A Guide to Photography and Taking Pictures for Graphic Designers

As a graphic designer, sooner or later you will need to take a picture. If you are fortunate enough to work for a company which supplies you with a camera, use it if that camera is good enough. If it is not, find one that is.

What is good enough? A camera that can provide enough light to adequate illuminate the subject. This can be done with a built-in flash or with an add-on flash. AND, a digital camera that provides enough pixel resolution. A good rule of thumb is anything below 6 megapixels probably won't do everything you need done.
QUICK FACT

A hot shoe is the place on a camera where a removable flash is mounted. The hot shoe interface allows the camera and flash to work together.

In general and if you can afford it, get an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) with a removable lens. Some cameras with a permanently attached lens will work, but it needs to be a zoom (telephoto or magnification lens).
PRO TIP

Years ago as a photographer who shot several rolls of film a week, I carried a 35-200 mm zoom lens. It met 99.5 percent of my needs a photojournalist. Then, I got my hands on a 24 mm. That lens, a 135 mm fixed length and a 70-200 mm took 99.98 percent of my pictures. The 24 mm shot more than 90 percent of my pictures.

I found that the wide angle lens forced me to get up close to my subjects. By getting close, I picked up details I missed standing a distance away. I started noticing details I missed before. I had to pay more attention to light and the surroundings. As a result, the quality of my photography went way up and I began to receive awards and assignments (which meant more money) that had passed me by previously.

The three basic rules of photography, especially where graphic design is concerned are: Get Close. Get Close. Get Close.

After you get close, start paying attention to what you are taking a picture of.

Start framing that picture, with the camera viewfinder or display, for use in your project before you ever snap the first shot. The viewfinder or screen image is the final edge of the picture. If you think of it as the final edge of the picture for when you turn it into art for your design, you'll find you will have to get a lot closer than you expect. You'll also take better pictures.
Getting close means several things:

Rule 1 is More detail in your final image. A good thing, unless your project calls for a blurry image.

Rule 2 is Less cropping needed. With digital images this is especially important. The more you enlarge a digital image, the faster the image quality drops off. When you enlarge a digital image, you enlarge the pixels which make up that image. There is a point of diminishing returns.