Ways to Improve your Photography Skills
May is national photography month. As a photographer or an artist, it is essential to experiment and improve your skills constantly. However, trying to find time to continually improve your skills and balance a business or your art can be overwhelming. Focus on these few skills to improve your overall talent.
1. Experiment with Perspective
It might be uncomfortable to drop down to the ground to get a different angle on your subject. Take a look at different slants, viewpoints, and heights. When you try different perspectives, you may have to get out of your comfort zone and let your creativity run.
2. Know Your Equipment
Whether you have a brand new state-of-art camera or you found the perfect one for you at a local pawn shop. Read over the user manual and determine what bells and whistles the camera possesses. Also, if you shot with any other equipment such as different lenses, tripod, or filters, know how to appropriately operate these things and experiment with how they fit into your method of photography.
3. Be Conscious of Daylight
Lighting is a huge part of photography. However, do you know your area’s best time to shot during soft light such as sunset or sunrise? Experiment with Golden hour, roughly an hour after sunrise and before sunset, and Blue Hour, the time shortly before sunrise and just after sunset.
Scheduling and running a business might not let you take advantage of these choice times of day, so look in your area for forested areas or naturally occurring shaded areas that will filter the harsh afternoon sunlight.
4. Find Photo Opportunities that Make Your Heart Sing
When you focus on running a business or getting your art into the world, there is constant pressure to get the shot as quickly as possible. Find an activity that is just for you and a planned opportunity to have fun and find joy in your chosen media.
5. Pretend You Are Using Film
When you are using a digital camera, it is effortless to take hundreds of shots without much thought. Going through that many images is daunting and possibly a little soul-sucking. Suppose you go out on your next photography adventure and pretend to use a roll of film that only has a specific number of shots and make every one of those shots count. Another method you can apply is taking the smallest memory card you own the next time you take photos and don’t bring a backup.
6. Find a Mentor
If you have a photographer that you follow who inspires and motivates you in your craft, then reach out and attempt to form a relationship with this person. Ask this photographer if they would allow you to shadow them as they go through a photo shot or invite them on a photo walk to see how they set up their images. If you would like to pick their brain about things, then invite them out for dinner or coffee so you can talk shop. Allow your mentor to see your portfolio and offer advice on how you can improve.
