These days we’re all photographers. From professionals to hobbyists, right through to the majority of us who just like clicking away with our smart phones wherever we go. Photography is a global pursuit and not just today, World Photography Day.

It turns out that World Photography Day isn’t just a random date in the calendar. It actually commemorates the invention of the Daguerreotype which was the first commercially successful photograph imaging technology. It was very early stage photography, printed on a silvered copper plate and though we’ve come a long way since then are many of us actually taking better photos? We’re not entirely convinced so we asked our in-house expert and Director of Creative Services Kirk Moffatt, for some tips and tricks to help us level up our photography skills.

Subject

The problem with not paying for film and prints is that we all take photos of too many things. Stop for a moment and make sure your subject, landscape or environment is actually interesting and worth capturing.

Focus

Take some time to make sure your subject is in focus. This one is particularly important if you’re taking a portrait, there’s nothing worse than capturing a blurred special moment!

Lighting

Whether using ISO or flash, figure out whether you have the lighting right. Good lighting can make the difference between a decent image and a brilliant one so this one is worth getting right.

Steady on

Camera shake is the worst in images or video so make use of a tripod or other steadying equipment to stabilise. Using a shutter speed that is appropriate for your lens’ focal length also helps.

Get technical

If you’re hitting all the basic tips, now turn your attention to a bit of learning. Spend time figuring out aperture, shutter speed, ISO (exposure triangle) and white balance. With every extra piece of education, you’ll find your images improve.

Composition

As you take more photos, you’ll start to pick out the compositional techniques that come in handy. From symmetry to framing, leading lines, to simple backgrounds, depth, scale, and low horizons, the list is long. Start with the rule of thirds – place the subject in the left or right third of an image, leaving the other two thirds more open. You’ll immediately see the difference!

Equipment

Most of us have a smart phone which is capable of taking great shots on the fly but if you’re keen to do more, invest in a decent DSLR with a high MP and a couple of quality lenses. Add to this a good tripod and you’ll take your photography to the next level.

Edit and save

I’d suggest shooting your images in RAW format so that you have flexibility at the editing stage. Invest in some good software for editing (I like Adobe Lightroom) and makes sure you back everything up. Keep two copies on separate media, either on hard disks or on Cloud-based storage.

Voila! Now that you  have all the tricks, go forth and photograph!