DSLR Photography Tips and Tricks – Some Handy Details for You
A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera is an amazing camera with many features to offer a photographer. Exploiting all the features of your camera will give you sharp and creative images. Here are some of the tips and tricks to enhance your photography experience.
Know the all the basic parts of your DSLR camera and their functions
A DSLR photography camera like any other digital camera has many parts. Learning the functions of the basic parts of your device will go a long way in helping you to use your camera’s full potential. The basic parts of the DSLR camera include the body, lens, image sensor, aperture, viewfinder, mode dial, shutter release, LCD screen, flash, and focus ring.
Learn the basic elements of a DSLR camera.
The basic elements of a DSLR camera are an aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Aperture is the size of the diameter of the hole opening in the lens when photo shooting.
Aperture controls the amount of light getting into the camera and also controls the depth of field in a photo. It is often symbolized by an “A” or “Av” on cameras. Therefore Aperture determines the brightness of an image and how much of the image will be blurred or frozen. Aperture is set using f-numbers. Lenses with large apertures usually cost more because they pass on more light making the images clear.
Shutter speed also known as exposure time, is often symbolized by an “S” or “Tv” on a DSLR camera. Shutter speed is the length of time that the shutter of a camera is exposed to light. Super-fast shutters tend to capture images in freeze mode while a slow performing one tends to expose the sensor to excessive light. It is ideal to use slow shutter speeds in low lit environments. ISO level the third element in your camera and is your camera’s sensitivity to light. When there is a lot of light, you should shoot in low ISO.
Start practicing photo-shooting with your DSLR camera
It will take you quite a bit of practice before knowing how to operate the camera’s full manual mode. Don’t aim to master your camera in a day. Aim to know your camera features one by one. You can start by mastering the camera’s Aperture Priority modes and Shutter Priority modes. These modes are also called semi-auto or semi-manual modes.
In using Aperture priority mode, you control the aperture element of the camera manually while the shutter speed is in auto mode. On the other hand, Shutter Priority mode allows you to control the shutter speed manually, while the camera controls the aperture size automatically. Set different settings in aperture priority mode and then see the quality of the photos you get. Keep changing the features of your phone until you master how to operate all the features and camera parts. Keep setting different modes and then comparing the quality of the photos.
After mastering your camera, you will develop your own unique style and preference of taking photos. Either full manual, aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode or automatic or using all the modes.
Charging your camera & buying extra memory cards
To ensure that you are not interrupted in your photo shoot while outdoors, make sure your camera is fully charged before setting out. Also always remember to carry your camera charger when you are outdoors. Also to ensure that you can take as many images as possible, stock up on memory cards.
Post-processing of photos
Acquire photo-editing skills to help you in post-processing of your photos. Photo editing will help you to add special effects to your photos and to make corrections on your images during photo post-processing. Please note that if you shoot in jpeg, your photo-editing will be limited, therefore shoot in another mode. You have many software programs to choose from for photo-editing. The one commonly used is photo-shop. Check out other photo-editing software programs online.
Take as many photos as possible
The days of using expensive photographic films are over. Digital cameras give you the flexibility to take photos at no cost at all because you don’t need to keep buying film. In order to perfect your photography skills, keep taking as many photos as possible.
Keep adjusting your camera settings and take even more photographs. Change the perspective of taking your photos by changing positions and take some more photos. In the process of taking many photos some will come out really well and you will keep them as your favorite.
Alter the perspective of your shots.
Avoid taking all your photos in one position. Try out different positions while taking photos including ground level, eye level, move closer to the image you are taking, shoot from above among other positions. You may get very creative images by doing this.
Custom Settings
Do you know that you can set your camera custom settings? If you use certain settings very frequently, instead of having to set your camera every time you need the settings, just store the settings in custom settings button on your camera’s mode dial. And it will become easier to use the settings every time.
Saving your images well
Your phone has a feature for the safe-keeping of your favorite photos. Lock your favorite images and in case you accidentally press the delete all button, the locked images will be safe. Remember that formatting your camera will lose all images on the camera. To avoid deleting your favorite images erroneously, make it a habit to transfer your images to a computer and if possible save in an online mode that can never be lost due to your computer crashing.
A good quality tripod
A good quality tripod is a very important accessory for your camera and will improve the quality of your images. Tripods are used to prevent movement in a camera while taking photos. They keep the camera still. Also using a tripod frees your hands to concentrate on photo quality. In addition, a tripod will also allow you to take self-portraits or have you as the photography included in a group photo. All you need to do is set the camera to take the photos automatically.
White balance settings
Your camera has many features. One of the features is called white balance. It allows you to adjust individual colors on your camera. The settings give you an option to adjust your camera color temperature ranges. You can set your camera on auto, indoor fluorescent, sunny, daylight, cloudy among other white balance settings.
Sound control
The sound on your camera can be very irritating in some situations. Fortunately, your camera has a sound control system on the camera’s menu. Find out the where the beep menu is on your camera and adjust it to really low or totally turn it off.
In-camera processing
Modern DSLR cameras have the ability to edit images. So while on your photo-editing shoot, carry extra memory cards and you are good to go without a computer. The DSLR camera allows conversion of raw images to jpeg. You can also edit some features on your photos including contrast, white balance among other edits using your camera.
Mirror-lockup and self-timer features
If you intend to do a long exposure, lock the mirror up to avoid shake-up. A self-timer and remote control will make your photography shooting even easier. You can use this features without having a tripod. All you need is a good steady surface.
Voice memos
The voice clip will allow you to record information including names of persons, places, and other things on your images. This feature allows you to record a voice clip and include it in your image file. It will save you the trouble of having to use a notebook or other devices to take notes.
Buying more camera lenses
The more experienced a photographer you become, you will need more lenses. The one that you bought with the camera won’t be enough. If you want perfect photos, then you need good lenses. One of the features of a DSLR camera is that you can swap lenses. You can use different lenses in different situations to achieve different photo effects.
Maintaining your camera well
Last but not least, it is important to take good care of your camera. The camera sensor and lenses require to be maintained well. Dust on your sensors and lenses will decrease the quality of your images. You can choose to take your camera to a professional cleaner or do the cleaning yourself. Should you choose to clean the camera yourself, please buy a sensor cleaning kit and a lens cleaning kit.
After using your camera, remember to keep it safe in a camera bag, in an environment without humid.
You may love to read more on: How to Use Canon DSLR Camera for Beginners: Everything You Need To Know
Conclusion
To perfect your photography skills and become a pro, it is important to understand all the features of your DSLR camera. Focus on learning specific photo skills. It will be easier if you determine to learn and master one skill at a time. Get tutorials and other resources for that skill. Only after mastering one skill should you seek to learn another skill.
Otherwise, you may get overwhelmed by all the things you need to learn in photography. For example, you can choose to learn the skill of taking landscape photos. After mastering this technique, then go to the next technique.
Skills you may want to include in your list of skills to may include learning how to operate the aperture feature, how to take self-photos, bird photography, wildlife and animal photography, beach photography, photographing sunsets, photographing portraits, taking photos at night among other skills.
