i have a handful of blogs that i follow religiously. i love keeping up with photographers i admire, from Jasmine Star & Me Ra Koh all the way to my photog friends that are also in the process of building their businesses. then, there are the community blogs that are a wealth of information…one of my faves being Digital Photography School! from posts about “How to Write a Business Plan” to “Tips to be a Successful Freelance Photographer,” i am constantly learning new things. not to mention their awesome weekly photo assignments 🙂
towards the end of last year, there was a wonderful guest post by James Brandon, a photographer out of Dallas, TX. it was entitled “14 Ways to Significantly Improve Your Photography Today,” and i loved some of his ideas! i bookmarked it in order to be able to refer back to it later and, when i came across it again today, i decided that i wanted to highlight a few of his suggestions for y’all. some of these may not be new to you, but it never helps to be reminded, right?
- Visit an Art Museum | Fall in Love with Art – I can’t stress enough the importance of art appreciation as a photographer. If you want to get better at photography, become an admirer and student of the world of art. Visit a museum and spend the day studying the work of great artists. Better yet, take a pen and paper with you. When a painting or work of art grabs your attention, jot down why. Write down everything you love about it, and the reasoning behind it. If you find something you don’t care for, write that down too. Museums are abundant in most big cities. In fact, in a lot of cases, they are even free. If they aren’t free, there may still be ways to get in for free. For example, if you have a debit or credit card through Bank of America, you can get in free at over 100 museums nationwide.
i love this idea! last year, Stephen and i visited a photography museum in downtown Riverside. it was fascinating! i learned so much and i think it only cost us each $3 to get in. can’t beat that 🙂 another one of my favorites is The Getty. the art isn’t the only thing inspiring in that museum…the architecture is unreal.
- Take Your Camera Everywhere – In his book Visual Poetry, Chris Orwig states that, “Even without taking pictures, carrying a camera enhances life.” I couldn’t agree more. Carrying a camera is an instant way to put your senses on high alert. It causes you to look at the world as if your camera was always pressed to your eye. It gives you a reason to slow down, to take everything in, no matter where you are. Commit to carrying your camera with you everywhere, at least for a certain amount of time. Take pictures knowing full well that the world may never see them. Create photographs of everyday things, moments in time that normally wouldn’t require a photograph. The trick will be to see these subtle events in a new way, and to find a way to make them interesting. Even if you just use your camera phone, this tip is a solid way to improve your creative eye.
- Find Something You’re Not Comfortable Shooting, and Go After It! – Getting better at anything involves getting out of your comfort zone. If all you do is photograph families and seniors, go out and shoot landscapes one weekend. All of the sudden, your images are going to require completely new camera settings. No more people to pose, no more assistants to hold your flash, no more backdrops or props, no more shallow depth of field or fast shutter speed requirements. Now you have to think about your subject in a complete new way. A landscape doesn’t listen to you. You can’t tell it to move the left or right, or use a flash to reveal a bit more light in a certain area. For the most part, landscapes require deep depth of fields, slower shutter speeds, tripods, and a whole new eye for composition and lighting. If you spend time photographing things you’re not used to, I promise you will come away with new ideas for what you are comfortable shooting. And a deeper understanding of your camera too.