You don’t need to own an expensive professional DSLR camera in order to take pictures. If getting into photography is something you’ve been thinking about, winter break is the perfect time to begin practicing. Follow some of these tips to get started.
Pick your camera
Obviously, if you want to get into photography, you’re going to need something to take pictures with. You don’t have to go out and buy a $1,000 camera right away — you can even use your phone if you’d like. A point-and-shoot camera can get the job done just fine and is often less than $100. If you’re not sure which one to pick, a trip to a local camera or electronics store can help direct you to a good starter camera. For a less expensive option, try looking for refurbished or previously owned cameras online — some companies, like Canon or Nikon, even have a section for refurbished cameras on their websites. Lastly, consider respectfully asking a friend if you can borrow their camera, even if it means they’ll be with you while you use it. They might even be willing to teach you how to use it. It’s possible they might say no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Find a subject
There’s a lot of different genres of photography. Some people prefer to take pictures of specific subjects, like people, events, animals, plants, food and more, while others don’t mind jumping around. There might be something you’ll gravitate towards once you’re more comfortable behind the camera, but there’s nothing wrong with not picking one specific subject. If you’re not sure right away, look up some inspiration online. There’s plenty of different websites and social media platforms that might spark some creativity — as long as you’re not directly copying an artist’s work. Consider looking up local photo spots as well. Peruse your county park’s website, review apps, cities, buildings and blogs to find some different sites where you can take pictures and explore.
So you took a picture… now what?
A lot of professional pictures you’ll find online aren’t straight off of a memory card — many artists correct and edit them afterwards. While some programs like Lightroom are popular, they can be expensive and somewhat difficult to learn. If you don’t want to put in quite as much money and effort, fortunately, modern technology allows a lot of editing to be done at your fingertips. There’s plenty of phone applications that let you color correct, add filters, change the lighting and much more. They may not have every single feature of more advanced programs, but many will still leave you with great results.
Learn from the best
You don’t have to take a ton of classes to be a good photographer if you don’t have time to. Certainly, they might help if that’s something you’re interested in, but there’s a lot of good websites and blogs that can give you more tips and tricks to further your photography. A quick web search will result in plenty of tutorials. Alternatively, buying or renting a photography book could be a good tool as well. If neither of those sounds like good routes for you, ask your friends and family if they’re willing to teach you a few tricks.
Photo: W. Bayreut
