Photography Tips for Photography Beginners
Running a photography school gives us a unique opportunity to learn directly from photography beginners, and you’d be surprised just how common many beginner mistakes and questions are. In this tutorial, I’m going to give photography beginners a head start by sharing the best photography tips that come directly from other beginner photographers.
If you’re new to photography and consider yourself one of today’s photography beginners, this guide will help you build confidence, improve your images, and avoid common mistakes right from the start.
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The rule of thirds, an essential skill for beginner photographers
Beginner Tip 1 – Composition Basics for Photography Beginners
Composition is one of the most important skills for photography beginners to learn. In photography, composition refers to how you arrange the elements within your frame to create a visually pleasing image.
There are several simple composition rules that photography beginners can use to instantly improve their photos:
Triangles in Photography Composition
Using triangles in your images can create a sense of strength and stability. Because triangles distribute visual weight evenly, they naturally feel strong to the viewer — something photography beginners can use to their advantage.
The Rule of Thirds for Photography Beginners
The rule of thirds is essential for photography beginners. By dividing your frame into a three-by-three grid and placing key elements where the lines intersect, your images will feel more natural and balanced. Symmetry, on the other hand, creates a clean and clinical look, which can also work well in certain situations. Complete Guide to Photography.
Beginner Tip 2 – Learn Photography Jargon Early
For photography beginners, learning the language of photography is essential. Understanding terms like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length will dramatically speed up your learning process.
Our free downloadable Photography Jargon Explained guide is designed specifically to help photography beginners understand technical terms in plain English, making learning photography much easier.
Beginners! - learn the language of photography.
Beginner Tip 3 – Post-Processing for Photography Beginners
Post-processing is what you do to an image after taking it, and photography beginners are often surprised by how much difference it can make.
There are many free editing tools available for photography beginners, including Pixlr, GIMP, and mobile apps. These are perfect for basic adjustments like cropping and contrast.
For more professional results, photography beginners should consider Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. Lightroom is ideal for organising and editing photos, while Photoshop allows for more advanced creative work. At The School of Photography, we teach both as part of our membership.
Loch Lomond With no lightroom edit
Loch Lomond With lightroom edit
Beginner Tip 4 – Photography Equipment for Photography Beginners
One of the biggest mistakes photography beginners make is believing expensive equipment leads to better photos. It doesn’t.
Photography beginners should focus on learning camera controls and developing creative skills rather than buying expensive gear. Use what you already have and build your knowledge first.
Good Tripods are essential for beginner photographers
You will need a good sturdy tripod to take the weight of your camera. Avoid using cheap flimsy tripods as these could cause your camera to move in the wind or make your set up top-heavy.
Camera Bag
Camera bags are specifically designed to keep your camera equipment safe. A good camera bag will have padding to protect your equipment from getting damaged. Your camera bag should have removable inserts to customize your camera bag best to suit you.
Digital SLR or Mirrorless cameras with manual settings will suit a beginner photographer
As a beginner in photography, you need to learn properly from the start. You will need a camera that works fully manual. A good camera to use would be a DSLR or mirrorless camera. To learn how to use your camera in fully manual mode click here.
If you want proof of how expensive equipment is less important than knowledge, watch this video or visit our guide on which camera to buy.
Equipment for Photography – Cameras, Lenses, Tripods, Accessories, Best of!
Beginner Tip 5 – Portrait Photography Tips for Photography Beginners
Portrait photography is often challenging for photography beginners. While many beginners can take decent landscapes, portraits require more control over lighting, composition, and subject interaction.
We’ve created a dedicated tutorial on portrait photography for photography beginners, covering topics such as working with models, choosing locations, colour schemes, camera settings, and lighting.
Portrait using an orange and blue complimentary colour scheme
Using composition and your surroundings to enhance portraiture.
Beginner Tip 6 – Landscape Photography Tips for Photography Beginners
Many photography beginners have experienced photographing a stunning landscape only to end up with a flat or underwhelming image.
Our landscape photography tips for photography beginners explain how to plan shoots, choose the best light, set up your camera correctly, and expose images properly. Landscape photography is incredibly rewarding and accessible for photography beginners with the right guidance.
Related to landscape photography you may be interested in our simple moon photography tips.
3 bracketed landscape photographs. A key tip for beginners doing landscape photography
Merged pictures showing an example of HDR landscape photography
Beginner Tip 7 – Come Off Auto Mode and Make Mistakes
Making mistakes is essential for photography beginners. Shooting in auto mode hides what’s going wrong, making it harder to improve.
Photography beginners should switch to manual or semi-manual modes and learn from trial and error. When something doesn’t work, figure out why and correct it — that’s how real learning happens.
Manual settings are better to use for beginner photographers
Beginner Tip 8 – Knowledge Is Power for Photography Beginners
Photography beginners should focus on learning how photography actually works: exposure, depth of field, motion, ISO, and light.
Practise regularly and accept both positive and negative feedback. Our structured online courses take photography beginners from complete novices to confident, capable photographers.
Beginners! - make sure you clean your camera lens.
Beginner Tip 9 – Clean Your Camera Lens
This sounds obvious, but many photography beginners overlook it. A dirty lens reduces contrast and increases lens flare.
Photography beginners should regularly clean their camera lenses to maintain image quality and protect their equipment.
Beginner Tip 10 – Use a Lens Hood
Many photography beginners don’t use a lens hood, but it can make a huge difference. A lens hood prevents stray light from entering the lens, improving contrast and reducing lens flare — especially when shooting towards strong light sources.
Beginners! - don’t overlook using a lens hood on your camera.
Beginner Tip 11 – Practice and Enjoy Photography
FThe most important advice for photography beginners is to practice and have fun. Take lots of photos, review your work, and identify areas for improvement.
Photography beginners improve fastest when they shoot regularly, analyse their mistakes, and continue learning. Our online courses are always available to help photography beginners learn in a clear, structured way.
Final Thoughts for Photography Beginners
I hope you found this guide helpful and feel more confident as a photography beginner. Please leave a comment, share this article with friends, and subscribe to our newsletter for more photography tips for beginners.
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