller the aperture or f-stop number, the greater the amount of light entering the camera. For e.g. at f/2 you are allowing more light to enter the camera as compared to f/2.8 or f/4.

ISO: Adjusting the ISO is like adjusting the brightness or darkness within the frame. It is denoted by the symbol ISO 100, ISO 800 or ISO 1600 on your digital camera. An increase in the ISO number means adding more brightness to the picture. By changing the ISO settings you can click images in a darker background with less amount of light. But one must be careful as boosting the ISO more than the required amount can make the pictures blurry or pixelated.

Shutter speed: Often known as the exposure time, it is the amount of time when the camera’s sensor is exposed to light before capturing. It is a very important component to capture fast-moving objects or moments. When you hit the capture button, the shutter opens and the sensor is exposed to the light. Once the shutter closes, the image is captured in the camera.

The opening and closing of the shutter happens in a split second. Shutter speed is denoted by 1/100, 1/400, 1/800, etc. In the case of 1/100, it means the image is captured at one 100th part of a second. Remember, the faster the movement that you want to capture, the higher should be the shutter speed.

2.       Learn to read the histogram:

It is a graphical representation of how balanced the image is in terms of tonal value. The histogram represents the highlights, shadows, and mid-tones of your image. Highlights refer to all the lighter tones. Shadows refer to all the darker tones, and mid-tones represent tones that are between the highlights and the shadows. Histogram is an effective way of identifying whether your image is imbalanced (overexposed or underexposed) or not.

For a perfectly exposed image the histogram looks like the following:

 Narrower at the highlights and shadows and an upward curve in the mid-tone area.

 For an imbalanced or over/underexposed image the histogram looks like:

Irregular curve towards the highlights, mid-tones and shadows.

 3.       Tell a story:

A good photograph is not just a regular image. It narrates the entire story of the subject or elements present in it. A few years ago, I got one of the best photography tips while attending an exhibition in Mumbai. It was by a wild-life photographer who captured the natural habitat in Tanzania. Every picture put up in the section expressed the emotions of animals so well that I was completely drawn towards each frame.

While explaining his artwork, the chief guest said “what makes this exhibition a worth visit is that every picture put up on the wall narrates a story. And as photographers, it is our job to capture emotions, expressions, actions that define a story. This engages a viewer and makes him wonder within the frame.” So, next time when you click a subject, try to think if your picture narrates his story or express his emotions.

 4.       Photography essentials:

I have seen a lot of amateur or beginner photographers investing in things that are not required at an initial stage. In my personal opinion, I always suggest people to not invest heavily in the beginning. Do a small investment and try to make your own basic photography kit.

It should include a standard lens like 18-55mm, a long lens like 55-250mm, and a block lens like the 50mm. 18-55mm is a great lens for learning the art in the beginning. As a standard lens, it sees what normal human eyes see. So, in order to capture farther or nearer objects, you will have to move accordingly.

A long lens like 55-250mm will be beneficial in capturing farther objects while learning wild-life photography on a jungle safari. A block lens like the 50mm will be helpful in capturing sharp and crisp portraits.

Apart from the lenses, always keep extra battery memory cards and batteries. This will enable you to keep shooting continuously. If one battery or memory card dies out, you have a back-up to keep you going. Invest in a less expensive but a sturdy tripod like Photron’s steady 360. It is extremely beneficial in capturing long exposure shots of nature as well as city life.

You can also buy a separate shoulder bag for carrying your camera and lenses while traveling. Such bags have various hard case sections that make sure that your camera and lenses are safe from damage.  

 5.       Learn from the internet:

In this digital era, there is plenty of information related to photography. Blog, Youtube tutorials, or even online courses all can help you to understand the art-form and become better at it. If you don’t want to enroll for a course, that’s completely fine. Refer to blogs or youtube tutorials to understand various photography tips and tricks along with the peculiarities.

Certain blogs that I recommend:

Digital Photography School

The Photo Argus Blog

Photography Life

Peta Pixel

Fstoppers

 A lot of my inspiration comes from social media accounts that have aced the game of visual communication. I have been following them on Instagram for a couple of years and they still continue to be consistent with their work. Some are individual accounts run by photography hobbyists or professional photographers and some are communities that post inspiring images.

Do follow the following Instagram accounts:

haram_khor_ – Ganesh Vanare

Photographers of India

Oragraphy – Yogi Trivedi

Streets of India

India everyday

DSLR Official

 Also read: Top 10 – Best Photography Tips for Beginners (+2 Bonus Tips)

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If I could write anything.

           Have you ever been through a phase where everything you do, everything you work for, everything you stand for turn it’s back on you leaving you all alone in the midst of darkness, where you have nothing except the darkness which slowly tries to plunge it’s hands on you? and all you want to do is become a human bomb carrying all the worst memories, experiences and blow yourself up to be free?

