The basics of photography, photography captures a moment in time. It is a creative process as much as painting or writing and has the power to communicate the meaning of a scene or event. Basics of photography are simple to learn yet at the same time challenging to execute. Learning the finer nuances of photography is based on three key aspects - Light, aesthetics and focus. Understanding these basics of photography, three aspects forms the basis of expressing yourself effectively through photography. With the use of photography cameras, now modern digital photography cameras, especially digital slr cameras, this has become easier.

Another fact within the basics of photography, understanding light is one of the very basic principles of learning to be a photographer. When you have a group of people in front of you with smiling faces ready for you to say cheese or if you are taking a shot of a scenic area or still life photography, the most important consideration is the light factor. Light controls the type of exposure and therefore the quality of the photo is dependent on the quality of the light on your subject and the amount of light that impacts on the film or digital sensor when you click. Controlling the amount of light is a good pre-occupation in the mind of a photographer keen to get a good shot including photography exposure, should be one of the key considerations.

• If there is too much light, the photo will look overly bright and over exposed.
• A happy group of people will not look as vibrant if there was inadequate light when you took the picture.
• Bright sunlight can create shadows under the eyes.
• Poor lighting may not bring out the colors in the scene to maximum effect.

There are a few basics that you can apply to circumvent poor picture quality due to unfavorable light conditions:

• Change the position from which you take the shot
• Change the light if clicking indoors
• Use the flash

A good digital camera with eliminate most problems and produce excellent photography.

Photography cameras, most simple digital cameras have an automatic flash. Slightly better models will have settings for fill-flash. The concept of fill flash revolves around filling light in areas of a picture that may turn out dark or shadowed. Fill-flash has the ability to balance the amount of light on different parts of a subject to ensure that the exposure is adequately bright. For instance, a portion of a persons face may appear shadowed and the fill-flash setting can help iron out this problem. Photography exposure is also a consideration, with speed and/or aperture.

The angle of light is another important consideration. You have to pay attention to the direction from which light falls on your subject and there are several approaches in manipulating the angle of light to improve the visual appeal of a picture.

Sideways lighting: Light from the side is used to creates depth in the picture and is considered one of the best ways to use light if you are taking a portrait photograph

Light from the top: This is a method used to brighten up most of the scene but does not work as well when you take a photograph of a person. It tends to create shadows on the lower half of the face when the lighting is high.

Light from behind your subject: This strategy is sometimes used by photographers to amplify the impact of the picture. It can create a halo like effect; it can add artistic shadows and can also create a striking contrast between the subject and the background if used effectively. When you use a back light it is recommended that the fill-flash settings on your camera are also adjusted in order to avoid shadows in your photograph.

The second issue in photography is the aesthetics of the picture. Aesthetics is the creativity and attention to detail that you bring to your photograph. It is the most interesting part of photography since it is almost like a visual equivalent of composing a poem or writing a story. Aesthetics requires the use of visual skills to compose and deliver a pleasing, eye-catching and captivating image. It is a type of vision that you have for your photograph in terms of look and appeal.

Chris Haslego and Bob Wright.