5 Beginner Tips for Better Photos

Monday 27 May 2024, 18:36 by Nando Harmsen | 4,735 views | 11 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

There are several things you need to consider when taking good photos. Camera controls, exposure, composition, editing and so on. It is easy to take the wrong path, leading to disappointing results. If you are starting out in photography, keep these tips in mind.

1. Change your perspective

Vary the height of the camera. Do not only take photos standing up, from eye level. Try a frog's-eye view. Or a bird's-eye view. Show the world from a different perspective.

Instead of a low viewpoint on the access road, as everyone photographs it, this time from the side with flowers. It is a completely different perspective.
It is important to vary things. Sometimes eye level works well, sometimes it does not. Sometimes a frog's-eye view, and at other times a bird's-eye view. Even if you have already seen many examples of a particular place, you can always do something different and capture it in a completely different way.

2. Do not use cheat sheets

Finding a good exposure or composition can be difficult. There are countless cheat sheets for this. Do not be tempted to rely on them. It is better not to use them, because they are not the solution to a successful photo.

There are endless types of cheat sheets. In many cases, they are pointless. It is better not to use them.
Photography is not about having to set the exposure manually. Or about using the rule of thirds. Let the circumstances guide you. Every situation is unique, and that cannot be summed up in a cheat sheet.

Do you want to set the exposure manually but find it difficult? Then choose aperture priority. Do you find composition difficult? If the image in the viewfinder looks pleasing, it is often simply good. Above all, practise a lot and try things out. You will learn more from that than from a cheat sheet.

3. Different equipment will not make you a better photographer

It can be so tempting. A new lens or a new camera. But it will not make you a better photographer. Adding a lens will not give you better photos, and a different camera is not the solution to better exposure.

New Fujifilm cameras. They are fantastic, but your photos will not become more beautiful or better because of them.
Of course, equipment is important. But it only matters when you reach the limits of your current equipment. Since equipment has been incredibly good and comprehensive in terms of features for years, you will not reach that limit quickly.

4. Do not overdo the editing

You take a good photo with the camera. You do not achieve it through editing. Editing can only make what is already good a little more appealing.

Excessive editing. It attracts attention at first, but that is often not positive attention.
So do not overdo the editing. That will often not make a photo better. Quite the opposite, in fact. Do you shoot in raw? Then you are not obliged to go to extremes either. If it is good, it is good.

5. Keep it simple

There is no need to contort yourself to create a special photo. A good exposure is simply good, and you cannot make it more than that. Do not make your composition too complicated, because too much is too much.

Do not make things too difficult. A simple photo is more accessible and ultimately more appealing.
Do not try to cram everything into a single photo. Select what is important and leave out the rest. Do not look for complex arrangements of image elements. Keeping it simple will make your image much stronger in many cases.

Do you have any more tips?

Perhaps you also have a tip you would give to a beginner photographer. There are more than just these five. Share your tip in a comment below this post.

This article is based on Shotkit: Beginner Photography Mistakes.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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11 comments

martinphili wrote on Monday 27 May 2024 at 19:30 | reply
Good tips, right up my alley. Not too technical, quite the opposite even. Follow your instincts, if necessary just put your camera on auto.
I would like to add one more tip: above all, photograph what you yourself like. If you have a connection with your subject, it happens naturally.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 08:58 | reply
That is a valuable tip: photograph what you yourself enjoy. Thank you.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Monday 27 May 2024 at 20:17 | reply
Just a little tease Nando . You also use a cheat sheet with your HAIDA ND filter set, don't you? You talked about it in a course
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 08:57 | reply
Let's call it 'Shutter Speed Reading Table' then
Translated from Dutch.

Liesbeth Verkade wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 14:16 | reply
Thank you Nando. Clear tips, not just for beginners!
I also have a tip: take the time to take your photo. I often got it wrong because I wanted to be too quick.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 15:00 | reply
A valuable addition: take your time.
Thank you, Liesbeth
Translated from Dutch.

Vercauteren Freddy wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 14:34 | reply
Useful tips Nando, look first and then press the shutter and it doesn't always have to be perfect. You take photos for yourself too and not to impress others, although that is fun too of course. And for the smart phone "photographers" it is also possible to take a horizontal photo.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 15:01 | reply
Yes... Indeed. It doesn't always have to be perfect. Great.
Translated from Dutch.

Helen Brandenburg wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 14:48 | reply
Clear tips! I myself often got it wrong at the beginning by taking photos in full sun in the middle of the day. Don't do it!
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 15:02 | reply
Why wouldn't you photograph in the middle of the day? I do it so often. There's nothing wrong with that.
You just have to pay close attention to the use of light and shadow.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 28 May 2024 at 15:04 | reply
I have already written an article about it: https://www.photofacts.nl/fotografie/rubriek/landschapsfotografie/landschapsfotografie-tip-ga-ook-eens-fotograferen-in-daglicht.asp
Translated from Dutch.

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