#tips : 10 Tips for Photography

article by : Johlene

10 Tips for Photography to improve your Blog Photographs that will help you gain more visitors to your site and build the community you´ve been longing for!

1. Natural light is best when used correctly. Always avoid direct sunlight. Backlighting and Side Backlighting are the best. Backlighting also requires the window to be behind the object, in order to brighten the dark shadows while improving the subject detail. Use a reflector (a white carton paper will do just fine) to reflect light on areas where the light is low.

2. Shoot at different times of the day, at different locations (in your house) and angles, to see where you get the best quality photographs. The angles and locations play a huge part in your photo’s composition.

3. Tethering your camera to your PC/Mac via Lightroom helps in photo shooting as your pictures will automatically be downloaded to the computer rather than using an additional memory card. Tethering involves use of a USB cable, plugged in both the camera and laptop. After connecting it, a live view feed starts rolling on your PC/Mac. This saves massive time because you can see your photographs on your PC/Mac screen while the photo shoot is in progress. I can´t count the amount of times the images looked great on my camera screen, just to realise once I´ve downloaded them that they are not good enough.

4. Use a tripod as it saves time and helps to eliminate noise in the photograph because the higher the digital noise, the more likely it is to get random fluctuations. A combination of tripod and low ISO helps in nailing the perfect shot with minimal noise.

5. Keep the exposure (light) meter of your DSLR camera in the middle to avoid over-exposed photos. Use the Exposure Level Indicator on your cameras viewfinder to get the perfect settings that line up your objects at the center. Apply the exposure bias accordingly if you still get too bright or dark pictures.

6. Fill the negative spaces in your shot (less is more). Concentrate on the food and then build on that. Use one colour in the background so as not to subtract the viewer’s attention from the main subject. Then place your main subject in the frame (according to the rule of thirds) and work from there by filling the negative spaces with elements that tie to your main subject. In Food Blogging you would for example use chocolate chips when photographing chocolate chip muffins.

7. The lens is more important than the camera body because it’s the part used in clearly and accurately focusing the object at the right distance. The lens is what is going to give you the quality photographs you want.

8. Shoot RAW not JPEG because when you shoot in RAW you capture all data from the sensor. In addition, you are likely to record greater levels of photo brightness while adjusting the white balance easily. RAW gives you more room to breathe and allows you to rectify photos that are under exposed in Lightroom.

9. Be prepared by making sure you have all your props handy before shooting (and don’t forget a cloth to clean if you´re working with food for example). This helps avoid you needing to stop to get something before you can continue.

10. Enjoy what you do and don’t try to learn everything at once. Getting the best pictures for your blog will probably take time to perfect. However, be patient and you will get there.