Digital Photography Tips I (Eliminating Blur)

I’ve been teaching photography for several years, and have found that many people have similar issues with their photography when they’re first starting out. Did you know that when a professional photographer has a photo session, there are usually many more bad shots than good ones to a roll of film or memory card? That’s why they take so many! These hints will help you take more good shots for any occasion.

One problem most people deal with is blurring in their pictures, which can ruin a perfectly good shot. How do you know if you’re moving or if the subject was moving? Easy… what’s blurred? If the entire shot is blurred, your hands were moving when you hit the shutter button. You may want to steady your hands against something; for instance, a chair or table. A tripod is always a good idea, and you can pick one up very inexpensively in the camera department of most stores. Just remember, the heavier the tripod, the more steady it will be.

If you find that only one object in your picture is blurred, that means it was moving when you shot the picture. If you just can’t get your subject to stand still (a common trait of pets and children), you may want to adjust your camera to a faster shutter speed. Keep in mind that you’ll also need to adjust your aperature accordingly if you’re on the manual setting, although you can set your camera to adjust itself to your shutter speed by going to the Tv setting. You may also want to use a countdown for your subject to let them know when they’ll need to hold still. For instance, you may want to tell a child to wave their arms now, but you’re going to count to three and they’ll need to hold still. In case this makes the child suddenly look stiff and unnatural, engaging him or her in conversation can lead to more natural poses and expressions.

If your view screen shows that something’s in motion, using these simple tricks can help you avoid blur in your pictures.

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Brooke Pierce is a professional photographer and guest author of Bumblejax