6 Pro Tips & 5 Bonus Tips: How To Take Better Photos
How To Take Better Photos
6 Professional Tips to Instantly Improve Your Photography
The Coffee Table Book Australia’s creative director and retired professional photographer, spent 12 years behind a camera as a professional wedding photographer. Now she’s sharing her best-kept secrets on how to take better photos with 6 Professional Tips to Instantly Improve Your Photography.
Whether you’re shooting with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or a smartphone, understanding how to take better photos comes down to more than just pressing the shutter. As a professional photographer, I’ve learned that great photos are the result of mastering a few fundamental techniques. Here are six expert tips to elevate your photography—no fluff, just what works.
Oh, and hang around to the end where we share 5 Bonus Tips to Take Better Photos.
Tip #1. Master the Light First, Not the Gear
Light is everything. Learn to observe how light behaves—its direction, quality, and intensity. Natural light (especially during golden hour) offers flattering tones and depth. As you get more experience, experiment with artificial light, for example reflectors or off-camera flash. Always ask yourself: Where is the light coming from, and how is it shaping my subject? Read the Beginners Guide to Natural Light and how to use it to achieve better photos.. Learn more about natural light portraiture and natural light photography. An in-depth look into the types of natural light and how to use light to take better photos.
Tip #2. Get Comfortable with Manual Camera Settings
Auto mode is convenient, but it takes control away from you. Learn and understand aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and how they work together. Want dreamy softly-blurred backgrounds? Open the aperture to wide open using f/1.4 through f/2.8 if your lens allows it. Need to freeze motion? Raise your shutter speed (1/500+). Noisy images? Your ISO is probably too high. Manual mode lets you choose settings intentionally to create better images. Plus its fun experimenting to see the results.
Tip #3. Simplify Your Composition
Less is more. Avoid cluttered backgrounds and distractions. Use compositional techniques like the rule of thirds, leading lines, and negative space to frame your image and guide the viewer’s eye. Experiment with different perspectives. Change your position to get a different angle—don’t just rely on zoom. A slight change in angle or perspective can turn a snapshot into a compelling photograph. Change your standing position so you’re not seeing the same view like everyone else, get low and point the camera to angle up, get high and point the camera angle down to give a different perspective.
Tip #4. Focus with Purpose
Always focus on what matters. For portraits, the eyes must be tack-sharp. Use single-point autofocus to control where the camera locks focus, and if you’re shooting wide open (ie. using an aperture of f1.4 through f2.8), be extra precise. Don’t trust the camera to decide on the focus point—you’re the photographer, you choose the focus point.
Tip #5. Shoot With Intention, Quality Over Quantity
More frames don’t mean better photos. Take a second to think about the frame before pressing the shutter. Ask yourself: What story am I telling? What emotion am I trying to capture? Shooting with purpose leads to stronger images—and less time culling through hundreds of mediocre shots.
Tip #6. Edit Like a Pro — Subtly Is Key
Editing should be the polish, not the fix. Use Lightroom or Photoshop (or any photo editing APP) to enhance what’s already good: adjust exposure, refine white balance, add contrast, and sharpen details. Avoid over-saturation and gimmicky filters. A professional-grade image looks natural but refined.
Good photography isn’t about having the best camera gear—it’s about understanding light, composition, and intention. Master the fundamentals, and your photos will stand out, no matter what camera you’re using.
BONUS: 5 Tips For Taking Better Photos
Tip #7. Look through the viewfinder
Rather than looking through the LCD screen use the viewfinder instead. This draws attention to the subject and scene to help eliminate any distractions you might otherwise miss.
Tip #8. Don’t overshoot
Capturing too many frames of the one scene creates a stack of images to be sorted through and takes up more space on your memory card. Forcing you to sort through unnecessary amount of images to find the best and time consuming — take it from a professional who’s been there (insert cry emoji). Pick your decisive moments then move to your next subject.
Tip #9. Be Original, Not a Copycat
Instead of imitating other photo styles, focus on developing your own style. Look for different angles or ways to tell the same story, but in your own unique voice.
Tip #10. Curate your photos
Curating your photos is an art form. It is said “you are only as good as your weakest image”. Start by finding your top 10 images from your photoshoot. Then refine those down to your top 5 images, and then the one best image. Learn to study your images and critique them, looking for things that could be improved. This will help lead you to curating your photos to find the best images.
Tip #11. Print your photos
Printing your photographs forces you to be critical of your work. Whether you’re printing loose individual prints or creating a layout for a photo book, printing forces you to choose the absolute best—and will make you a better photographer.
When you’re ready to show off your photos, we’ll then help you turn them into a cool photo book.
Shop Photo Books
Whether you’re looking to create a book with photos of your travels, adventures, family, your favourite pet, or an event such as a wedding, we have a photo book format for every occasion.
-
Baby Photo Book
Price range: $750.00 through $2,500.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Engagement Photo Book
Price range: $750.00 through $1,350.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Family Photo Book
Price range: $750.00 through $2,500.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Premium Photo Book — Portrait, Landscape & Square
Price range: $950.00 through $1,995.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
The PAWsome Magazine: A Pet-Friendly Photo Book
Price range: $750.00 through $1,350.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Wedding Photo Books
Price range: $750.00 through $2,500.00 View Product This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
