Taking better portraits and pictures with your digital camera
Recently I’ve had a couple people email me to ask how to improve their photography. Even though I’ve been taking pictures since I was about twelve, I have found that the speed of learning has increased significantly since going digital. My personal goal is to continue to improve with every shoot or every session that I do for the rest of my life. For someone who loves photography, that is an easy goal.
I’ve always appreciated other photographers who were willing to help me to get to the next level in my work. So in this post I am going to make some suggestions for those who are new to photography or those wanting to grow in their knowledge of photography. I’m going to list some basic suggestions that followed can bring you growth and learning.
The first thing is to have a teachable mindset. These days things are changing pretty fast. It is very easy to reach a point where you think you know enough and you just stop being willing and open to learning. It means not being embarrassed to ask questions. It means being eager to continue to learn no matter how much experience you think you have. My goal is to be a lifelong learner. My associates at Professional Photographers Of SW Ohio will testify that I am always asking questions and open to learning and sharing.
Where can you practice your teachable mindset. Here are some of the things that I do.
- Subscribe to free podcasts on iTunes about photography (try several and stick with the ones you enjoy most)
- Join some free photography internet forums or even pay forums where you can get constructive criticism ( I am a member of EPnet)
- Buy photography books AND/OR pick them up free from the public library
- READ you camera manual and try out each feature to see what it does until you feel comfortable using all the dials and buttons on your camera
- Join a local photography club or professional organization (if you are a professional)
- Go on a photography weekend training seminar or participate in your club’s field trips or call someone you meet to do a shoot together
Take lots of pictures. I don’t mean to take a bunch of the same pictures from the same place, but rather if you find something that you would like to photograph, that you really explore your subject and take lots of pictures from various angles, various distances, and from various places. I was discussing this with a new photographer that asked me for some guidance. I asked her if she moved her feet when she took some pictures. It is common for a newer photographer to plant their feet and start shooting. When you take lots of pictures of a subject you have interest in, explore your subject and unplant your feet. One great thing about digital is that you can take lots of pictures from lots of angles using lots of different settings and it doesn’t cost you a thing.
Learn to LOOK at what you are seeing in your viewfinder. One of the easiest ways to improve your images is to eliminate clutter in your backgrounds and foregrounds. If there are piles of junk or trash cans in the background, that distracts you from your main subject. Sometimes it means that you will have to unplant your feet and move around some. Maybe it means that you will have to try some different angles to shoot from. In some cases you just have to pick up before you start shooting.
Learn to SEE THE LIGHT. This is something that comes with some time, but it comes faster if you work at it. Here is how you work on it. As you look at a scene that you want to photograph, look at where the light is coming from. Are there bright spots? Are there areas where there is not much light? Find out what soft light means and what harsh light means and learn how each affects your pictures and portraits. I’ve been having my wife, Patty, assist me with my location portrait sessions. I have a 52″ silver reflector so that I can shoot with light coming from various directions and still have her reflect some light onto my subjects for a more pleasing portrait. Sometimes I have taken the reflector and showed her by having her concentrate on my subject’s face while I adjust the angle of the reflector. I will say… see that even when the difference is very subtle and suddenly, as she concentrates on the subject she will say, “Oh, wow, I do see the difference now.”
NOW IT IS MY TURN to learn from you. I was just listening to a podcast about how you can learn from your clients by asking them to complete a simple sentence. For a bank, you would ask your customers to complete this sentence, “If I were a banker I would……….you fill in this part……..” Well, I’m wanting to learn what my portrait customers and prospective customers want, so if you have gotten this far, please finish this sentence as if you were me. “If I was a professional portrait photographer, I would_____(complete the sentence)_________________.”
This post is on my web site where you can click on the comment after this post. It will also appear on my personal facebook notes page and it will be on my facebook fan page wall where you can “comment” or “Like” it. You can comment in any of these three places and I will get to see your response. I also want to know if you want me to continue with these how-to-photography posts?
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