1. Use the Camera You Already Have

Camera gear is not all that important.

There are countless cameras, lenses, and other accessories on the market today. We spend a lot of time reviewing them at Photography Life, and it’s true that some are better than others (or better suited for a given job). But once you’ve tested enough of them, the real takeaway is that pretty much everything today is excellent. The differences are almost always minor, especially at a given price.

2. Work with Your Composition

To take engaging photos, you need to be engaged with what you’re doing. Don’t just fly by on autopilot. Instead, put thought into your composition and try to make your photos as good as possible.

3. Learn Which Settings Matter

There are a lot of camera settings, and it takes some practice to get them right, especially as a beginner. Even advanced photographers won’t always do everything perfectly. But it’s worth learning how to set your camera properly, and which camera settings matter the most, so you have the best chance to take the photos you want.

4. Don’t Overexpose Highlights

When you are picking your camera settings, it is critical to avoid overexposing highlights in a photo. The reason? It’s simply impossible to recover any detail from white areas of a photo. It’s pretty easy to keep your highlights intact. But this is where shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are so important. 

5. Take Your Time

It’s easy to make mistakes in photography if you aren’t careful. The best way around this is to slow down and take your time whenever possible, particularly when you are first beginning to learn photography.

In short, the more time you spend on photography, the easier it will be to take the photos you have in mind. That’s the end goal in all of this – translating the image in your head, and the emotions you feel, into a photograph that makes other people experience the same thing.

Written by: Nasim Mansurov