What I Wish I Knew as a New Photographer

Please join me in welcoming Teresa from Crafty Wife where she will share some photography tips in “What I Wish I Knew as a New Photographer”!

Hey y’all! I’m Teresa and I blog over at Crafty Wife. I love sharing craft projects, photography tips, and all things Disney World over at my little corner of the blogosphere. I am so excited to be here at One TIPsy Chick to share some photography tips with you today!

A year and a half ago I finally got my first DSLR and it has been a loveaffair ever since! My biggest passion is shooting at Walt Disney World whenever my husband and I go, and I learn something new every single time. I love passing on that knowledge to others in hopes that they will fall in love with their cameras just like I did with mine!

I’ve learned a lot in the past eighteen months, but there are a few things I wish I had known at the beginning that would’ve saved me a little bit of a headache after the fact!

Auto is not a bad word.

When you’re first starting out with your new camera, there is no shame in using the Auto feature! I know that a lot of people think that if they’re not shooting in Manual Mode then they’re doing it wrong, but I’m here to tell you that even I don’t shoot in Manual all the time. In fact, I tend to use the semi-auto features (like Aperture) 75% of the time because it’s just easier and means I don’t have to take so much time setting up each shot. Take your time learning your camera and all the features it offers! Manual Mode can be overwhelming and you want to have a good grasp on your camera before you dive in.

The importance of learning how to set your exposure correctly.

When I first got my camera I vowed to never shoot in Auto mode.  I thought I knew enough that I could just shoot in Manual and be fine.  Boy did I learn my lesson quickly.  I grew frustrated with all of my pictures and was so discouraged that I just wanted to give up.  I had no idea why they were so white washed because I could swear that I was setting the exposure correctly.  Nope.  I was, in fact, setting it according to the audio levels the camera was picking up which meant I wasn’t actually setting it at all.  Unfortunately all my Disneyland pictures from that trip were ruined because I didn’t know what I was doing!

The easiest way to know how to set your exposure is to consult your manual. There is an app on my phone that allows me to carry my manual with me in case I need a refresher on how to set something on my camera! When we bought my Nikon, the sales man at Best Buy let me in on that little tip and it has been so helpful when I’m at Disney or just out shooting in general!

The difference between JPEG and RAW.

This past year I have tried very hard to learn how to correctly post process (or edit) my photos. It’s a long process, but once you get the hang of it it makes a world of difference in your photos! To be able to
edit them like I do, I only shoot in RAW format on my camera. This allows me to easily edit the exposure, white balance, and other aspects of the photo. But using this format means that I cannot upload my photos directly from my camera onto social media sites because they’re unfinished.

 

Here is the same photo as above, completely edited! Thanks to RAW format, I was able to completely manipulate the colors of the photo and achieve something that I love!

JPEG format allows you to directly upload your photos from your camera to your social media sites.  This is extremely helpful if you want to quickly share photos with family and friends after a party or other fun event. However, JPEG photos give you very little leeway in terms of editing your photographs.  They come out of the camera ready to go so if you aren’t a fan of post processing then this is probably the format you should be using!

To find out all the differences between these two formats, this article is really informative!

Buying a more expensive lens does not mean you’ll achieve better
photos.

I’m sure this is a lesson my husband wishes I learned much earlier than I did, but better late than never! About four months after I bought my Nikon I was in the market for a wide-angle lens. I honestly thought I needed it to achieve more visually interesting photos (and I really wanted them for fireworks shots at Disney World) and so I made my case as to why I wanted needed it. My husband was okay with it as long as I saved up for it, which I did, and by the time I got it I thought all my photography mistakes would miraculously disappear with my newer and more expensive lens. NOPE! I still made the same mistakes and then some, because I had to learn how to use this new lens just like I had to learn
my other lenses.

My best piece of advice is to use what you have. Yes, you can always upgrade to a new lens but you should master the one(s) you have first. Each lens comes with a small learning curve (not all lenses focus the same way!) and if you practice with it and shoot often you should be able to learn it quickly.

I hope that you find these tips helpful and they’ll get you on your way to learning more about your cameras and loving them in the process! Thank you so much to Christine for letting me take over her blog for the day. I love being here!

I hope that you find these tips helpful and they’ll get you on your way to learning more about your cameras and loving them in the process! If you are looking for more photography tips, check out these posts!

Break up with
Auto

Edit
Efficiently with Adobe Lightroom

Use
Your Camera Every Day

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