home Exchange rates What photos can you take at home? How to take a beautiful photo? What makes photos look professional

What photos can you take at home? How to take a beautiful photo? What makes photos look professional

Every person, sooner or later, has to take a photo - for a passport or any other documents, for a resume, portfolio, or just to post them online. Perhaps someone doesn't know how to do it beautiful photo repair. In such cases, forums, social networks and websites are full of recommended articles on how to take a photo. In our article you will also find useful information.

What to photograph with?

The very first question that arises is what to take photographs with and how to take beautiful photos? The choice of modern youth, and not only others, falls on simple smartphones. Although, people often buy cameras so that their favorite moments remain in their memory forever.

Cole Rice, famous photographer, reveals little secrets on how to capture an event or person in the mobile version.

The travel photographer has developed as many as 15 tips for those who cannot afford to buy an expensive professional camera and can only take photos with mobile phone. The information below will help you find answers to the question of how to take a beautiful photo:

So, by following all these tips, you can easily take photos using just your smartphone.

Publication

It is important to note that many photographers are in demand because they post their photos in doses. This means that their work does not drown in a sea of spam and is not lost among other similar works from the same series. In this case, it will not be appreciated.

You shouldn’t get carried away with “home” photographs alone, because the forums are full of messages like how to take a beautiful photo at home. This will not add originality to you, although some still succeed.

Post 1-2 photos a day and choose the best ones.

Imprint

Some photographers use the fingerprint effect - they put their finger on the camera. Thus, the picture turns out blurry, but this is exactly what the experts wanted.

It is also worth considering that the print does not fit all types of photographs. For example, for a photograph of a natural landscape, this effect would be extremely inappropriate.

conclusions

You can take photographs for yourself and for people, photograph anything, but when you do it not only with your soul, but also correctly, you will receive not only universal recognition, but also good self-esteem.

In addition, development in the field of photography helps a person discover new and unknown things - this is one of the best creative options for a hobby or even a job that one can take up.

02.10.2010 12008 Photography Tips 2

1. Contrast

How to attract the viewer's attention to your photo? There should be contrast in the frame:

A lighter object is photographed against a dark background, and a dark object against a light one.
Do not photograph people against a yellow or brown background, the color of the photo will be unnatural.
Don’t shoot people against a colorful background; such a background distracts the viewer’s attention from the model.

2. Accommodation

Important plot elements should not be placed randomly. It is better that they form simple geometric shapes.

3. Balance

Objects located in different parts of the frame must match each other in volume, size and tone.

4. Golden ratio

The golden ratio was known back in ancient Egypt, its properties were studied by Euclid and Leonardo da Vinci. The simplest description of the golden ratio is that the best point to position your subject is approximately 1/3 of the horizontal or vertical edge of the frame. The placement of important objects at these visual points looks natural and attracts the viewer's attention.

5. Diagonals

One of the most effective compositional techniques is diagonal composition.
Its essence is very simple: we place the main objects of the frame along the diagonal of the frame. For example, from the top left corner of the frame to the bottom right.
This technique is good because such a composition continuously leads the viewer’s eye through the entire photograph.

6. Format

If the frame is dominated by vertical objects, shoot vertical frames. If you are photographing a landscape, shoot horizontal frames.

7. Shooting point

The choice of shooting point directly affects the emotional perception of the photo. Let's remember a few simple rules:

For a portrait, the best point is at eye level. For a portrait in full height- at waist level. Try to frame the frame so that the horizon line does not divide the photo in half. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the viewer to focus on the objects in the frame. Keep your camera level with your subject or you risk skewed proportions.

An object taken from above appears smaller than it actually is. So, by photographing a person from the top point, you will get a person in the photograph vertically challenged. When photographing children or animals, get down to their eye level.

Steps

Composition

Find the shadowed side of the face. Look in the mirror or take a test photo and see which side of your face is further from the light source and therefore looks darker. Take your photo from this side to achieve an artistic effect and appear slimmer. In bright sunlight this technique may not work.

