To inexperienced photographers, taking a great photo can seem simple: just point and shoot. But anyone who’s tried to learn to photograph like a pro knows that there’s a lot more to it than that. From choosing the right subject and setting up a cool composition to finding the best light, it takes some patience to learn to photograph like a pro. If you want to take your photography to the next level, here are some tips to help you learn to photograph like a pro. Once you get a hang of these basic pro techniques, it should vastly improve your results.
Snapshots vs. Photographs
If you see a remarkable scene before you, what do you do? Reach for your Sony mirrorless camera available for pre-order now from Beachcamera.com and take a picture. But how many do you take? And from how many different perspectives? What settings do you use? How do you compose the photo? What do you place in the foreground and background? What angle do you shoot from- high, low, left, right? A single photo taken at eye level without considering the multitude of alternative options is a snapshot. When you weigh all the possibilities and make active decisions about composition and exposure, you have a much better chance of creating a true photograph: something that reflects actual intent and even makes a statement or achieves something special. To learn to photograph like a pro, you have to put a degree of thought and intent behind your shots.
Newborn
The key to taking newborn photos like a pro is all about the detail. Close-ups and different angles make for a more interesting composition. Take your time, and try a lot of different perspectives- from directly overhead and sideways to zoomed in on one feature with the rest slightly out of focus. Try full-body newborn shots as well as a few only focused on their upper half, little legs and feet, or just the face in profile. Check your shots on your
camera’s LCD screen throughout the process, see what’s working, and then try some more. When you’ve finished with your newborn photo shoot, you’ll not only have a lasting reminder of these precious moments, but you’ll have something special to share with family and friends through birth announcements, framed newborn photos, or customized gifts.
Family
If you want to learn to photograph your family like a pro, it begins with choosing your location. This can make or break family photos. Look for a background that fits your family’s style. Great ideas for locations are local parks, bridges, forests, walking trails, apple farms, pumpkin farms, in front of a barn, in a field or at a farm. Urban family photos are great too! The options are endless!
Corporate Headshots- Professional Photo
Where do you start when it comes to taking business headshots? You’ll want to be clear on the gear you need and how to use it before the shoot. Let’s start with the lens. There’s no one lens made for professional headshots. But you’ll generally want to shoot with a 50mm or longer lens like the one you’ll find on the
Sony Alpha a6100 Mirrorless Camera + 16-50mm + 55-210mm Lenses from Beachcamera.com. This is because wider lenses will distort more and are unflattering for the body and face. Also, when taking business headshots, you’ll want a lens that can open to a pretty wide aperture. Something like a 1.4 or 1.8 is great. A lens that opens to 2.8 can be wonderful as well. For business headshots, you sometimes want to be able to blur the background to draw attention to your subject. You do this by lowering that f-stop so you have a shallower depth of field and your subject is the only thing in focus. These tips will help you learn to photograph like a pro.