Many folks think you’ll be a great photographer simply by knowing how to set your f-stops and your shutter speed. But that won’t get you very far. Sure, technical proficiency is crucial, but it doesn’t make for great images. Great images result from something else. Something that’s not easily taught or learned. It’s the ability to SEE.
Good photographers know how to LOOK. You know what I’m talking about, they’re always on the lookout for that glimmer off a window, or the perfect shadows that drape a street. For them, that fleeting moment is a treasure. If you want to be the best photographer you can be, you must learn how to look.
Developing your own photography awareness takes time and patience, but it’s worth it.
Learn to See
How many times do we just stroll from point A to point B without actually taking the time to observe what goes on around us? We’re just in the habit of walking, that’s all. It happens all the time.
As a photographer, we train our minds NOT to do that. We’re on the constant hunt for the extraordinary image that will take my breath away (and hopefully yours).
The next time you’re out, just stop. Look around you. Find patterns, colors, textures and contrast. Notice the way sunlight reflects and bounces off the building in front of you. Watch how the shadows change during the day. Pay attention to the way humans interact with their world. Even your own block could be filled with fresh possibilities if you look at your surroundings with new eyes.
Developing this habit helps you see things before they happen rather than trying to react as a moment disappears.
Understand the Importance of Light
They say light is the language of photography, that’s probably true. Light impacts every image. It’s how we use light to create the look we desire that makes the difference.
Early morning light will make you feel at ease, while late afternoon sunlight gives us warmth and color. Gray overcast skies can be your friend as a source of light when shooting a portrait. If you learn how different lighting conditions affect how an image is captured you’re able to control how you want an image to look, rather than hoping it will work out.
Beginners are constantly thinking of all the cool things they want to photograph, but they fail to take into account the lighting of the subject. You could be moving a subject just a few feet toward a window or a shade, and you could get a better image than if you had tried to play with every single dial on your camera.
Find Stories in Everyday Subjects
We sometimes think we need exciting subjects to get good shots. We don’t. In fact, you’ll make the most impact by shooting the most everyday subjects out there.
A steaming mug of coffee, a bike leaning up against a brick wall or friends catching up, they’re all great subjects if captured with purpose and vision. We just need to get better at spotting emotions and visual interest in the most boring places in the world.
Once you learn this, you’ll realize that you can find a photographer’s subject almost anywhere.
Focus and Practice
Shoot all day with your camera and you probably won’t improve all that much. You could spend all day shooting a random scene or subject, but that’s not how you improve. It’s how you do it that matters.
Pick a specific subject matter to shoot during a specific shoot. Try to focus on shadows, reflections, symmetry, colors or subject matter you haven’t thought of much. This helps to train your mind to be on the hunt for only ONE thing, rather than looking for every single thing that comes your way. You’ll start seeing the world in a more refined way after that.
The longer you spend with an open mind and a focused goal, the more natural this becomes.
Analyze Your Images
A huge number of photographers take tons of pictures, but spend little, if any time, reviewing them afterward. You should make time to review the shots you take and analyze what’s going right and what’s not.
Look at your photos and ask yourself some simple questions: What is the image’s strength? Does the subject dominate the scene? Does the lighting help set the tone for the image? Are there any unnecessary items in the frame?
You can start getting more out of your images if you can honestly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your photos.
Conclusion
Developing that photography eye doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. You have to keep looking, keep working, keep learning and keep experimenting.
The more you look at light, composition and subject matter, the more you’ll learn to see the beauty around you. Cameras capture images, but people capture art. If you can truly SEE the world, you’ve become a good photographer.