Take creative photos. Instead of a traditional frontal self-portrait, try taking an artistic photo with a completely different composition. Here are some ideas:

take a photo in profile, that is, from the side;
photograph only half of the face – left or right;
take a photo close-up eye, lips or cheek.

Don't place your face strictly in the center of the frame. Best photos usually built according to the rule of thirds. This means that the eyes (the compositional center of the portrait) should be one third vertically from the top border of the photo and to the right or left of its middle. The photo will be more interesting, and the angle will probably be better.

Keep the camera away from your face. The lens distorts objects that are too close. Selfies are usually taken with the camera or phone held at arm's length, which is a very short distance, and therefore the nose often looks larger than it actually is - definitely not the effect you want to achieve.
- If you want to take close-up photos, it's better to use the optical zoom and shoot from a greater distance. You can also take a waist-length or full-length photo, and then crop it.
- If your camera has a timer, lean it against something stable, set the timer, and step away. Such a photo will most likely be more successful than a selfie taken handheld.
Use your phone's main camera. It’s more convenient to take pictures of yourself with the front camera of your smartphone, but the main one allows you to take much better pictures.

Place a mirror behind the camera. Taking photos is easier when you can see yourself, so placing a mirror behind your camera or smartphone will help you achieve a better pose or facial expression. Make sure your smile is natural!

Ask someone to take your photo. This is not always possible, but it is preferable to have someone else take your photo. You'll be able to focus on posing without having to think about holding the camera and pressing a button at the same time.
- Ask a friend to take your photo. He may tease you a little, or he may ask you to take a photo of him too.
- If this is happening at a holiday or other event, ask someone present to take a photo of you (and your friends, if you came in a group). It's better to be someone you know, or at least someone who seems trustworthy, so your phone or camera doesn't get stolen.

Poses

Situation

Shoot in natural light. Natural light is always preferable for photography. However, direct sunlight, especially at midday when the sun is directly overhead, is not ideal for portrait photography: you don't want harsh shadows on your face!

If you have a choice, it is better to take photos on a cloudy day.
Indoors, try to take photos near a window, in natural light (but not in direct sunlight).
If you must use artificial light indoors, avoid fluorescent lamps and overhead lighting. You may get more favorable lighting if you turn off the ceiling light and turn on desk lamp and sconce.
If you're shooting with direct overhead lighting (whether natural or artificial), use flash to fill in shadowed areas so your photo doesn't have shadows under your nose or eyes.

Check the background. When posting a photo on the Internet, you are unlikely to dream of the fame of the person who captured himself against an absurd or indecent background.

Think about visual frames. The photo can be more interesting if the composition forms a kind of frame. Here are some ideas for such visual frames:
- pose in a doorway;
- hold the camera in two outstretched hands, not in one;
- stand between two objects - for example, trees or bushes;
- Grasp your chin or prop it up with your hand to create a visual frame underneath.

Editing

Zoom into the desired area. If you want to highlight a part of your face or body, use a photo editing app to zoom in on it and save the edited version. Most smartphones and computers have photo editing software, many of which are very easy to use.

Crop the frame to remove any excess. Any unnecessary or ugly parts of the photo should be removed by cropping. If you took the photo with one hand, it is better to remove it from the frame, as it will look large and not very attractive. If the hair is standing on end, remove it at least partially. You are not obligated to show the photos to anyone the way you took them: edit them first, then post or send them.

Use a filter. Most photo sharing sites have a built-in filter option. With their help you can change the shades, contrast and brightness of your photo. Try different filters until you find the one that works best for your photo.

Retouch the photo. In addition to programs and applications designed for photo editing in general, there are applications specifically designed for portrait retouching. These programs can help you remove red eyes, remove pimples and blemishes, even out your skin tone, and more to perfect your photo.

In general, this is the most frequently asked question, which they ask me: “How to take a beautiful photo on your phone so that it looks like it was taken on camera?” In this article I will say a few words about what makes a photograph look “professional”, is it possible to cool photos phone and is it worth doing?

