5 Tips to Be Great at Photography

Having great pictures are no longer just a requirement for the Hollywood actor or actress. In today's society it has become quite the staple to have at least a couple great photos to show off to your friends and to the world at large.

So, one must wonder, how do you go about taking great photos, even if it's just a "selfie". What's the secret to an Instagram feed like the stars? Is it a matter of investing in thousands of dollars in equipment along with a makeup artist and wardrobe stylish? We did some research and here are some basic photography tips from the pro's for beginners.

Depending on what type of photography you are doing, as long as it involves people, making direct eye contact goes a long way in getting your subject to engage fully in the picture, which provides for a much more mesmerizing outcome.

A great way to engage your subject is to keep the camera at eye level then move outward from there. Starting at eye level will create a personal and inviting feeling that would draw people into the picture naturally when they look at it.

When it comes to the background, less is more, going the extra mile to make sure that the person in the picture doesn't have glares of light behind them after the photo is taken, or even an odd object dangling from their head in the background, makes for cleaner looking photos of which the subject is the focus of the image.

Most people take this for granted, but not all outdoor lighting is "good lighting", sometimes it is necessary for the clarity of the image that flash is used even outdoors. Using flash outdoors is a great way to eliminate shadows from your image while also improving the clarity of the image. If you have the option of choosing between fill flash mode and full flash mode. Use fill flash for close mages and full flash for images further than 5 feet.

Moving in close is something people usually struggle with, because of the need to capture full body, or as much as possible. However, it is a professional tip to always move in closer than you think you need to especially if your subject is smaller than a car. Getting closer gets a more detailed and interactive image, so don't be afraid to zoom in after coming in closer. Do this and watch your pictures come to life in great detail.

This is an old trick that makes the most basic images come to life. By simply moving the camera away from your subject from the middle and locking the focus this can take an otherwise boring image and make it the most interesting and diverse of them all.

If you have a grid on your view finder this is a great way to line up the parts of your image starting from the middle and branching out to tell the best story.

Everyone starts somewhere, having the best camera helps, but a camera is only as good as the person who knows how to use it. Knowing the range of your cameras flash goes as long way in preventing you from having dull images. For most cameras the flash range doesn't exceed more that about 5 steps away from the subject.

Now as for light, it can be as good thing or a bad thing. It all depends on how enhanced you would like for your subject to look. If the subject had a lot of defects a well lit place is the enemy, whereas if the subject is pretty perfect and you would like to capture that then the more light the better. And for landscape images taking pictures at sunrise or sunset where the orange light sweeps across the land will give you the most beautiful images.

All in all photography should be something fun that you can enjoy doing, so play around with subjects, places, light and equipment and you will find your groove eventually.