I was wondering how I can take professional looking photographs with my camera.The kind of photos you see in magazines and stuff. I have a Nikon D40 with 18-55mm lens, I’m going to get some new ones later though. Bear with me, I’m still figuring out this camera. Any tips are appreciated, thanks. 
First, enroll in photography classes.
Second, READ & STUDY the Owner’s Manual for your camera until you know every setting and feature and when, why and how to use them.
Learn about light and composition and ISO and f-stops and shutter speeds.
Learn to shoot in Manual Mode – take control of your camera. After you’ve fully mastered shooting in Manual you can switch to Aperture or Shutter Preferred.
Learn to slow down. Take the time to look at a scene from different angles – standing, sitting, lying flat on the ground. Often, moving a few feet right or left will change the entire composition.
Learn to pay as much attention to the background as you do to your subject. Good lighting and a nice expression on your subject’s face is wasted when there is a tree or pole "growing" from their head or a powerline "running" through it. Watch that background.
Slow down. Develop what I call the "sniper mentality" – one shot, one good image. Sure, a sniper misses occasionally. Ignore any suggestions to just shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot some more. That’s what I call the "machine gunner mentality" – take 300 shots and hope 10% are worth keeping*. That’s a great way to guarantee you’ll be spending time at the computer trying to seperate a few good images from a whole lot of lousy ones. Honestly now, wouldn’t you rather be out with your camera?
Read. Read photography magazines. Read books on photography. Read books about famous photographers.
Good luck and welcome to the fascinating, frustrating world of advanced photography.
* One person stated in here that if they took 1,000 pictures anf got one good one they were happy. IMO you’d likely get better results giving the camera to a chimpanzee.
March 1st, 2010 at 8:15 am
take photography class
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March 1st, 2010 at 9:04 am
Well it really takes practice… I would get the book called "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby and check out my blog Http://carrierox4ever13.blogspot.com
References :
March 1st, 2010 at 9:27 am
First I suggest that you work on developing good photographic composition after you learn your camera . This involves taking photos in a manner that enhances their interest.
You can learn this several ways:
1) Join a photography club. There are plently on meetup.com
2) Read books
3) Take a photography class
In regard to the magazines keep in mind that many of these are taken in a studio with arranged lighting. But the lighting can only enhance good composition skills.
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March 1st, 2010 at 10:08 am
practice, practice, practice.
References :
March 1st, 2010 at 10:37 am
First, enroll in photography classes.
Second, READ & STUDY the Owner’s Manual for your camera until you know every setting and feature and when, why and how to use them.
Learn about light and composition and ISO and f-stops and shutter speeds.
Learn to shoot in Manual Mode – take control of your camera. After you’ve fully mastered shooting in Manual you can switch to Aperture or Shutter Preferred.
Learn to slow down. Take the time to look at a scene from different angles – standing, sitting, lying flat on the ground. Often, moving a few feet right or left will change the entire composition.
Learn to pay as much attention to the background as you do to your subject. Good lighting and a nice expression on your subject’s face is wasted when there is a tree or pole "growing" from their head or a powerline "running" through it. Watch that background.
Slow down. Develop what I call the "sniper mentality" – one shot, one good image. Sure, a sniper misses occasionally. Ignore any suggestions to just shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot some more. That’s what I call the "machine gunner mentality" – take 300 shots and hope 10% are worth keeping*. That’s a great way to guarantee you’ll be spending time at the computer trying to seperate a few good images from a whole lot of lousy ones. Honestly now, wouldn’t you rather be out with your camera?
Read. Read photography magazines. Read books on photography. Read books about famous photographers.
Good luck and welcome to the fascinating, frustrating world of advanced photography.
* One person stated in here that if they took 1,000 pictures anf got one good one they were happy. IMO you’d likely get better results giving the camera to a chimpanzee.
References :