What makes photos look professional

I start all articles on the topic of photography for business with a recommendation to use the most best camera that you can afford. The better the original picture, the more opportunities you have for processing and using the photo in the future. There are two most important factors, which affect the quality of the photo you receive:

optics (lens)

processor, camera hardware

Yes, modern smartphone manufacturers talk a lot about the fact that their products now feature coated Carl Zeiss lenses and use the coolest technologies. In general, this is true: now an average phone takes better pictures than some cameras 5-7 years ago. But the cameras are not far behind! Therefore, you can often easily distinguish a photo taken with a phone from a shot taken with a professional camera. The problem is that, on this moment, it is physically impossible to build into a camera a lens of such quality that would allow you to shoot on your phone and get professional quality Pictures.

But, as we said, the lens is only half the battle; it is responsible for what kind of picture your device “sees”. The second half of success is how he processes this picture, turning it into a file. The more powerful the processor, the more true-to-life the colors will be, the less noise, and the higher the quality of the image. Let's be honest: this part is directly proportional to the “freshness” and price of the device, this applies to both cameras and smartphones. You shouldn’t count on a miracle: you yourself understand that when shooting on an iPhone 4 you won’t get the same pictures as with an iPhone 7.

Is it worth buying the latest smartphone to take better photos?

If you were going to buy the latest iPhone anyway, great! This is a really cool device with great camera capabilities. Personally my instagram consists almost entirely of photos from your phone. But if you look at it pragmatically, for the amount you spend on this smartphone, you can buy a semi-professional camera with a good lens and take photos many times better than using a smartphone. Is it worth buying the latest phone just for photography? - in my opinion, it’s not worth it.

Of course, your phone is always at hand, you don’t need to understand the settings, and you can edit it right away: let’s face it, taking beautiful photos with your phone is easy and pleasant. If you just want to have a cute Instagram, taking photos with your phone is quite enough. But if we are talking about the fact that you need to photograph products for an online store or catalogue, take professional pictures for a blog, constantly shoot for social networks and in all these cases get good quality Photography, taking pictures with a phone will not work. There is nothing sadder than photos taken on a phone in an online store (even if you just sell handmade goods on a VKontakte page).

So is it possible to take beautiful photos with your phone?

But what to do if your phone is the only camera available to you, but you still need to take photos? It must be so. Here are a few general rules how to take a good photo on your phone:

Shoot only in daylight, the best place for shooting - near the window or on the balcony.

Use a reflector, with it you can highlight too dark shadows and make the photo brighter and lighter. The reflector does not have to be expensive and professional; a sheet of whatman paper or foam plastic is enough (I’ll tell you about this in upcoming posts).

Keep your distance from your subject: smartphone lenses are typically wide-angle. On the one hand, it allows you to capture more space in the frame, on the other hand, it greatly distorts objects in the foreground. It's better to take a photo from a greater distance and then crop the photo.

Process photos before publishing: modern devices have enough capabilities to take photos on your phone of, if not ideal, then acceptable quality.

Beginners often wonder how to take high-quality and beautiful photographs? And it’s true, after all, a novice master, having bought an expensive reflex camera, immediately hopes to receive beautiful and high-quality images. This does not work for everyone and not always. We have prepared a list of recommendations, following which you can create attractive photographs. It's about creating thoughtful and compelling photographs from the start. The challenge for a novice photographer is to learn to take attractive photographs instinctively, and spend as little time and effort on editing as possible.

How to take good photographs. Think about the frame

Image: Gary Mac Parland

A photograph is not created when you press the shutter button, it is created when you see a potential shot. A photograph can be born in your imagination, at the moment when you come up with a frame, or while looking at a beautiful story. Think about what attracted you to this image? Why do you want to photograph it? What do you want to show in your photo?

When thinking about an image, it is first important to understand what exactly you want to show. Decide what settings need to be applied, what aperture, shutter speed, white balance and focal length need to be set. The settings depend on what kind of picture you want to see in the end, as well as on the lighting conditions environment.

