| During my career as a photographer, I picked up lots | | | | right angle. You know the saying: you get what you |
| of ideas that would help a newcomer start off on the | | | | pay for; this is especially true with tripods. |
| right foot. The tips I am going to share in this article are | | | | 4. The power is in the lenses. I know it sounds like a |
| my personal suggestions and should not be taken as | | | | quote from a Jedi master, but it's as true as it can be. |
| state of the art truths. | | | | There is a tremendous difference between the quality |
| 1. The ISO setting is the only highly important technical | | | | of a picture taken with, say, an 135 prime L series lens |
| detail you have to know about your DSLR. When | | | | and the low level stock one that comes with each |
| taking pictures in an improperly lit room or outside at | | | | digital SLR camera. Experiment with a few good ones |
| night, you can dramatically improve the quality of your | | | | (I would recommend any Canon L series lens) and |
| shot by increasing the ISO setting. By raising it, the | | | | choose your preferred one. |
| lenses will stay open for a shorter amount of time and | | | | 5. Buy and learn to use Photoshop. I can't stress this |
| the photo will be less influenced by the natural slight | | | | enough. No matter how great a picture may be, you |
| movement of hands. | | | | can always make small adjustments, like alter the |
| 2. When taking a shot in dim light, it's always best to | | | | contrast, sharpness or color saturations, to make it |
| find something to brace the camera on. Ideally, you | | | | even better. There are many Photoshop tutorials out |
| should use a tripod, but a table, chair, bar or even a | | | | there, some of them are even free. And it's not very |
| telephone or light pole could do the trick. | | | | expensive, the low end version of Photoshop costs |
| 3. Don't get cheap when buying for a tripod. If you are | | | | only $75. |
| on a low budget, it would be better to wait, save some | | | | As a final tip, don't forget to have fun! Photography is |
| money and buy a good one. Cheap tripods will break | | | | a great hobby and can be lots of fun. Stay creative. |
| when you need them mostly, shake when the wind is | | | | Take lots and lots of photos. Explore. And, again, have |
| blowing and sometimes not keep your camera at the | | | | fun! |