10 pro tips for digital camera newbies
If you've never used a dedicated digital camera before, all those settings, dials and jargon can be a bit intimidating. But fear not, it's easy to advance beyond simple point-and-click photography with these ten handy pro tips.
Nowadays, photography couldn’t be simpler – you whip out your phone, tap the camera icon, and snap away. But if you want more professional looking photos and more versatility, a dedicated digital camera is the way to go.
If you’re using a digital camera for the very first time, the surfeit of settings, dials, and terminology can be both confusing and intimidating. So we asked award-winning photographer Gavin Schmidt for some pro tips for newbies on how to get the hang of a new camera.
1. Diversity matters
There are a lot of nicely priced cameras available now, so choose one that has adjustable settings and modes – Manual, Auto, Shutter Priority, and Aperture Priority. You need diversity for different situations.
Choose a lens with a small amount of wide and zoom – 18-55mm is a good little starter, then you can upgrade to a bigger zoom lens down the track.
2. Do some research
Read the user manual, especially what the different modes are used for. Put extra time into learning about ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds.
3. Get a grip
Learn to hold your camera correctly. It may sound weird, but many people new to photography don’t, which can cause camera shake and blurry photos.
Hold it with both hands. Grip the right side of the camera with your right hand and place your left hand underneath the lens to support the camera. Keep the camera close to your body; even pull it in hard against your face.
4. Experiment with settings
When using a digital camera for the first time, take a couple of photos on Auto, then switch to Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority. Check all the photos and see what aperture, shutter speeds, and ISO settings were used.
Then switch to Manual and put those settings in manual mode and start playing around a little with the settings. The best way to understand a camera and photography is to use Manual mode.
5. Frame it right
Composition is vital in photography, as it determines how everything is arranged within the frame, and dictates whether your photo will be visually appealing.
A composition can be made up of many different elements, or only a few. How you put those things within a frame is what helps a photograph become more interesting to the eye.
6. Look and learn
Every time you make a mistake, learn from it. Study your photo and work out where you went wrong. A blurry photo could be the result of slow shutter speed, or low ISO.
7. Portrait pointers
Portrait shots of people should always make use of depth of field. Use a wide aperture and focus on the eyes. This will give you a nice sharp image and a blurry background, which really highlights the face.
8. Scenery specifics
Narrow aperture is best for landscapes. Landscape photographs require a different approach, because everything should be sharply in focus.
A larger f-stop (aperture) is needed, so go towards f/22 or higher, depending on your lens. Using Aperture Priority allows you to experiment with different apertures without having to worry about adjusting the shutter speed.
9. Be prepared
If you see a perfect photo opportunity, you’ll want to capture it straight away. So before you put the camera away, make sure ISO is on 400 and the camera is set on Shutter Priority. Also check that the battery is charged up.
This way you have a lot already covered, and know exactly what you may have to change quickly.
10. Practice and experiment
This cannot be emphasised enough. Once you know the basics and have the camera set up, the only thing left is to practice, become more familiar with the camera, settings, and what they can do, and get more creative.
Say what?
Aperture priority
Lets you control the aperture while the camera auto adjusts the shutter speed to match (A or AV on the dial).
Shutter priority
Allows you to manually set the shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture for proper exposure (S on the dial).
ISO
Refers to the camera sensor’s sensitivity to light.
f-stop (aperture)
A number that indicates the size of the aperture opening, and controls how much light enters the camera.
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