How to take good photographs. Composition

Image: Gary Mac Parland

Every time you look through the viewfinder or at the display, you need to think about the composition of the future photograph and the placement of objects within the frame. There are many rules of composition, most of which came into the world of photography from classical painting, such as the rule of the golden ratio and the golden spiral.

Perhaps the most famous and frequently used is the Rule of Thirds: it is simple but effective method image layout.

To understand what the rule of thirds is, imagine two lines crossing the frame horizontally and two vertically. As a result, you will have 9 squares, three in each row. The principle is to place key elements images on the borders of the central square and along imaginary lines.

The use of leading lines, foreground emphasis, and leading lines also help strengthen the painting. Leading lines will add dynamics to the image and help viewers pay attention to important points photos.

Foreground objects can serve as a beautiful frame for the frame, being something like a natural frame. When photographing a landscape, pay attention to the beautiful flowers or rocks in the foreground.

Don't be lazy and remember to constantly move around in search of the perfect shot.

First of all, when looking through the viewfinder and trying to take a photo, it is worth paying attention not only to how the subject itself looks, but also to how it harmonizes with other environmental elements that fall into the photo. Of course, you can trim or remove excess by processing later, but by planning everything in advance, you will free yourself from unnecessary work.

Golden spiral

This is a more complex compositional model in which important elements frames are arranged in a spiral. The rosebud used in the example is perhaps the simplest and most obvious example of a spiral composition.

How to take good photographs. basic settings

Before you start taking photographs, make sure that the basic camera settings are set correctly. Often technicians forget to double-check what parameters are set on the camera, which is why the pictures turn out unsuccessful.

First of all, check if the memory card is in place. This may seem obvious, but sometimes, thinking she's always on camera, photographers forget to make sure she's okay. Of course, you need to check the presence of a memory card at home before it’s too late to fix it. It should be formatted before going out to shoot.

Next, set the file type: JPEG or RAW. The RAW format is preferable if you plan to process your photos in the future. When choosing JPEG, decide on the file size. Set the maximum image size, with minimum compression, for optimal photo quality.

Finally, don't forget to check settings like white balance, autofocus mode, exposure settings, etc.

How to take good photographs. Aperture to control depth of field

Aperture is one of the most important parameters of your camera. The aperture not only regulates the amount of light passing through the lens, but also controls the depth of field.

For best results, the aperture should be between f/8-f/11. However, the optimal value is not always convenient for shooting specific scenes. To obtain a shallower depth of field and better background blur, the aperture value should be around f/3.2. In addition, by shooting with a large aperture opening you can. For deep depth of field and background clarity, the aperture is set to f/16-32.

Blurring the background and/or foreground is necessary to draw the viewer's attention to a specific element of the frame. On the other hand, a small aperture (eg f/36) will reveal the fullness of the photo, depicting everything in great detail. In landscape photography, it is common to shoot with a small aperture opening to show the scene as clearly as possible.

How to take good photographs. Use fast shutter speeds for creative effect

The aperture controls the amount of light passing through the lens, and the shutter, in turn, controls the amount of time light reaches the sensor. Depending on this, photographs may be clear or show blurred motion. Shutter speed helps control movement in the frame.

If you want to depict a smooth blur of water while shooting a seascape, then you need to set the shutter speed to a few seconds. If your task is to show a clear jump or jerk during sporting event or photographing animals, the shutter speed should be 1/800 sec. or faster. It all depends on the purpose of the shooting. The easiest way to control your shutter speed is to set it to shutter priority mode.

Taking photographs with a tripod and having a remote control with you remote control, you are practically unlimited in choosing shutter speed. When photographing handheld, you cannot shoot well with a slow shutter speed, as the pictures will look blurry. The shutter speed must be no less than one divided by the focal length.

Of course, the image stabilization system helps in creating a clear frame, but its capabilities are not unlimited and caution will not hurt.

