Be a better photographer (in under 5 minutes).
Or your money back!
Am trying to learn photography. I have learnt the below during the last few months — hope they might be of help to you too.
Interestingly all these pointers — help me while writing too.
Think Vinci
Above all, Leonardo de Vinci was a highly creative guy. He was self-taught & was interested in everything — painting , biology, engineering, architecture, theater . Left & Right brain firing on all cylinders. He didn’t constrict himself in a regular 9–5 straitjacket.
I am a human — so I create. Don’t bind yourself in a particular slot.
Kill your babies
Like all good writing — photography as is all about cutting redundancy. What do you want to show …usually it will be one thing. Maybe two. But it can’t be five.
All my photos in which I haven’t cut out unnecessary details — come out flat.
Quality follows Quantity
For every one photo I upload on Instagram — I take at least 10 to 15 photos — from a lot of angles. And half of them I don’t upload.
The more you click — the better you get. Especially when you are a novice.
Hey! we are not buying reels anymore!
Leave the snigger, take the feedback
Do not get bogged down by the initial ridicule — remember you are a novice — not Rembrandt. This is your journey — not a carnival parade. It’s OK to go out and make a fool of yourself.
Change the route
Usually I shoot photos during my morning walks or cycling. Whenever I am not getting any interesting ideas on a particular route — I change the route…. Voila! ideas swamp from all over.
Steal like an artist
Follow Austin Kleon. Feed your creativity from diverse influences.
Whenever I am watching a movie — I pause at all points where the cinematographer has done something interesting. Recently, I took 3 and a half hours to watch this brilliantly shot movie “Me.Earl and dying Girl” .
Similarly when scrolling Instagram — I save good photos so that creativity is available on tap.
Keep the equipment handy.
I shoot on mobile phone. One of the best piece of advise I received when I started was “The smart phones that we use currently are better than the cameras that masters of yore used 30 years back.”
A smart phone is handy & non-intrusive. Plus it doesn’t cause performance anxiety :-))
Follow virtual Guru or Gurus.
I was led on this journey by Sean Tucker. He has amazing YouTube videos on photography in particular & life in general.
Two other sources that have helped me a lot —
- Fundamentals of Photography, Joel Sartore (The Great Courses)
- How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck , Steve Stockman
Kiss Serendipity
Be open to the idea that your final product may be completely different from what you had planned initially.
There are times when I am about to upload my photo on Instagram and I realize that the camera has caught an interesting detail — maybe a sunrise or a bird or a passerby with fascinating attire — that I had never planned for.
I hope you find the above useful and found something in it that will help your photography.
Click On!
