Get snappy with our top 5 photography tips

Get snap happy!

With our annual photography competition underway we thought it would be a good time to share a few handy tips and tricks of the trade to help you take a winning shot.

1. Composing the shot
Use the rule of thirds. Imagine a three by three grid drawn over the image, and make sure your focus point only takes up one third of the image. Digital cameras have a grid setting, that allows you to line up with the horizon or a point in the foreground.

2. Camera angles
Experimenting with different angles or viewpoint can add interest to your shot. Try crouching down, shooting from the hip or holding the camera above your head.

3. Shooting in lower light levels
When shooting at night or inside, use a tripod. This keeps the camera steady and helps reduce blurry images. If you don’t have one, a table or other flat surface will do.

You may also need to counter the effects of harsh lights. To do this use a flash with a warming filter or to capture candle light, take the flash off and decrease the shutter speed.

4. Editing and after effects
As a general rule, less is more and an over edited image stands out like a sore thumb. Cropping can be a good tool, to help focus on a particular area, or cut off a distracting edge.

5. Using Instagram filters
Using filters and frames on Instagram, can help improve your image, but sometimes can have the opposite effect. Don’t be afraid to keep it simple with #nofilter.

Cornwall’s countryside and coastline is full of inspiration for budding photographers and we look forward to seeing your fantastic photographs. We’ve got some great prizes up for grabs in our photography competition so don’t forget to enter.