How to take good photographs. White balance

The color of the world around us is constantly changing due to light - be it the light of the sun or an artificial light source. Each of these sources has its own color temperature, which is measured in degrees Kelvin. The lower the temperature, the warmer (more orange) the light, the higher the temperature, the cooler (blue) the light.

Visually, we do not notice changes and see no difference in the color of the light, but the camera is very sensitive and records any fluctuation in the temperature of the light. Used to compensate for light distortion.

For example, when looking at a sunset, your eyes recognize that the warm orange color of the sun and sky is natural, and you perceive it “correctly.” But the camera simply captures a scene with too much warm light and tries to correct it. Auto mode White balance in this case may correct the color incorrectly. For this reason, it is better to use preset white balance settings (for example, daylight or cloudy) or select manual mode white balance settings.

If you shoot in JPEG format, initially incorrect white balance is difficult to correct, even by adjusting it in a graphics editor. When shooting in RAW format, changing the white balance is possible when converting files.

How to take good photographs. ISO Setting

The ISO setting on your camera controls the sensor's sensitivity to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor becomes, and the less light is needed to create a bright shot. Great importance sensitivity results in grainy frames. Grain is called “noise” or color noise (colored specks appear).

Depending on the quality and level of the camera, performance and noise reduction may vary. Some cameras are better at shooting at high ISOs, while others are worse. In any case, it is advisable to use the lowest ISO value. However, when shooting with short shutter speed and opening the aperture slightly, if you can’t reduce the sensitivity.

Using the Flash

Photo: Valentin Kazars

If you're shooting in low light and don't want to set your ISO to high, you'll likely need to use flash. Some cameras have different flash modes that suit different types shooting.

Don't forget that you can use flash in daylight. This is necessary to fill in shadows and create more harmonious photos.

How to take good photographs. Manual focus

When photographing with an advanced camera, you can focus not only automatically, but also manually. When shooting with autofocus, you have several modes to choose from. You can focus on several or one point, and serial shooting is also possible. With manual focusing, the master is aimed at the subject manually.

When shooting a moving subject, give preference to continuous shooting. This way the camera will focus while keeping the subject in constant focus. When shooting a static object, choose one point of focus

Manual focus

In some shooting situations best choice There will be manual focusing. In this case, by scrolling the focus ring on the subject, you focus on a specific area. Manual focusing is preferred for sports photographers and photographers wildlife. You also need to manually focus when the subject is in the background, because the camera automatically focuses on the nearest object.

At first glance, it may seem difficult to manually focus when shooting moving objects, because an athlete, a car or a running animal is moving too quickly. But you can focus on a specific spot in advance, and when the subject passes through the focus area, you can take the shot.

Using hyperfocal distance

Starting from the hyperfroctal distance boundary, objects in the frame become sharp. The border changes depending on the used focal length and diaphragm.

You have the ability to determine the hyperfocal distance for various focal lengths and apertures at www.dofmaster.com.

How to take good photographs. Browse photos

Once you've taken a photo, or a series of photos, check out how they look right in camera. In this case, you need to not just look at how the images turned out, but evaluate the histograms of the frame. Histograms will help you make sure your exposure and white balance settings are correct. If the main part of the histogram is shifted to the left, then the image is too dark, but if to the right, then the image is overexposed. In this case, you need to change the exposure setting.

Checking the frame is especially important if the camera's viewfinder does not offer 100% coverage, because the shot is different from what you saw in the viewfinder.

In case the photos don't look right in terms of composition or settings, then you will have a chance to change everything.

How to take good photographs. Viewing and editing images

Listed above are the basic recommendations for creating high-quality and beautiful photographs. By sticking to them and remembering them while taking photos, you will surely do nice photos, which will take a minimum of time to process. If it happens that when you come home and look at the material, it turns out that the photographs have flaws, you will have to spend some time processing them.

Look through all your photos and evaluate them in terms of composition, lighting, color, focus, depth of field and exposure. Without regret, delete those frames that even Photoshop cannot help with; such pictures will only waste space on your computer. In the end, if even 10 photos from one shoot turn out to be beautiful, this is already a good result.