How To Take The Perfect Picture

This blog is in response to the many requests that I have received over the years asking me how to take good photos or if I would offer photography classes.

Many people own a camera, but are not sure how to create the images that they really desire.  It may have happened to you.  You see the scene that would make a great picture and you snap away.  When the picture is developed or you put it on the computer screen, it is not the scene that you remember.  Hopefully this blog with assist you in becoming the photographer that you aspire to be.

When I started as a teenager, I was using a point and shot film camera.  I carried the camera everywhere.  On our scout trips to the Smokey Mountains hiking the Appalachian Trail, to the Scout Ranch in New Mexico and  to every family outing.  All the shots were point and shot allowing the camera to determine the exposure and aperture.  I wasn’t taking the picture, the camera was in control.  And I had to throw away whole lot of pictures.  Don’t get me wrong, often the camera created some good shots.  But there is more to the process.  You should control the camera and  create the image you see.  After all, it is your photo.

My real education in photography began when a local adult education center was offering classes in photography.  On the walls were example of the instructor’s photos.  One in particular caught my attention.  It was a bird with the background blurry accenting the bird and leaving it as the center of attention.  I said I would like to take photos like that.  I remember clearly the instructor saying “you will by the end of the class.”  Hopefully, you too can create the photos that you want following the photographic tips in this blog.

I now shot digitally, but the things that we cover apply to film or digital image creation.  The advantage of digital cameras is the ability shot more images and delete the bad images.  With film mistakes can be costly.

What I hope to do with this blog is allow you to create the kind of images that you want, not what the camera sees.  I hope to put you in control of the process that will allow to you to create that work of art or a better family photo.

Let’s take control of the photographic tool, the camera, and with the photographic techniques and photography tips in this blog, you can begin taking great photos.  Remember to have fun.

Gregory Colvin

About Gregory Colvin

Gregory Colvin is a fine art photographer. His work has been included in the Naples Museum of Art exhibit, in the collection of numerous corporate and private collections and has been included in many juried art shows and galleries.

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