21 Ways to Improve Your Photographs

[danalec99]

Click

 

[craig]

Nice!!! Those tips are golden. Some of the tips reiterate what I have known, but all too often forget (4,5,6,8,12). Still others (2,11,12,15) Made me say "now there's a good idea".

Love & Bass

 

[odway]

Nice find, thanks heaps!

 

[Garbz]

This is a golden oldie. I find it more helpful than any other improve your photographs tips like the whole rule of thirds and golden ratio stuff. Basically if you follow these rules, shoot often, be your own most critical critique, your technique will improve without anyone explaining things to you.

I say people should be forced to read this at the front of their camera manuals. Actually no, because then professional photographers would make far less money.

 

[WDodd]

Great article. Should be included in the "Read this first!" list for people like me who are just starting to learn. Just added this to my heaping folder of bookmarks related to photography.

 

[Olympus8MP]

Nice article. I bookmarked that, there is a lot I can learn from that!

 

[morydd]

Brooks Jensen (the author of this article, and editor of Lenswork) has a podcast as well. It's short and very interesting most times.

 

[danalec99]

Brooks Jensen (the author of this article, and editor of Lenswork) has a podcast as well. It's short and very interesting most times.

Great find! I'm adding the link to my blog.

 

[ksmattfish]

I say people should be forced to read this at the front of their camera manuals. Actually no, because then professional photographers would make far less money.

The first thing you learn when you become a professional photographer is how little success has to do with understanding photography, and how much it has to do with understanding business and customer service. All of the supposedly arcane, technical secrets of photography have always been readily available at any used book store or amazon.com for under $20, or as you said, in the instruction manual that comes with most cameras. Running a small business is way more complex than proper exposure.

 

[Alex_B]

I say people should be forced to read this at the front of their camera manuals. Actually no, because then professional photographers would make far less money.

no, because reading it alone does not help ... and trying to follow the "rules" does not either.

It still requires talent and some artsy eye ... the latter can be trained to some extent, but there has to be something (talent) to start with.

pluss you need the will and urge to improve .. something which is not there with many people...

 

[RMThompson]

The first thing you learn when you become a professional photographer is how little success has to do with understanding photography, and how much it has to do with understanding business and customer service. All of the supposedly arcane, technical secrets of photography have always been readily available at any used book store or amazon.com for under $20, or as you said, in the instruction manual that comes with most cameras. Running a small business is way more complex than proper exposure.

There are photographers I know personall that take MUCH better pictures than I do, pictures that can make you think, or cry, and yet they have never sold a single image nor care to try.

I am jealous of them.

I also know photographers, one in particular in fact, that makes a LOT of money on his regular mundane pictures. He is a great salesman.

I am jealous of him too.

I sell photos all the time. People pay me to take pictures of them or their family or their kid, and I make a second income doing something I love to do anyway. However I want to be making more art... but the balance is so thin, I don't know where to stand.

 

[Mike_E]

Rm, here's a thought, being an artist is one profession and being a photographer is another.

The artist may use photography as a medium but it is his Art which is his stock in trade.

Conversely, a photographers stock in trade is his photography.

If you are doing photography and art both then you have 3 jobs. Consider how much time is spent on the secondary jobs individually and the market for each. You might find that the Art gig really isn't doing that bad.

mike

btw, how is the lens thing going?

 

[Alex_B]

Rm, here's a thought, being an artist is one profession and being a photographer is another.

The artist may use photography as a medium but it is his Art which is his stock in trade.

Conversely, a photographers stock in trade is his photography.

Hmm, that is like saying there are artists by profession who use painting as a medium, but they are not painters.

And then there are painters, who do just paint images.



I would just say that photography can be a form of art, but there is also photography which is only little art and very commercialised.

Is someone who draws sketches for a science book an artist? most of the time not. Same holds for the police photographer at the crime scene. Still drawing and photography are considered to be art, aren't they? I cannot see any contradiction here.

 

[Seven7109]

Great advice !!!
I am going to read it again and again , will come in handy for tomorrow ( going to the zoo )

 

[Unimaxium]

I think I remember reading that article a little while back in Lenswork Magazine. Very good tips. Lenswork is one of my two favorite photography mags