Links & Tips: How To Get Better at Photography 📷📱
(edited 25th May 2021)
If you actually, seriously want to get better at photography you need to practice and test — other people’s feedback is their opinion mostly, so the best way, even before you even pick up the device, is to learn the basics.
PHOTOGRAPHY BASICS
Before you even pic up your phone or camera, the absolute, absolute, aaaaaabsolute basics need to be learned first. Once you know the rules, you can bend the rules (but don’t bend them too much or you’ll end up with 💩) Hopefully this article will give you an idea of where you should start.
Literally ALL you need to know about the basics of taking photos, the technicals, the settings, the whole caboodle.
Learn about shutter speed, apeture, composition and your device settings before you do anything.
Photography is for life, not just for Christmas :) With these skills you can go forth but like with everything, you need time and patience to practice.
NEXT STEPS
Now you can now pick up your device 📷 📱
If you’re using a phone to take photos — please be aware that these won’t give the results you see on the Unsplash Editorial Feed mostly (I say mostly, because there are some great mobile photographers). This is a great article by Hubspot about how to take better photos with your mobile phone;
An article by Unsplash on how to take better phone photos;
Another decent article about how to take photos with your mobile — be aware though even though old phones take photos, it doesn’t mean they’re decent photos (pixellation etc) especially in low light, be mindful of looking at the photo at 100% on a bigger screen to ensure you’re not getting too much crud in your shots;
A video on how to use a camera, if you’re a noob;
Some cool Americans doing a video on the basics of mobile photography. It’s fire yo;
CHOOSING YOUR SUBJECT
This is everything. What you take a photo of is what everyone will be seeing. What do you want to take a photo of? What inspires you? If you don’t know yet, go exploring, online and in real life. Make it interesting, make it unique-take your time and it can be the difference between 💩 and 😎.
This article helps you learn about subjects, placements, framing, how to handle lighting, and how to tell a story;
Some extras on subjects and interesting stuff;
COMMON MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
EDITING — THERE’S A BALANCE
This article hits on some top tips on how not to over-edit your photos. Some common mistakes from beginners is more is better or none is needed, but there’s a balance to be had — some photos don’t need much, and some needs more but you have to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Here’s a handy introduction into basic editing for beginners;
These tips will help you find a balance, practice with different photos you’ve taken, play about and learn.
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I’ll be regularly updating this article to include relevant tips and links. If you see anything that’s helped you recently, drop me a line 🤗 over on the Unsplash Slack.
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Hello, I’m Nik, Community Support at Unsplash, illustrator, designer and photographer in my spare time.
