5 Ways to Improve Your Photography Without Spending a Fortune

Ok, I'm going to premise this blog with the notion that anyone who is interested in taking good quality pictures is going to own a dSLR; I think that's a fairly reasonable assumption given the cost for an entry level dSLR is now under $600 (the Canon EOS 1100D for example) and continues to plummet.

So, without further ado...

1. A tripod. Owning a tripod opens  up so many opportunities and possibilities for the advancement of your photography it is stupid. In fact a tripod shouldn't even make it onto this list as everyone should have one!

A tripod will immediately allow you to slow right down your shutter speed, bringing to life all manner of motion, blur and low light delights. Without a tripod you're limited to shutter speeds no slower than the inverse of your focal length (ie if you're shooting with a 100mm lens then you should be shooting at 1/100s or faster, 20mm - 1/20s, etc) which, if you think about it, can be pretty limiting if you're at the 200mm or greater end of the lens and not in full sun.

For a half decent tripod from a reputable manufacturer you'll be looking at prices starting around $90 or so.

A tripod allows you to slow down
your shutter speed, capturing the
motion of an object while retaining
sharp detail

Longer shutter speeds will allow you
to attempt lightning and other night
shots

2. Remote shutter release. You might not realise, but when you hit the shutter button there's a number of things that happen that can introduce camera shake, the largest of these being your hands as they depress the button and then let go. A remote shutter release, along with a function called mirror lock-up, will just about eliminate camera shake due to, well, you! It also has the benefit of allowing you to depress the shutter button  indefinitely in "bulb" mode. You need to be able to do this for such things as astro-photography (star trails anyone?) and less frequent lightning (see How to Shoot Lightning).

You can choose from a cable or wireless trigger. A wired trigger has served me well now for many years and to be honest I think is the better option for dollars spent. Remote triggers start at $35 and go all the way up to $900+.

3. Polarising filter. I'll be writing a blog on filters shortly (next blog in fact!) but a polariser will do wonders for your landscapes particularly. They also work to reduce reflections which can really make your water images pop!

The one draw back? If you have lenses with varying filter diameters then you are going to need a filter for each diameter. Polarisers start at around the $50 mark depending on size.

4. Speedlight. Does that little poky pop-up flash fall short of the line? Doesn't quite have the power you're after? Well the answer is a dedicated speedlight. 

A speedlight will not only increase the throw of light - the power of your flash - allowing you to light up scenes further from you, but introduces a lot more in terms of flexibility. Usually even the most basic speedlights will allow you to alter the power output to match ambient light levels. With this ability you can start to play with mixing natural and artificial light to create more exciting images.

A very basic speedlight will set you back in the order of $230 or so.

5. Off camera shoe cord. You wouldn't think being able to move your speedlight a metre or two from the camera would make much difference, but it does - a huge difference, an unbelievable difference. Suddenly small scale lighting setups can be achieved to capture fine-art type subjects such as the rolling figures of a smoke plume or freeze fast moving objects like liquid droplets. These are two such subjects which are actually quite intriguing to the viewer.

These sorts of cords come in a range of lengths for most brands and start around the $70 mark for a 2m cord.

An off-camera shoe cord gives you
the flexibility to begin shaping and directing
light to create more dynamic, interesting
and overall more pleasing images. In the shot
above of Kristy and Jo (my delightful sisters IL)
I have held my speedlight high and to the left
to act as a fill light, while the sun acts as my
key light.

A smoke trail eminating from a stick of
incense. Speedlight is to the camera's
right.

The impact from a droplet of milk (and a second
above) is frozen by a speedlight above the
camera

I hope this tips will be useful in the future for those just getting started.

If you have any ideas or comments, please post away below and don't forget to visit and LIKE my Facebook page Will Barton Photography.