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Composition Tips

Portrait Tips

How to Pose the Subject

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When to Use Which Lens and Why

Types of Lenses

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- Something you will hear repeatedly is that the best and most expensive gear will not make you a better photographer!! Keep it simple.

- If you are a complete beginner, I recommend starting with just a camera, a lens and a memory card. Its very easy to get caught up in all the gear and feeling like you need it all but in the beginning it’s best to start with the bare minimum.

- Camera ( a phone works as well)

-Don’t feel the need to buy a brand new camera, buying a used one from a
camera shop (adorama) is a very good option!
-Today, there are SO many cameras targeted to the beginner photographer so it
can be a little overwhelming choosing one to begin with. Mostly all of the DSLR camera bodies on the market are great so try to stay within your budget.
-Nikon and Canon both have a wide set of entry-level DSLRs
-Ex. D3300, Canon EOS Rebel T#i models, D3300, Nikon D5300
-Camera bodies are not as important as the lens so try and focus on investing in
a really good lens versus a camera body

- Lenses

-Lenses come in all sorts of types but two main categories would be prime and
zoom lenses. Zoom lenses have a range of frames so you are able to zoom in
and out within that range while prime lenses have a fixed frame. For a beginner,
we recommend using a prime lenses as is provides room for experimentation
with other features without needing to pay attention to the zoom.
-A 35mm or a 50mm lens would be our personal favorites!

- Tripod

-A tripod is a tool that is used to stabilize cameras. They typically have 3 legs that
are adjustable to the height and angle you want the camera to be at. A tripod comes in handy when you are using long exposure or when any camera movement while a photo is being taken with result in a blurred image. For example, when there is not a lot of light and the shutter needs to be open for longer, having a tripod will allow minimum movement so that the picture is not blurry at all.
-In all honesty, a tripod is not essential as you begin your journey with photography and become familiar with your camera but down the line, a tripod is a good investment and are saviors when it comes to long exposure.
-If you are interested, we recommend not trying to find the cheapest one out there (which can be tempting) but go for one like the Manfrotto MT190X3.

- Software

-Lightroom is our best recommendation for an editing software! Lightroom is an editing software that provides photo processing along with having image organization.

- Bag

-Getting a bag is a very important as you want to keep your camera protected but you don’t necessarily need to buy a $50 bag. Try looking for an old backpack in your house or stopping by a thrift store to find one for cheap!

- Extra Tid bits

-Buying an extra battery and an extra memory card will save you in the long run because the last thing you want is to be at a lovely location and be shooting some killer pictures and then have your camera run out of space, or worse, battery.

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