Tips for creating better images

A true professional photographer needs the basic skill sets to take a good picture. Common sense says it should be in focus and composed nicely. A common mistake among youth sports photographers is action shots that are blurry. Among non professional photographers there are a lot of common mistakes that can easily be avoided with a few tips.

Stay focused

There is more to focus than just having the image being in focus. You need to make sure your subject is the focus of the shot. Try to avoid a lot of distractions in the background of the photos. Professional photographers use the 2/3 rule. Unless you are a school photographer who needs their images to be centered perfectly, the 2/3 rule can make for some really nice images. In the simplest form, the 2/3 rule means getting your subject out of the center of the picture. However, some photographers do not keep the image in focus when they compose the image. There are a few ways to solve this problem with DSLR cameras. You can move your focus area so you can focus on the subject that isn't in the center of the viewfinder or you can focus and recompose.

To focus and recompose, you first must put the subject in the center of the viewfinder where the little red dot lights up when you press the shutter to focus the image. If you press the shutter half way the camera will focus on the subject. Now you can recompose your image and take the shot.

Another tool to help ensure great images is the use of Adobe Photoshop.

I cannot think of a single professional photographer that does not use Photoshop on a daily basis. Regardless of the skill level of a professional photographer, common problems such as red eye and poor lighting are common issues in this business. The use of Photoshop is an easy way to make decent photos into awesome ones.

Photoshop is used for a whole lot more than just fixing red eye. We all know that many models are very attractive, but no one is flawless right through the viewfinder. Photoshop easily hides blemishes and other imperfections.

Here are a few tips on how to use Photoshop to clean up your images.

Red Eye

Red eye is probably the most common problem with photographers. Regardless of how fancy your camera is, you will always get red eye if you are using a flash that is on the camera. A camera that has red eye reduction might help a little, but you will still run into this in many cases. Photoshop's red eye tool can automatically eliminate red eye from your photos.

Auto Levels

Photoshop has a lot of tools that can automatically correct color settings and brightness in a photo. Use the "auto" functions to see how they work to clean up your images. It is best to play with each tool to see which one gets you the desired results. If you do not like the results from the auto tools, you can manually adjust the image's settings to create the best possible image.

Once you familiarize yourself with these basics, you can get into some more advanced features such as cloning and layer masks. I suggest that you pick up a simple book on Photoshop and get to know the tool. If you are a student, take advantage of the student discount offered by Adobe to get the tool for a great price.

Whether you are making sure to get the right shot when you take the photo or if you are fixing it later in Photoshop, one thing is for sure, the more you practice with all of these tools the faster you will have images on par with a professional photographer.

About the Author;

Andy Stockglausner is the owner of MVP Studios, a photographer in San Diego. MVP Studios is the Leader in Innovative Photography Services.