           Sometimes you have abundance of emotions which you cannot express, and all you need is someone who can understand you and flush out all the feelings which you cannot express to anybody else. For me that someone has always been my writings. I always try to express my feelings or emotions rather than using some fancy lines. Keeping a habit of writing has always helped me to calm down and enjoy what life has to offer. The best part about writing is it helps you to grow more as a person.

            Prior of inculcating writing as a hobby I believed that it was good for a person to be a mirror for the world i.e. showing what  the world wants to see from you but hiding what’s in you for the world. But I was wrong. In the process of being a mirror I always thought I was different from the others. Where the truth was that every individual is different due to which people can appreciate something different about others.

            Writing has also helped me to keep my mind free from negative things and concentrate more on the positives which life has to offer. If I could write about anything this was something which I wanted to share. After every night there comes a sun to brighten up your day. If you are going through a bad phase in your life, remember there’s a sun waiting to brighten up your life too. It doesn’t matter if you failed today, remember each day is a new beginning.

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Only hope - song review.

             Switchfoot a one time grammy award winner and a 12 time San-diego music award winner is an alternative rock-band from San-diego. With Jonathan foreman as song-writer,guitarist and lead-vocalist, Tim foreman as bassist Chad butler at drums, Drew shirley at guitar and Jerome at the keyboards this band is still going strong and has recently released their 10 album “where the light shines through” this year.

               But the song which I’ll be reviewing today is “only hope” from the album “new way to be human” released in 1999. It is one of the popular songs of the album and it got even more popular when it’s cover sung by Mandy Moore was used in the movie “A walk to remember”. The song has a soothing background music, heart-touching lyrics and jonathan’s unique voice. The songs gives us a romantic feel but the lyrics indicate devotion towards somebody we love. Switchfoot are often regarded as the most christian rock-band of all time.This is because some of their songs do indicate praising or devotion towards god. Considering this I feel this song has a devotional side to it. The lines “Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again” and “And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours” indicate that the person has found god to be his only hope in this world.

                Barring the debate that their songs have some form of praising or devotion towards god I can listen to this song over and over again. One cannot deny the fact that they have always been consistent with their music and one of the best alternative rock-band of all time.

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Experience about C.W play

           We didn’t really had to crack our brains with the script because one of our group member Srishti came up with a beautiful concept for the play. An awesome writer as she has always been and with the help of few other group members managed to complete the script within few days. The script was so well written that even a little mistake in the execution would have made the play look flat. We had scheduled a 6-7 days for practicing before the final day. 

            I being a non-actor faced a lot of difficulties because I had to portray a firm army man and a father of a young daughter.We had to re-do the scenes again and again to get it to look perfect. I had to rectify everything in my part right from the way I sit to the way I talk or even stand to bring the firmness of an army man. According to the original script I had to slap and simultaneously drop the gun to make people think that I have accidently dropped the gun. But somehow either my slap looked unrealistic or the gun fell too far. I had to do it again and again but still it wasn’t working for me. Then  Nidhi another group member gave me a suggestion to alter the slap scene. Now rather than slapping her i had to point the gun at her which accidently falls. 

             Once our practice was sort of done we had to work on the props and the audios which were an important part to bring out realism and also to engage the audience in the play. Later we decided to add a dance sequence of both past Nikita and present Nikita after which the present kills the past and the play ends. 

              3 days before the final play we managed to make a dressing table mirror out of card-boards, thermocols and cellotapes. Will the mirror stand still or not was another question. Srishti managed to make it stand and we were finally done with it. The props and audios were ready and we were quite prepared to give it a one last time on the stage on the final day.

              The narration ended and we were ready to play our part. Things didn’t go as we planned them earlier. Like the scene in which the gun drops which had to be more dramatic turned out to be funny. We also faced a lot of problems with the audio and the play didn’t go well for us.One thing that the whole process of play has taught me is we always believe in the saying “hope for the best and prepare for the worse”, but what we actually did was we prepared for the best forgetting that all things cannot be under your control. Although we didn’t succeed that time but all the process have actually made our bond stronger.

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My favourite WWE wrestlers of all time.

          WWE has always been an entertainment for both kids and for adults. From the high fiction drama to and unexpected twists to the superstar taunts and deadly finishing moves, it has always tried to give something new, something crazy to keep the audience intact. In it’s reign of more than 3 decades it has featured athletes from all all over the globe i.e an olympic gold medalist Kurt angle, UFC champion Brock lesnar , MMA fighter C.M Punk etc. 

            When the company shifted from WWF (World Wrestling Federation) to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) it marked the beginning of a new era of superstars. The realistic hardcore action which was the essence of WWF was then backed by highly fiction drama to make people more interested in it. There have been a lot of iconic wrestlers and here are my most favourite WWE superstars of all time in no particular order.

