My journey begins and continues with research; studying photographs taken by others to determine what about that particular shot is so appealing to me or what is it that makes it just another snap shot. I have learned to pay close attention to the light, the lines, the color, clarity or bokah and how they are all put together to form the overall composition and tell a story.
Here is an example. I took this photo in Joshua Tree National Park.
I liked the shot, felt it was a good shot until I saw a simular shot taken by Jim Zuckerman. It was on the cover of Petersen's Photo Graphic magazine, Volume 2.
A must read for improving your photography. View articles or subscribe at Petersen's Photo graphic Magazine
After looking at the two shots I realized that although mine was nice, it did not have the depth perspective Jim Zuckerman achieved by composing his shot with large boulders in the foreground. He also used shade and shadows to give it feeling as well as the warm late afternoon light.
I have purchased every volume of this magazine and highly recommend it. Mr. Zuckerman himself advocates using this method of learning and in fact used it himself when he was starting out. He is now a world leader in outdoor photography and composites.
Reading books, photo magazines, articles on the internet (Trey Ratcliff has a free tutorial on HDR on his web site, “Stuck in Customs”), blogs of professional photographers as well as friending other photographers on FaceBook are also great tools for improving your skills. When you are researching, look for photographers that do the same type of photography you are interested in. For example following Brenda Tharp when you are interested in portrait or baby photography would not benefit you in the least. Many if not most successful professional photographers have blogs discussing various aspects of photography. Some, like Chris Marquardt have two wonderful pod casts (“Photography Tips from the Top Floor” and “Daily Photo Tips”) that are free and very informative. From time to time he will offer an assignment or challenge encouraging you to put into practice the discussion of the podcast. Engaging in photography research keeps you up to date and involved, even when you can’t be out shooting those prize pictures. This will help you stay interested and excited about shooting because you literally see the improvement and feel satisfaction rather than frustration when you know how or at least have an idea how to handle a challenging situation, be it lighting, weather or what to do with all those buttons on your camera. (If you don’t already know what the buttons do I strongly suggest you learn them well. Especially if you plan on taking any workshops which many of these professionals offer.. Feild instructors generally require that you have at least a decent working knowledge of your camera.)
And finally, practice taking pictures using different settings, different lens and keep a small notepad handy to write down the settings and lenses you used for each shot. Study them with your notes so that you will know what tools to use to get the effect you are seeking. With digital photography this is very easy and not at all costly. I learned using film and it was an expensive education and I understood when people didn't want to burn the money with this type of learning. Now there is no reason not to.
Now get out there and have fun learning about your hobby/passion. I will be.
Happy Shooting,
Laura
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