Renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said your first 10,000 pictures are your worst, but we gathered a few tips from pro photographers to make the journey to honing your craft a little quicker.
Here are the top tips from pro photographers:
Without delving into details about optics and light paths, your lens has a sharpest point within its aperture range. The largest and smallest ends of that range are the softest, and f/8—which is in the middle—is where you’ll most often get the sharpest images. This does vary by lens, so we recommend shooting some test shots to find your lens’ sweet spot. Once you’ve got that dialed in, experiment at different apertures to see how each f-stop affects your image.
In the world of photography, you have probably heard a lot about getting the image right straight out of camera, or SOOC. And there’s wisdom to that thinking. You don’t want to “fix it in post” if you can save yourself time by getting the shot right in-frame. But cropping your photo after the fact to create a better, stronger composition is a quick and easy way to improve an image after it’s taken.
Maybe there was a fence in your way that prevented you from getting closer to the shot, or perhaps you were capturing a split-second street shot and didn’t have time to change your lens. Either way, it’s your artistic decision to improve a composition with a little post-process cropping. And unless you tell someone you cropped, no one will ever know! Consider it a trade secret.
Pro Tip: You don’t have to crop your photos before you upload them to SmugMug. Use built-in photo tools to crop your images, or copy a photo and crop the copy so you can compare it to the original and see which you like best.
You don’t have to own the gear to shoot with the gear. Can’t afford to drop $16K on an 800mm lens to shoot the next game? No problem: pay a pittance to rent one for the time you need, then send it back and call it a job well done. This is also a great way to test out new gear you might be considering for your full-time kit. Not sure if that 85mm f/1.2 is worth the extra dough? Rent it and try it out. A small upfront investment can save you a big financial headache down the line.
While getting photos right SOOC (straight out of the camera) is good practice, it’s rare that a photo looks better unedited than edited. Even a perfectly-lit, powerfully-composed photo can benefit from a few finishing tweaks to the white balance and saturation to make it pop—especially if you shoot in RAW. Think that sunset shot couldn’t get any better? Give it a boost in post and see what happens.
Pro Tip: You’ve got color effects available in SmugMug's photo tools. Or you can take your editing a step further with Lightroom and publish the results directly to SmugMug without ever leaving the program.
Backlit subject? High-contrast sunset? White dress, red wall? These scenarios (and countless more) can throw a wrench into your shoot, but you can still capture the photos you want with practice. Study hard, stay inspired, experiment, and make mistakes—lots of mistakes. Then learn how to fix them. Try using a fill light for that backlit subject. Experiment with a neutral-density filter during that sunset. Move your model or your lights farther away from that red wall. Discovering what doesn’t work will help you learn what does work, and will result in better photos—and technique—in the future.
Pro Tip: You’re not alone! Chances are another photographer out there has run into the same challenge you have. If you’re struggling to find a solution, don’t hesitate to consult the Internet for answers. SmugMug also has some great resources in the Development Lab.
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