10 Tips For Great Digital Images

Below are ten simple composition tips that will instantly improve your DSLR images. Start using them and instantly see your digital photography improve.

Adjust ISO - Increasing the ISO is a trick you can use to gain an extra stop of either shutter speed or aperture. For example, if you are shooting flowing water at an ISO of 100, a shutter speed of 1/30 second and an aperture of f16, and you need a slower shutter speed to get the silky, cottony effect, one way is increasing the ISO to 200. You will gain a stop of shutter speed with the shutter speed now at 1/15 second. If you need another stop, increase the ISO to 400.

Adjust White Balance - Many times the DSLR Auto White Balance setting renders a correct color cast. However, when the Auto setting is reading the light incorrectly, adjust your white balance manually to a setting matching the type of light in your scene.

Vertical Perspective - Vertical subjects, such as trees, fence lines, streams, and etc. look better shot from the vertical perspective.

Use Your Histogram - Ensure you are getting a correct exposure by checking your histogram. On some DSLRs, you can check before pressing the shutter button while on others you have to check after the image is recorded. Look at the left and right sides of the histogram. The spikes on each end should not be cut off and should taper off down to the left and right corners on the bottom horizontal line. If they don't, adjust your DSLR settings and reshoot.

Rule of Thirds - This is the rule of subject placement. Mentally divide your viewfinder into a tic-tac-toe board. The rule says to place your subject on one of the intersecting points where a vertical and horizontal line meets.

Framing - Framing involves using something either natural, such as an overhanging tree branch or man-made, such as a doorway or window frame to draw the viewer's eyes through the frame and to the subject.

Horizon Placement - The general rule is first determining if the subject is above or below the horizon line. If the subject is above the horizon line, then give that area 2/3rds of the frame. If the subject is below the horizon line, then give it 2/3rds of the space.

Use aperture and shutter speed settings - Shutter speed controls movement. Aperture controls depth-of-field. To show movement as a blur, use a slow shutter speed. If you are shooting at less than 1/30th second, use a tripod. If you want to stop action, use a shutter speed of 1/250th second or faster. You will have to experiment because the shutter speed necessary to stop movement depends on the speed of the subject and direction of travel. Use aperture to control how much of a scene is in focus. The larger f-stop number, the more of the scene will be in focus.

Crop in camera - Use the zoom feature of your zoom lens to crop out any unwanted elements in a scene. This will save you time later by not having to perform this editing function once your images are downloaded into your computer.

Use a polarizer - If I could only have one filter, this would be it. A polarizer, darkens a blue sky, cuts out reflections, saturates colors and removes light haze. It also acts as a neutral density filter in that it takes out two stops of light allowing you to shoot at a slower shutter speed or a smaller number f-stop.

By incorporating these ten tips into your future digital photography, you will see an instant improvement in your next batch of digital images.

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