I had the wonderful benefit today of being asked to give a private lesson to an upcoming photographer. Naturally, I was completely honored and still a little surprised that my work was seen as professional enough to be asked about all my little tricks and secrets. After giving her some advice that I had to learn the hard way, I liked feeling as if I've made a little difference. At least I hope I did. Photography isn't one big secret or an unobtainable goal. Yet, nothing really is if you have a passion to learn and understand it. I've always liked taking pictures even before I ever owned a digital camera, but I never had a passion for it until I realized that it was actually in my reach to be good at photography. I'm my own worst critic and still see a ton of room for improvement which I will probably ALWAYS feel. Even some of the best photographers in the world need to a goal to work towards, which is usually improving on some skill or technique.
Nevertheless, I wanted to share some of the advice that I gave this excited but slightly overwhelmed lady.
She explained that she was looking to make her photography more than just a hobby and didn't know where to start. For many people, this starting point can be different. It may come as common-sense to some and others may really be at a loss for where to turn. My advice to her was to set a few goals for her photography. Start by looking up photographers that you admire. Look at their work. When I was a student in architecture (yes, I really had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, lol!) they would call these precedent studies. Depending on the project we were assigned, whether it was to create a museum, construct a water tower, or design a house, we were assigned to precedent studies. Researching previous works (and I mean good quality works too) will give you a goal to work towards. I would even recommend replicating that work in your own way if you can.
Nevertheless, I wanted to share some of the advice that I gave this excited but slightly overwhelmed lady.
She explained that she was looking to make her photography more than just a hobby and didn't know where to start. For many people, this starting point can be different. It may come as common-sense to some and others may really be at a loss for where to turn. My advice to her was to set a few goals for her photography. Start by looking up photographers that you admire. Look at their work. When I was a student in architecture (yes, I really had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, lol!) they would call these precedent studies. Depending on the project we were assigned, whether it was to create a museum, construct a water tower, or design a house, we were assigned to precedent studies. Researching previous works (and I mean good quality works too) will give you a goal to work towards. I would even recommend replicating that work in your own way if you can.
I found this image at http://miskamiller.blogspot.com/2010/10/miller-family-has-grown-by-two-feet.html It's a beautiful photo that she has taken. I liked the idea of using a family's feet. So I did my best to recreate the photo in my own way.
The photo is different, but still has a similar theme or central pose/idea.
One of the greatest tips I can give a blooming photographer is to find something unique. Make your photos stand out. I can look through my arsenal of images and give you tons of examples of why I took that image. For example, in the photo below, I found a tree that had carvings all over it. It was unique. I could have picked any other tree in the area, but this one stood out.
One of the greatest tips I can give a blooming photographer is to find something unique. Make your photos stand out. I can look through my arsenal of images and give you tons of examples of why I took that image. For example, in the photo below, I found a tree that had carvings all over it. It was unique. I could have picked any other tree in the area, but this one stood out.
It adds just a little more character to her photo. If you aren't photographing people and think, well I suppose I could go take a picture of this flower for practice, try different angles. Picture what it would look like from underneath, straight above, or even directly beside whatever you are photographing. This doesn't really work as well with people, but it makes nature photography very interesting.
Angles of things can make an image very exciting and really pop too! It can leave your photos unforgettable or even a little mysterious. This is especially true if you have zoomed in to something. Macro images are some of my favorite types! I could have held my camera at eye level and looked down at the stones or grass and shot from above but it makes the image so much more interesting if I can look at it from a way most people don't see.
Let's not jump ahead though. It's also important to find interesting THINGS to take pictures of as well. People like to look at people, that's true enough. But what about things? I could sit here at my desk and take a picture of my keyboard if I like, but would that make for an interesting photo? Maybe if I was creative with the angles or other elements of that nature. OR I could go out and find something that most people don't notice or see very often. It strikes intrigue into what you are photographing. How many people really stop to look at a fence post? But I was drawn to it because wood has great texture and rich colors.
Or we can zoom in even more and look at the barbed wire. I like this image because it shows such a great contrast between the rusty metal and the old wood.
Yet, I have people say, well Amy that just isn't interesting to me. To which I would reply, GREAT!! If it was interesting to everyone, we would have pictures of fence posts everywhere and would defeat the purpose of it being unique. Maybe you prefer capturing the movement of water like in the image below?
Maybe you prefer something different like in the images below? I wouldn't say these are all super interesting, but some people may prefer the photo of the cake over the photo of the eight ball. To each his own.
However, I took each of these images because I was learning what I like to take pictures of, which turns out to be things found in rural areas in case you are wondering. Some people like food, landscapes, every-day items, or any number of things. The trick is to make it interesting. Adding a variety to your portfolio will increase the chances of gaining supporters as well as increasing your skills at photographing things outside your comfort zone.
I ended up giving that lady a bit more advice, but I'll save that information for another blog. I got kind of long-winded in this one I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I hope it has helped some of you. I did want to post that I ran across an article that may help those of you who are passed this point and are looking to make your hobby an actual business. It's not a long article and gives some sound advice. It's written by a photographer named Veronica Gillas. You can find the link here:
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2013/09/11/5-steps-successful-photography-business/
Good luck!
-Amy
I ended up giving that lady a bit more advice, but I'll save that information for another blog. I got kind of long-winded in this one I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I hope it has helped some of you. I did want to post that I ran across an article that may help those of you who are passed this point and are looking to make your hobby an actual business. It's not a long article and gives some sound advice. It's written by a photographer named Veronica Gillas. You can find the link here:
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2013/09/11/5-steps-successful-photography-business/
Good luck!
-Amy
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