Still Life Photography: Light and Shadow

Image by Яick Harris via Flickr

Like any other profession, there are many specializations you can choose from in the field of photography. The order in which you choose to examine photography is entirely up to you. However, I recommend you try still life photography first because like still life painting, still life photography teaches you how shadow and light interact. If you are unable to understand how light affects your images, then you will not succeed at taking good photos.

Candid Photography: An Introduction

Image by fabiogis50 via Flickr

Taking photographs of people when they are unaware is called candid photography. Part of the reward of photography is capturing the emotion of a person or a group of people unwittingly. Photojournalists that work for newspapers and magazines are paid to get candid shots of their subjects to print in their publications, for maximum effect. The majority of the most famous photographs in history are candid shots.

Deciding What Subjects To Photograph

Image via Wikipedia

As a beginner, it can be a bit daunting to decide what kind of photographs you would like to take. You’re just getting used to your camera and probably don’t completely know what you’re doing quite yet but that’s okay.

Luckily, the act of taking the picture itself is very easy and once you get some experience under your belt, you’ll improve technically.  But for now, I would recommend taking pictures of whatever it is that intrigues you the most.