The Joy of Photography | Edmund Ng | Hampton School

No, I'm not talking about those school notes you'll inevitably forget to read anyway, or a list of dates you might not need anyway, I'm talking about taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures, because it looks nice, not because you have to.

With our society increasingly moving towards a more digital world, more and more people have access to digital photography, something which only 20 years ago would have been seen as a rarity. With 79% of those aged 18+ having a phone in 2019 (a number that has surely risen by now), and 50% of children aged 10+ having one in the same year, it can be seen that in this country alone, there are a staggering number of people with access to the technological wonder that is a camera.

And yet, it seems that there are few who embrace photography, few who really care about it, few who see past the Instagram opportunities and actually care about photography.

I would be wrong to say that everybody who has a phone knows how to take professional quality photos, but there are some tips that could take anyone, even you, to a slightly higher level in terms of photography.

Number one - never shoot directly into the sun. I know it sounds obvious, but glare is really annoying, and something to be avoided at all costs. Shoot in the other direction, or as a last resort, try and get something like a tree in the way of direct sunlight. 

Second rule - don’t use flash where it isn’t necessary. Again, sounds obvious, but often phones set to “auto” will flash when they don’t need to, leading to weird lighting conditions. If it looks bright enough, it probably is.

Third rule - the Rule of Thirds. Most cameras have an option these days, usually called something like "gridlines" or anything along those lines (pun intended). These lines divide your screen into three both vertically and horizontally. Whatever the main focus of the image is should be positioned on one of the lines, or sometimes on the intersections. This makes for more balanced photos.

Fourthly - avoid zoom. Yes, sometimes you have to use a bit, but too much makes the picture quality not as good as it could be. So, just get a bit closer. You get much better photo quality, and a bit of walking never hurt anybody, right?

Finally - practice. It sounds cliché, but photography really is one of those skills where practice makes perfect.

So, there you have it, some tips on photography. There's a lot of stuff that I could have covered but didn't (ISO, shutter speed, focus, etc.), and of course in no way am I suggesting that following these tips will instantly turn you into a professional, but at least they'll be better. After all, everyone has to start somewhere, right?

All images used in this article are my own, and should not be reused without pemission.