Photography Tip #3: Know Your Camera, Bring Your Camera

Today's photography tip may seem like a no-brainer to some of us. Of course we need to know how to turn it on and operate it to take a picture. But this tip means much more than that. I'm not talking about just being able to turn it on and push the shutter button, but even more than that. For instance, does your camera take bracketed exposures? Can you shoot video? Do you know how to select different focus points on your camera? Does your camera have a depth-of-field preview button? What's the quickest way to turn on continuous shooting? Can your camera even do any of that stuff?

If your desire is to move beyond the normal snapshots or to be an even better photographer you first need to know how to use your camera. Many of us own cameras that can do amazing things that professional photographers would have given their right arm to have on their cameras even 5 years ago. Learning how to use these features will make you a better photographer, guaranteed. Even more, once these controls are mastered, you will find yourself spending more time on your framing and setting up that perfect shot rather than spending time saying "now where's that button that...doh!! I missed a great shot". Don't be that guy (or girl). Read the manual.

The second part of this tip SHOULD be a no-brainer. Nobody I know predicts the future. In fact, I'm pretty convinced that our own local weather guy is probably as accurate as my dog is at picking lottery numbers (believe me, the dog's pretty lousy at it). If you don't take your camera with you, you're never gonna know if that great shot is right around the corner. There is a story about how the great landscape photographer Ansel Adams took his most popular photo of Half-Dome in Yosemite while on his way to happy hour to hang out with his friends. It just so happened that he kept his camera and trip in his car at all times. You never know when you are going to have that chance to get a great shot. Is your camera too bulky? Get a smaller one. You can't take great photos if you don't have your camera with you.