Taking great photos is something that every one can do. It’s simply about knowing a few secrets! Having earned my undergrad degree in Photography, I learned a thing or two about how to take great photos. Despite learning a lot in my photography classes, I still learn new tricks all the time.
Here are some of the best (in my opinion!) photography tips and equipment that I currently use to take great photos.
Pop-Up Light Reflectors
Before using the gold light reflector
When you are taking photos on a bright day, using light reflectors are a great way to easily get light onto the needed areas on subjects. I use pop-up light reflectors because they fold up easily and are great travel companions for photographers.
After using the gold light reflector
The one I use has a silver side that reflects cool light and a gold side that reflects warm light. It also has a translucent, white and black side that are helpful for many lighting needs.
Watch me use the reflector in this 23 second video below:
You can hold reflectors yourself, but sometimes it’s helpful to have someone else hold and aim the it while you take the photo.
After using a gold photography light reflector
Backgrounds
My husband and I testing my gray pop-up background
I have numerous backgrounds that I use for various types of photography. I went to the fabric store and purchased some sequin and fur backgrounds that I often use for my pet or beauty photography. I simply use clamps to attach the fabric to the top rod of my background stand, then use small clip-style clamps to pull it tightly, which rids it of folds and wrinkles.
I also LOVE using dual sided pop-up backgrounds. They are pricer that using fabric BUT they are great to use when you don’t have a lot of time OR when you are traveling. I use disc holders to attach them easily to my background stand.
When I do food photography, I often use matte faux textured backgrounds. I ordered several sets from Amazon and use them along with natural lighting (usually from a window in my home) to capture simple, yet great photos.
Using matte backgrounds for food photography
I often use the paid version of the Lightroom app to edit my photo lighting even more. I create my own pre-sets and save them so I can use them over and over again. I currently take many of my photos using my iPhone Pro Max because I'm always creating on the fly. Using my phone, plus some apps and faux backgrounds, helps me easily create and edit pictures that look great on social media and on my website.
Natural vs. Studio Lighting
I used a flashlight to target the Princess of the Night Cactus flower photo
While I love to use natural lighting, sometimes I have to take photos when it’s dark outside or dark in the space I’m located. Lighting dark areas can be tricky, but it’s still do-able. I’ll sometimes use a ring light, flashlight, studio stand lights with umbrellas or soft boxes, along with a tripod to hold my camera or phone. I basically play around with lighting and taking test shots until I get the look I am going for.
Using natural lighting for beach photography
I love using a foldable light box to take professional looking photos of products. My husband and I sell some of our old toys and other items on Poshmark, eBay and other sites, and the light box helps make our items look nicer, which results in better sales.
I’m sure there are a ton of other things I could talk about when it comes to photography, as I’ve been taking photos since I got my first camera from my grandfather when I was around 10 years old, but I’ll leave it at that for now.