How to Take a Good Photo

In this instructable, we'll go over the fundamentals of taking a good photo!

The only tools you'll need for this project are a camera body, a lens, an SD card, an extra battery (optional), a tripod (optional), and a good place to take a photo

Preparation for casually shooting photos is usually very simple! Make sure you charge your camera battery and insert the battery and SD card into your camera. Power on your camera and ensure that the battery has a sufficient charge and that you have available memory on your SD card. For the best care, pack your camera equipment into a hardshell bag. When you arrive at your shooting location, gather your equipment and attach your camera to the tripod if you brought one.

Now that your gear is set up, you'll need to adjust your camera settings to get the best possible photos. The settings you'll want to look at are white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and f-stop.

a. Your white balance menu will have a set of options to choose from based on a base color for conditions such as sunny, overcast, shaded, white-fluorescent light, and amber-tungsten light. Choose the setting that causes the viewfinder to match the closest to what your eye sees.

b. Next, you'll select your ISO. ISO controls how exposed your photo will be. In settings of high or bright light, turn your ISO down, in dark or low light conditions, you'll want to turn it down. Be careful turning your ISO up too high or you risk having grainy photos

c. Next, you'll adjust your shutter speed. Just like it sounds, this setting controls how fast the camera shutter moves, allowing you to stop motion when set high and create intentional blur when set low. The thing to remember with shutter speed is that the longer your shutter is open, the more light is able to enter the camera. For lower shutter speed photos, adjust the ISO down so that the photo is not too bright, and for high shutter speed photos, turn the ISO up so that the photo isn't too dark.

d. Lastly, we'll look at your f-stop. Your f-stop will control how crisp or fuzzy your photo appears. For a crisp in-focus photo with a blurry background, you'll want to turn your f-stop down low, for a photo that has multiple subjects or depth, you'll want to turn your f-stop up high. Keep in mind that this setting has a light differential just like the shutter speed. Turning the f-stop down low opens the aperture of the camera lens, allowing more light, so you'll want to adjust your ISO down or your shutter speed up to compensate. If your f-stop is set high, the aperture of the camera lens closes up, blocking light from coming in, so you'll want to set your ISO higher or your shutter speed lower to compensate.

Now that your settings are ready, we can get shooting, in this step, we'll look at composition techniques to help you build the perfect photos. We'll look as some simple fundamentals such as the rule of thirds, symmetry, leading lines, and the golden ratio.

a. The rule of thirds is one of the most fundamental photo techniques. This framing works by imaging your photos divided into 3x3 grids instead of framing subjects into the center of the grid, try framing them along the outer thirds to create a more natural and visually interesting photo

b. On the other hand, you can use symmetry to frame by putting your subject in the middle third. This works best when you have a subject in between two symmetrical planes, this can draw attention to the subject and create a balanced and interesting photo.

c. Leading lines draw attention to a photo's primary topic. They give images depth, movement, and perspective. Leading lines can connect different parts of a picture, making it more interesting and full of movement.

d. The golden ratio is a mathematical ratio that creates harmonious and aesthetically beautiful art and design. The golden ratio helps balance and beautify photos. Photographers may produce harmonious, beautiful photos utilizing the golden ratio.

This step is important because if you don't know it, you can't execute any of the last steps we've gone over.

First, look with your dominant eye through the viewfinder of your camera and find and focus your subject. Next, you'll want to place one hand on the body of the camera with your other hand underneath the lens to stabilize as well as adjust your zoom and focus. Assume a stable and sturdy posture to reduce sway and shake, this is the step where a tripod can be very helpful. Once you are comfortable and have your subject where you want it, gently squeeze the shutter button to avoid camera-jerking.

Taking beautiful, lasting photos requires an understanding of and practice with the principles of photography. Knowing the ins and outs of photography fundamentals like exposure, composition, lighting, and focus is essential for producing professional-quality snapshots. Yet to distinguish out as a photographer, you need try new things and build your own style. Everyone can learn to take technically and aesthetically sound photographs with enough time and effort spent practicing.