Basic Photography Tips
You need to walk before you can run and in this section you will learn to take better pictures with our articles on Basic Digital Photography. This section is expanded once a month, so keep checking back if you want to become a master of the basics.
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How to get the Perfect Exposure
Understand the basic controls over the density of the image
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Shutter Speed
Get the exposure just right
Leaning to control the length of time the camera's shutter remains open is a key skill that will improve your pictures and allow you visual control well beyond just deciding how light or dark they will be. Learn more about shutter speed.
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Depth of Field
Learn to control your focus
The camera's aperture works like the iris of an eye, changing the amount of light that hits the sensor, but it also allows the photographer to change how much of a scene will be in focus. Read tips on aperture and depth of field.
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ISO Sensitivity
Understand film speed and ISO
Getting the exposure right is a crucial part of taking good pictures. The key is to get the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings working together smoothly. Once you grasp this and start working in manual, you'll never use auto mode again. Read our basic exposure tips here.
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Histograms
Get to know the Zone System
Understanding the Histogram is the cornerstone of good digital photography. It shows you, at a glance, whether your images are correctly exposed. The concepts is easy to understand, so why not read our feature explaining how to use histograms and the zone system for better pictures.
The basics of lighting explained
Understand light and lighting and you will be a better photographer
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Light & shade
Understand hard and soft light
Understanding light is crucial to good photography. Whether you use dramatic hard light to emphasize texture and form or use flattering soft light to make a model look younger will have significant consequences for your pictures. Read our feature explaining how to use hard and soft light.
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White balance
Color temperature explained
Not all light, is white light, and while our eyes can adjust for the differences between the yellow cast of tungsten light and the green shade of halogen, we need to be aware of the effect it has on our pictures or it may have disastrous consequences. Get to grips with the basics of color temperature.
