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Writer's pictureameliemarmonier

The golden rules of photography


For some time now, I have been training in photography and it has become a real passion. I'm discovering for myself lots of new things about this art and I've learned that there are some rules to follow and some tips that are very practical and that I absolutely didn't know before getting serious about photography. So here for me are the golden rules of photography.



Before the shoot:

  • Make a list so you don't forget anything during a shoot and check your equipment

  • Pay careful attention to your accessories: charged battery that works well, emptied SD card (you can buy one that works with WI-FI to retrieve your photos more easily), attach the clip to your device properly so that it does not it falls to the ground and breaks (because it's very fragile, you can buy some for cheap if you don't have one)

  • Make sure that your future shoot will respect the rules: image rights if you take a photo of a person, authorization if you shoot in a private place, in short the necessary accreditations to be able to shoot in peace and without problem

  • Prefer the monopod to the tripod if you need to stabilize your camera, because it is lighter and less bulky and helps avoid camera shake. It's also smaller and more easily transportable (and of course, cheaper)

  • Remember to regularly clean your device and your lenses (especially dust on the sensor) and protect it when there is humidity, sand, etc. especially when you want to shoot in the rain or at the beach


Little tips:

  • Decrypt your memory card carefully, in order to know the speed index, which is the transfer speed for writing and reading images. The higher the index, the faster the image is recorded and the faster the camera will take the next photo.

  • Do you know the difference between dynamic range and tonal range? Dynamic range is the difference between the lightest value and the darkest value that a sensor is capable of recording. The larger the range, the richer in nuances the image will be photographed. Tonal range is all the ranges of hues contained in an image. It depends in particular on the medium of the photo (screen, paper, etc.).

  • Focus on the eyes if you are shooting portraits in order to capture the expression and see where the gaze is going (right, left, on a particular object, this is where anyone looking at the photo will go in first)

  • Prefer to shoot in RAW, because the resolution of the photos will be better

  • The best in photography is to double the shots, that is to say take 2 identical photos a bit like in burst mode to have a perfect photo without camera shake. To do this, you must hold the shutter button down after the first photo, without moving one iota.

  • Also try taking the same photo but changing the framing. If you are framing vertically, try the same photo horizontally and vice versa, it can result in a very beautiful photo.

  • When you photograph a person, there are rules to remember, in particular ONE essential: you must not cut the joints, that is to say, you must not cut the fingers, wrists, elbows, edges of the face , knees, ankles... Here is a photo that explains everything:


Tips on settings:

  • Get to know the lenses you use. Fixed focal length lenses allow the entry of maximum light. This is important so that the photo is not blurry. The 50mm focal length is the most common. This allows it to be more stable, which is good in low light. Next comes the zooms. For portraits and close-up photos, we use the 18-200mm zoom, in architecture or landscape, the 10-200mm, in sports photography, the 80-200mm or 70-300mm. Personally, I have a zoom of 18-55 mm which allows me to take pictures of objects or portraits. Next comes the maximum aperture, which can be constant or variable. For example, for my 18-55mm zoom, I have a maximum aperture between f/4.5 and f/29. The smaller it is, the blurrier the background will be. This also works with zoom, the greater the distance between the background and the subject, the more blur there will be, this is called depth of field.

  • So yes, autofocus is very practical but it doesn't work every time. Try doing the latter manually from time to time. Simply switch the button on the lens from AF to MF. In some models, you can also adjust the autofocus, which can also be a solution (AF-S called One-Shot, AF-C also called AI-Servo, or AI-Focus)

  • For focusing, you can select the most appropriate collimators (red frame in your viewfinder) for your photo, this will allow you to focus on the subject of the photo and blur the rest well.

  • Pay attention to the white balance, because the light has a huge impact on your photo and you must therefore adjust the white balance according to the lighting (outdoors: sun, cloudy, night; or indoors: lamp, etc.)


Device modes:

  • Did you know that you have 5 different modes on your camera dial? First of all, there are the basic modes including the automatic modes (A+, without flash) and the results modes (portraits, landscapes, sport, macro photography), then there are the creative modes (M, Av, Tv, and P), and finally, the video mode.

  • The A/Av mode is good when you want to play with the aperture of the diaphragm (i.e. the focal length, which is used to blur the background or not). All you have to do is choose the focal length and the device will calculate the speed at which the photo is taken. This gives you an advantage over M mode (manual) which asks you to choose both the focal length and the speed. The A/Av mode is mainly used for portraits and landscapes but not for sports photography which also requires adjusting the speed.

  • The S/Tv mode allows you to choose the speed at which the photo is taken, in order to avoid camera shake. Which is more suitable for sports photos.

  • M mode (manual) is good for adjusting the light, especially when shooting in snow, at night or for sunsets and sunrises. This mode also allows you to better discover your box and learn how to use it more effectively.


After the shoot:

  • The photos must be carefully sorted and processed (i.e. retouched). For this, I recommend software like Photoshop or Lightroom which are very good. There are also others but which I know less well like Gimp or Picasa which are free.

  • Remember to empty your memory card and save your photos, on several hard drives if you wish, then empty your SD card for a future shoot. And also remember to clean your device and accessories.



Photo credit: Google Image, Amelie Marmonier

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