Focusing:

Focusing is probably one of the most important parts of photography. A sharp image is one of the major factors when it comes to how good your image looks. Focusing is improved through simply practicing.

There are cameras that use auto focus and this is good but you are really going to want to use the manual mode for total control.

Shutter Speed:

If you have a point and shoot camera you may not be able to manipulate the shutter speed. The shutter speed is basically how long the image is exposed to light. You see, a photo that is exposed longer is usually because there is less light and more light is needed to get the image exposed correctly.

You can creatively use the shutter speed in many different ways.

A fast shutter speed will freeze the action. For example, if you’ve ever been on a rollercoaster and seen the pictures of you and other people rushing down at a very fast speed this is caught with the fast shutter speed. Fast shutter speeds are great for catching fast motion shots like cars, running, etc.

A slow shutter speed is also a great way to use the shutter speed. The slow shutter speed can be used to create interesting motion blurs. It can be used to make waterfalls look like they are floating.

As a general rule, you are going to want to use a tripod for slow shutter speeds. If you don’t, your image could end up being very blurred.

Aperture

The aperture is very closely related to the shutter speed. The aperture controls how much light is let in. It is basically an opening that lets in the light.

The smaller the opening, the more focused the entire image is going to be. For example a small aperture opening of around F/16 will make the entire image in focus. This entire image in focus is also called “expansive depth of field” This setting is great when you are taking shots of large amounts of space like stadiums, landscapes, etc.

A shallow depth of field is the opposite. Using a large aperture like F/2.8 you will get an image that is much less focused. This is because the hole is much larger and the light let in is much less precise. The result is the shallow depth look found in close up photographs. This causes the object of interest to be in focus and, depending on various settings, other objects behind and in front of the object will be blurred.

Lighting

The best time to take photos in the sunset is before 10 AM and after 4 PM. Do not take shots in the sunlight at 12 PM. This is the worst time as the sun is directly overhead and creating really bad lighting.