Three years ago I picked up my first camera and had no idea what I was doing. These are the things I wish someone had told me when I was starting out in Prague.
Start with the basics
Image: Wikimedia Commons
My first serious attempt at photography was in Prague's Old Town on a grey November morning. I had a borrowed camera, no idea how to use it, and about two hundred blurry, badly exposed photos to show for three hours of walking around. That was the moment I realized I needed to actually learn what I was doing.
Czech Republic is an extraordinary place to learn photography. Prague alone has architecture spanning eight centuries, light that changes completely between seasons, and enough hidden corners to keep you busy for years. But none of that matters if you do not understand how your camera works.
Everything on this site comes from practical experience shooting in Czech Republic. I do not have a studio or professional training. What I have is a few years of going out regularly, making mistakes, and slowly figuring out what works.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. These three settings control every photograph you take. Once you understand how they interact, everything else becomes much easier to figure out.
Read the full guide
Image: Wikimedia Commons
The rule of thirds is a starting point, not a law. Here is what actually helps when you are standing in front of something worth photographing.
Read the guide
Image: Wikimedia Commons / Diliff
Most tourist photography spots in Prague are crowded by 9am. These are the places where the light and the atmosphere are worth the early alarm.
Read the guideBefore raising the camera, spend time watching. Where does the light fall? What changes if you move ten meters left? Good photographs start before the shutter fires.
The best photograph of a location rarely happens on the first visit. Light, weather, and season transform familiar places. I have been back to some Prague spots dozens of times.
The technically perfect photograph is often the least interesting one. Some of my favourite shots have motion blur, awkward framing, or imperfect exposure. They feel alive because of it.