  1. JEFF HARDY :

 Often regarded as :the karizmatic” he is one of the best high flying wrestlers of all time.With his innovative moves like  the swanton bomb, hardiac arrest or whisper in the wind and poetry in motion he made his mark on WWE. Jeff is not only a wrestler but also a singer, song writer and musician. Due to some reasons he left WWE and signed up a contract with TNA. He is among the risk-taking superstars who did his moves so swiftly that even a swanton bomb from a 20 ft tall ladder looked effortless. Hardy is a 3 time world champion having held the WWE championship once and WWE world heavyweight championship twice.

2.THE UNDERTAKER :

The deadman, the phenom, the prince of darkness needs no introduction. Undertaker will always be known for his constant winning streak. Due to his potrayal as the deadman he had received a position in WWE that was difficult to reach by any other superstar. Walking towards the ring with Paul bearer and a small metal pot with ashes added more his character in WWE. He was 20-1 at wrestlemania 30 until he lost his streak against the beast Brock lesnar. He continued to be a fan favourite and one of the most dominant superstar after    defeating Bray Wyatt at wrestlemania 31 by maintaining his streak  at 22-1.

3. RANDY ORTON :

Randy Orton is a third generation superstar after his grandfather Bob Orton and his father Barry Orton. He is the most succesful wrestler in his family. the Viper’s cunning attitude and unexpected RKO’s made him fan favourite. He was the youngest WWE  chamion of all time. Due to some injury he had to take a break from wrestling, but he was back again with the same old attitude and much more tattoos. He is 82nd, 84th, 90th, 92nd, 94th and 101th  WWE champion. 

4. BROCK LESNAR:

There are not many superstars that can manage to stand on both their feet after competing against Brock. he is undoubtedly the most dominant superstar both inside and outside the ring. His dominance was not only restricted to WWE. He is also a former UFC heavyweight champion. Also known as the master of suplexcity he has defeated every opponent that dared to step in his ring. From the time he made his debut till today he has kept on getting better and more ruthless like a beast.

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Warriors

       With spears in their hands and swords in the vest,

With courage in their hearts and armours on the chest,

With unimaginable strength and fearful might,

They are ready for war when the sun shines bright.

        Here comes their king with a guilt in his eyes.

He says we are outnumbered but still we have to rise.

Rise up because your metal is to be tested today.

Rise up because you are your country’s only hope today.

Rise up because everyone of us needs you.

Rise up because they are thousands, and we are just a few.

  - Kanishk.N.Shirke                                                     

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Ten Rupees -  short story review.

         Bombay stories is a collection of Manto’s work in the city in 1930′s. It includes 15 short-stories set in pre-independence Bombay, featuring prostitutes,pimps,writers etc. Ten rupees, a part of this collection is a short story based child prostitution. A 15 year old girl Sarita, who is are protagonist is introduced as a prostitute. 

              The story begins with Sarita’s mother searching for her in the chawl.        She searches all three floors and realizes that she is not in the chawl. As a        young teen-age girl she is busy playing with other girls, utterly carefree. As        the story continues we are introduced to other characters and the story            starts building a hype which creates a sense of concern and discomfort to        it’s readers. Sarita,s innocence and she being introduced as a prostitute            can make a reader vulnerable to think why a 15 year old girl turned                    prostitute.

               Manto as a writer has described the character of Sarita and her              surroundings so well that one can eventually visualize it. He has described        various situations which gives the story an appropriate set back. But he            hasn’t specified the reason as to why the teen-age girl had to turn a                  prostitute. We find her mother narrating their story which no one believed to      be true. The condition of the people was such that no one in the building felt      sympathy for her, perhaps because their own lives were so difficult that they      had no time to think about others.

               Sarita’s interest to go out with men in motorcars was simply because      she loved roaming in motorcars. She loved the wind touching her face and        making her hairs fly. She loved watching the trees pass by and wanted the        journey through motor-cars never to end. Though she was 15 her interests      were of a 13 year old girl. Her daily activities consisted of playing with other      girls or going out with men which Kishori brought to their place. Unaware of      what was happening around in the world she thought that what happens            with her happens with every other girl. i.e. every girl goes on outings with          rich men.

                Her outing with three middle-aged men creates a sense of concern        for the young girl but her innocent and childish behavior completely                    changes the situation. Later the reach an isolated beach and enjoy beer            while she is busy enjoying herself at the beach. On their journey back to            Sarita’s place they sing along with her in the car and their amusement              continues.

                The story ends when Sarita handovers the ten-rupee note to Kafayat      (the driver) and runs away. Manto has been successful in creating a sense         of concern in the minds of the readers from the beginning. But it is Sarita’s       innocence that drives away that concern as the story continues and gives         brings about a happy- ending.