Become a Better Photographer Part I: Tips & Tricks For Taking Amazing Photos With Any Camera

Learn how to use great composition, light and posing to improve your photography. It's really quite amazing how you can get more creative and dramatic photos just with a better understanding of the basic principles.

What You'll Learn

• Using Natural Lighting. How to work with natural light and to deal with the sun
• Improving Your Composition. How to use composition to take more dramatic and creative images.
• Tips on Posing for Portraits. How to flatter your family and friends with some great posing tips (individual and group posing)

London's Embankment Station

What You'll Make

In this class you will apply advanced techniques to your photography. You will take a series of portraits and landscape photographs that will significantly improve your personal shooting style. At each stage in your process you will have the opportunity to share your work with the rest of the students enrolled in this class and receive feedback on your development.

A trader at London''s Camden Market

• Course Introduction
• Top Shade, the professional's portrait lighting secret
• Dealing with the sun when taking a portrait
• Understand the direction of light and the effect it has on your photos
• Get nice blue skies in your photos and avoid white skies
• How to retain the ambient light of a nicely lit room
• Better indoor portraits using window light - pt 1 of 2
• Better indoor portraits using window light - pt 2 of 2
• Create a great look using backlighting
• How to improve your natural light portraits using a reflector
• Use the rule of thirds for improved composition
• Better composition using diagonal lines
• Use 'Leading Lines' to create more dramatic images
• Use repeating patterns for more impact
• Improve your composition using the 'frame within a frame' trick
• Blur the background for more impact (DSLRs)
• Blur the background to isolate your subject (Compact Cameras)
• Don't let cluttered backgrounds ruin your portraits
• Improve your portraits using unusual backgrounds
• Improve your portraits using nature's own abstract backgrounds
• Flatter your individual subject with these full length posing tips
• Family or small group poses - Pt I Standing poses
• Family or small group poses - Pt II Seated poses
• Individual natural and relaxed female poses
• Ideas for photographing children, 4-6 months old
• Ideas for photographing children, 9-12 months old