Basics : The foundation of professional Photography

This photo is taken with mobile phone.You can get motivation from here.Follow the steps mentioned below.You will be able to take better images than this.

Many people have the misconception that photography is so Complex. Many think that photography is so easy that anyone with a camera can master it. They both are wrong. It's not only science, it's an art form. In my previous article, I mentioned the myths regarding this art which destroys your creativity in this field. In this article, I will share the Basics of photography.So that you can take better photos

Choose right camera gear:-

Expensive gear is not necessary to take good photographs

 modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras as very advanced and they can produce excellent images with high dynamic range even in low light. But smartphones are giving tough competition to professional cameras. Even smartphones can produce extraordinary images in complex lighting situations. Pro cameras are so expensive you know. If you can't afford them don't worry, stop blaming your equipment. Start taking photos with your best friend, your smartphone. They are very versatile. You can carry them anywhere and they are coming with flagship-level features. One thing you must remember here, you shouldn't be trapped by smartphone manufacturing companies who sell their products just by giving more Megapixels. Megapixel just gives you a resolution. It's totally wrong that more resolution means better images. Every time you don't need so much resolution. Having more megapixels In a Small sensor can produce noise or grain. So consider the aperture and sensor size before buying a smartphone or camera. The truth is more resolution means heavy file size which fills your storage. So if you have 48 megapixel,64 megapixel or 108 megapixel don't use it. Yes believe me, use the default lens. It will give you good images. If you have low megapixel camera you don't have any reason to regret. Having less megapixel is an advantage according to me. Stop thinking so much, start clicking right now with whatever camera you have.

Choosing the right shooting mode:-

Manual mode in Photography

another Myth is we have to use manual mode everytime. It's a controversial topic. some will suggest you to use manual mode for getting the best possible image by your device. Some will suggest you to use semi manual mode side by side. Its correct that manual mode gives you full control but I have seen many talented photographers using aperture priority or shutter priority mode. So if manual seems complex to you then used auto or semi Pro mode with time you will understand the complex modes. For mobile photographer I would say mobile phones are also coming with manual mode first start with auto mode. Even today I use auto mode.

some settings for manual mode:-

1. Aperture

Aperture is the opening of your lens aperture controls light and depth of field if you use larger aperture like f/2 or f/1.8, you will get more light and more background blur. It's ideal for low light shots and portraits. If you use smaller aperture say f/8 or f/11 you will get less light and less depth of field. This setting is ideal for landscapes.

2. shutter speed:-

it's the time during which light is exposed to the sensor. It controls motion. If you use high shutter speed like 1/1000s you will get less light and can freeze moments. If you use slower shutter speed you will get more light and motion blur. You can use lower shutter speed in low light or to create dynamic shots.

3. ISO:-

Iso is the sensitivity of sensor to light.ISO helps to boost light. The side effects of high ISO is, it can produce Noise or Grain. Try to use the least ISO possible.

4. White Balance:-

White Balance is measured in kelvins. The main function of WB is to control colors.If you want Warmer color (Yellowish) you have to use high Kelvin value(More than 5000k) and if you want cooler color (Blueish) use WB of below 4000K. You can use dedicated WB modes as well like Daylight, cloudy, Fluorescent, Tungsten etc.

6. Metering:-

Nowadays every camera and smartphones have light meter. You can tell the meter by selecting metering modes where to expose. Depending on your selected mode camera will expose the center,focus point or the entire frame.
There are many more Complex settings but these are the most important settings you should consider for now.

Selecting right focus setting:-

 Focusing is the most important parameter in photography. If you photo is not in focus there is no value. You can't even fix this issue in post processing. So choosing right focus is very important. For camera users I would suggest to use auto focus and for Smartphone shooters I would suggest to use tap to focus function. Most of us don't know about this feature. Sometimes our phone fails to focus automatically on the desired portion of of the frame. Then you can use tap to focus. Simply tap on the portion you want to focus. It will automatically focus and adjust the exposure. If you fail in first attempt, try several times. In camera thesr focusing options can be used. The name of the modes can vary according to different manufacturing companies.

Single point AF:-

This can be used when your subject is static. The advantage is it can focus very fast and if you use the center AF point it will focus faster. You can't use this focus mode when your subject is moving.

Continuous AF:-

when your subject is continuously moving you can use this mode. All your points will be used to track your subject.

Auto AF:-

Your camera will focus wherever it is properly exposed in auto AF. This can focus on unwanted portions. So I wouldn't suggest you to use this mode.

AF area settings:-

You can tell your machine to focus where you want by selecting single point, dynamic, group AF modes.

Understanding composition techniques:-

Creative composition technique, Frame in Frame

composition is the key of this art. You can tell stories to your images. By using your own composition techniques it's the art of placing subjects in different portion of the frame. You can't learn composition by any book. You have to do experiment. Still I have mentioned few competition technique. It is not necessary to follow these rules blindly. You can break those easily once you would have mastered them. I suggest the beginners to follow this rule initially.

Rule of thirds:- 

It is the rule of placing your subject in the one third portion of the frame. Before that you have to enable grid lines. You will see the lines are dividing the frame in 9 portions and in some places they are intersecting each other. Try to place your subject in one third portion of the franme and in the intersection points.

Positive space:-

To create more interesting images you can left place in the direction where the subject is looking. This is called positive space. If you place your subject in the center,the direction where the subject is looking it will be called positive space and the other space will be called negative space.

Leading lines :-

Leading lines are natural lines like roads, rivers which attract the attention of the viewer to the subject.

Symmetry :-

Try to place symmetrical subjects in the centre to create interesting images.

Frame in frame :-

Try to use frames like Gates, buildings,trees to create frame in frame images.You can use your mobile phone also to create search images.

Understanding about your subject :-

Understanding about subjects

No matter of what genre you have to choose choose to choose choose to choose to choose the understanding about your subject is very important.Especially in wildlife and macro photography you need to know every details about your subject like timing behaviour etc. If you can develop proper artistic eye,I you will see everything as your subject.No need to go to Switzerland of Costa Rica for better images.Start exploring your locality you will find interesting subjects.

Practical of photography :-

First research about your subject and lighting then adjust setting according to the light and behaviour of the subject,reach as close as you can to your subject or keep distance to get desired composition next compose your frame and take photo.Don't get over excited and start clicking thousand of photos keep calm,be relaxed and take 10 better images from different angles. Rather than taking photos it is more important to enjoy the scene.You are blessed to witness those moments.So don't just take photos enjoy your presence.

Post processing,simply editing :-

 Some people think that editing or post processing is not a part of photography,it is cheating.But it's not correct post processing processing is the heart of photography.It's not always possible to get perfect exposure and composition even composition even expert can't.So you can easily correct those mistakes during editing.There are limitations like you can't edit JPEG images too images too edit JPEG images too images too much.So it's better to take RAW photos but most of the newbies can't handle Raws.I would suggest you to take RAW+JPEG. you can use the RAWs in future when you will master the art of post processing.You can adjust the basic lighting and can change the composition by cropping.
            Last but not the least,

sharing with the world :-

Social sharing

Until you don't share your photos you can't get feedbacks and can't improve.So share in social media take others suggestions and apply them.You can also so take inspiration from your role models.

Here I have just discussed about the basics.I will explain them in in detail in my next articles.Till then keep clicking images,be the better version of yourself everyday.One day you will be successful.If you are positive, passionate,dedicated and hard working no one can stop you to reach your destiny