CAMERA CRAFT
Get better photos from your DSLR or mirrorless camera
25 SHARP SHOTS WITHOUT A TRIPOD
There are times when it isn’t wise to set up your camera on a tripod, such as on a bustling city street, and in situations when you need to stay mobile. Shutter speed becomes a prime concern in these situations; increasing the ISO, employing shake reduction, firing short bursts of shots, pulling the camera strap taut and bracing yourself against a wall or other available ‘furniture’ can all help.
26 SHOOTING IN A NEW LOCATION
While it’s easy to explore Google Images to get a feel for the photographic potential of a location, if you’re visiting a spot for the first time it’s worth pausing and getting a sense of place before trying to express it in an image. It might be tempting to attach your camera to your tripod, but there’s a lot to be said for exploring different viewpoints with a handheld camera to find the right angle and height to shoot from first.
27 INCLUDE ODD NUMBERS
Odd numbers of objects typically give more balanced compositions than even numbers, whether you’re shooting a group portrait, a sporting event or trees in a landscape.
28 USE DIOPTRE ADJUSTMENT
Many cameras enable the viewfinder sharpness to be improved using a feature called dipotre adjustment. Keep an eye on the readout in the viewfinder rather than looking at the image as you make any adjustments.
29 ACTIVATE HIGHLIGHT WARNING
You can set the playback display to flash a warning for highlights that are at risk of being exposed – it’s a quick way to check exposure.
30 REMEMBER TO RESET YOUR CAMERA
If you’ve been making adjustments to your camera for a specific image, such as dialling in exposure compensation, don’t forget to return the settings to normal when you finish shooting, ready for the next shot.
31 PRE-FOCUS FOR ACTION
If you’re able to predict where a moving subject is going to be, pre-focus the lens on that spot: this can speed up the time it takes for the autofocus to lock onto the subject and give you a much better chance of grabbing the shot.