Are you a budding photographer?  Just got your first camera? Planning on travelling in the near future and you are hoping to capture some memorable pictures? Looking for some basic photograph tips for beginners?

Something you need to remember that all serious photographers and professionals were a beginner at some stage.    While there are many tips, tricks and techniques which can improve your photography skills, today I have put together 5 basic photography tips that most of the great photographers would employ.

5 Basic Photography Tips for Beginners

1) Keep your camera with you all the time

The key to taking better photos is to take photos.  You can’t take photos if you don’t have your camera with you.  When you are starting out it doesn’t matter what the subject is, it is going through the process of taking photos and getting used to how your camera works.

If you have your camera with you at all times, whenever you have an opportunity through out the day you can shoot away.  Waiting for the bus, an opportunity to shoot subjects in motion (cars on the street).  Having lunch in the park, an opport
unity to practice landscape photograph or shooting wildlife (birds etc).  Walking down the street, you have an opportunity to find interesting subjects to photograph be it buildings or people.
By having your camera with you, there is always going to be an opportunity to take a photo and practice your skills.

2) Get down on the ground

Way to often we fall into the habit of just standing, holding the camera at head height and taking our photos.  Want to get an interesting photo, get down on the ground, lie on your belly and see what the subject looks like.

Look around for ways to change the perspective that you are looking a subject, that may mean getting down close to the ground and shooting your photo up at the subject.  It may mean climbing onto a chair or table, getting above your subject and shooting down.  With children it is always good to get down low so you are shooting them at their eye level.

By changing the perspective that you are taking the picture from may be the difference between a ho-hum shot and a memorable photo.

3) Use a Tripod

Does your camera have the capacity to connect to a tri-pod? If it does use it!  This tip could make the biggest single improvement in the quality of the photos you are taking.

The most common problem with poor photos is that the camera has moved while the photo was being taken.  Now shooting at faster shutter speeds can overcome camera shake, but this is not always an option.  You may be in low light conditions or you may have a camera which doesn’t have an option to change the shutter speed.

By using a tripod, you know that your camera is stable and that you have a solid platform to take your photos from. For even more stability, set the timer on your camera to 3secs in conjunction with using a tripod.

4) Experiment with your camera’s settings.

It doesn’t matter if you are using a point and shoot camera or a high end DSLR camera, most cameras come with a ton of pre-programmed modes that are ideal for certain kinds of shots.  Do you know what your camera’s settings do?

As you are out and about taking photos, try shooting multiple photos of your subject trying different settings with each shot.  This will allow you to learn what effects or settings do and which ones you like. When you’re reviewing your photos at the end of the day, you can check out the photos properties to recall the settings you used.

Your using a digital camera, it does not cost anything to make errors.

5) Just get out of bed and do it

At the end of the day the best for a budding photographer is to just get out there and take photos.

Do you have a holiday coming up and you want improve your skills before you go?  Get out and shooting similar environment.  Going on Safari, go to your local Zoo and start shooting the wildlife.  Going to Hong Kong, head into your local CBD and start shooting in an urban environment.  You get the idea, have a look at what you have locally which you can practice on for a start.

Have you been using these 5 basic photograph tips for beginners? Do you have another tip that you would recommend? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it.