Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 76,342
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
It’s the end of the year and I have realised I have come a long way in the last year, in work, love, life and photography. Looking back to photographs I took from the start of the year to those taken this month, I have moved on, how much is not for me to judge but the client’s. So here are my thoughts and what I’ve learn on the whole photography malarkey.
At the start, any beginner should learn the basics, don’t run before you can walk and all that. Also, don’t be afraid to throw yourself at the deep end so don’t use that Auto Mode, do not dial pass that Green Square!!! That means reading the manual, and read lots of stuff online, on books, magazines, look at lots of photographs, look at work that inspire you and work that move you. Technically, photography is about one thing, light, understand it, understand what light makes a nice photograph, what doesn’t. I don’t know when, some point along the line I can now step into a room and realise what settings I need (ISO, Aperture) so that the shutter speed is quick enough for hand held or if it is too dark that I need to use flash.
But most important of all, practice, practice and practice. Composition, technique, experiment, play with processing, Imitate shots you seen online, recreate it if you have to, if that’s how you learn about technique and light. Ask for critique, and do not get offended if people just its crap, take all useful crit on board, and learn to self crit. Learn to see what’s good and what is bad. When I look at a photograph now, I can tell when something is bugging me, I might not know immediately why but something on the back of my mind tells me that it is not up to scratch. It could be that it needs a slight crop, or can be saved in processing or makes a better B&W photo, whatever it is, if it bugs you even after you done all you could. Then it is not good enough. Which brings me to the next point, only show people your best work, 2 stunning shots is better than 10 good ones. And don’t show people the bad ones, those are best left on the floor in the editing room as they are meant to be.
Somewhere down the line one normally figures out what kind of photographs he/she likes taking and no one that is good to take photographs of everything. Find your passion and concentrate on it, photography is a huge subject, one can’t be good at photographing in all areas. I am not going to say don’t try but if you have no passion in it then the end result won’t show it and ultimately the standard won’t be there.
Gear, people always say it’s not about the gear. It is true and its not true, and if its true, its only to an extent. Good gear allows you to shoot in more extreme circumstances and get more useable photographs. I could not have got some of the shots I took last 6 months with my 30D, it would simply look horrendous, be it noise level or the depth of field is just simply not as desirable as I liked it to be. But it doesn’t mean lower end gear can’t take a good photograph, the skill is to learn the limits of your gear, and work within those limits, use your imagination to compensate.
Lastly, find your own style, be it subject matter, be it comes from processing. I have always liked to take photographs of people than landscapes. I have never tried macro, or wild life, or birds or anything else. Photographing people it my thing and what makes me tick. Somewhere along the line, this summer, whether it was my new 5Dii or I started to shoot with better gear, I also owe a lot to Lightroom, it’s a wonderful program, I have started to find a style that I am comfortable with, that I like, and a style that I apply to all my photos and I am slowly finding myself.
This might sound odd but falling in love this year might have something to do with my photos getting better, I now wear my heart on my sleeve more, and I hope it shows in every photo I take. This is for you K.
At the start, any beginner should learn the basics, don’t run before you can walk and all that. Also, don’t be afraid to throw yourself at the deep end so don’t use that Auto Mode, do not dial pass that Green Square!!! That means reading the manual, and read lots of stuff online, on books, magazines, look at lots of photographs, look at work that inspire you and work that move you. Technically, photography is about one thing, light, understand it, understand what light makes a nice photograph, what doesn’t. I don’t know when, some point along the line I can now step into a room and realise what settings I need (ISO, Aperture) so that the shutter speed is quick enough for hand held or if it is too dark that I need to use flash.
But most important of all, practice, practice and practice. Composition, technique, experiment, play with processing, Imitate shots you seen online, recreate it if you have to, if that’s how you learn about technique and light. Ask for critique, and do not get offended if people just its crap, take all useful crit on board, and learn to self crit. Learn to see what’s good and what is bad. When I look at a photograph now, I can tell when something is bugging me, I might not know immediately why but something on the back of my mind tells me that it is not up to scratch. It could be that it needs a slight crop, or can be saved in processing or makes a better B&W photo, whatever it is, if it bugs you even after you done all you could. Then it is not good enough. Which brings me to the next point, only show people your best work, 2 stunning shots is better than 10 good ones. And don’t show people the bad ones, those are best left on the floor in the editing room as they are meant to be.
Somewhere down the line one normally figures out what kind of photographs he/she likes taking and no one that is good to take photographs of everything. Find your passion and concentrate on it, photography is a huge subject, one can’t be good at photographing in all areas. I am not going to say don’t try but if you have no passion in it then the end result won’t show it and ultimately the standard won’t be there.
Gear, people always say it’s not about the gear. It is true and its not true, and if its true, its only to an extent. Good gear allows you to shoot in more extreme circumstances and get more useable photographs. I could not have got some of the shots I took last 6 months with my 30D, it would simply look horrendous, be it noise level or the depth of field is just simply not as desirable as I liked it to be. But it doesn’t mean lower end gear can’t take a good photograph, the skill is to learn the limits of your gear, and work within those limits, use your imagination to compensate.
Lastly, find your own style, be it subject matter, be it comes from processing. I have always liked to take photographs of people than landscapes. I have never tried macro, or wild life, or birds or anything else. Photographing people it my thing and what makes me tick. Somewhere along the line, this summer, whether it was my new 5Dii or I started to shoot with better gear, I also owe a lot to Lightroom, it’s a wonderful program, I have started to find a style that I am comfortable with, that I like, and a style that I apply to all my photos and I am slowly finding myself.
This might sound odd but falling in love this year might have something to do with my photos getting better, I now wear my heart on my sleeve more, and I hope it shows in every photo I take. This is for you K.
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I never seem to live in a place more than a few years before moving (even when growing up)...I go to Brighton from time to time, last few years i have been in Herefordshire, working in Worcester. Next week on I will be in Birmingham a lot, I also go to Cardiff quite a bit too.
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