How to improve or get inspired

[bunny99123]

I agree with all the advice: You definately need to know your equipment and how it works...learning that the hard way, so I am stepping back and concentrating on that. I watch You Tube, view other photographers works on the net or on here, read books, look at fashion magazines, etc. I photo shoot several times a week practicing in different lighting and envirnoments. I use my self as a model to practice a new look that I think will look unique. I thought I knew a lot about photography...nope, I know nata, so I keep learning.

I do photoshoots on a part time basis. I am fortunate that my husband is in the printing business, so I designed my own cards, but you can get some nice ones off the net at an affordable price. I have a FB page for my pics. I do not advertise at this point, because I need much more practice, but I do plan to start a wedsite (easier than FB page). Most important is to be honest with anyone wanting to hire you. I tell them I am a beginner, and I turn down jobs that I know I can not do or lack equipment. My family gets freebies, so that doesn't apply to them, but I am also honest with them. Stick with smaller shoots such as senior pics, engagement pics, single pics, animals, etc. Just keep using your imagination!

 

[zerohero]

Reading, youtube, joining this forum, being around other people who are more experienced than I am, and taking my camera to big events.

 

[Buckster]

I would say shoot, shoot, shoot as well, but with a caveat:

One thing I like to do is find a photo I like by someone else, but something that I don't have experience shooting, and then try to emulate it. Look at all the details and reverse-engineer how it was lit, set up, shadowed, gobo'd, positioned, what it will take for shutter and aperture and even ISO, what kind of lens it will require, special gear or special skills to hone, etc. Really think a lot about it, make notes and sketches of how you think it should be set up even.

When I think I've got it figured out, then I try to set up and shoot the shot myself, or shoot something with those same lessons and problems to solve. It's great practice and adds volumes to your abilities to figure that stuff out and then work out how to pull it off yourself.

Stand on the shoulders of giants, and learn from them by copying what they did so that you can better understand the techiniques, and then you can apply them to your own work going forward.

 

[imagemaker46]

Hello all,
I am wondering what the rest of you do to keep improving or keep inspired in photography? For those of you who are not pro photographers and not in the business full-time, what do you do to keep your skills in check? Do you schedule photo sessions for clients on the weekends? Do you go out with ideas for shoots on the weekends? If your a "part-timer", do you do any marketing with ads or gain clients via word of mouth? Thanks.

Even as a pro I still go out and shoot on my own, doesn't matter how long you've been working as a pro, you still have to stay sharp, and keep improving on the skills, and sometimes it's an easy way to just relax and re-focus(no pun intended) your brain.

 

[AlexSmith]

Practice makes perfect. Practicing the right things that is.

 

[joel28]

^ This. Plus watch youtube to learn new techniques.

This is actually my problem. I read and watch youtube allot but i'm not good in praticing....

It helps me to go out and shoot with a speciffic goal in mind. It's too easy to go with a mountain of ideas and end up with a hodge-podge mediocre mess...So choosing just one element to focus on at a time really simplifies things.

What kind of goals are we referring?

 

[kylehess10]

Me specifically, I want to be a photographer in Major League Baseball someday. Currently I work for the Atlanta Braves Triple-A team as an intern. What I do to stay inspired and work harder is look at work done in the big leagues, especially by Braves team photographer Pouya Dianat. I check out his work almost every day and look at the various techniques he uses to take amazing photographs and I try to learn from that. Also, as many others here do, I love reading different topics on the forums and checking out all the great photography seen on Flickr. You can learn from everything out there so as long as you stay concentrated on what you want for your career and practice, practice, practice, then all will go well for you.

 

[orb9220]

Master your equipment. Nothing worst then having to pull out the manual in the middle of a shoot. Should be able to make changes on the fly without your eye leaving the viewfinder for most critical settings.

Learn the camera and particular lens limitations. Will help with fast workarounds and knowing what particular setup for a given situation.

Study the basics of light in the everyday world. When and time of day you shoot is many times more critical and will make or break a composition. And learn the balance of the triangle (Shutter,Aperture and Iso) will help maximize those times and fine tune your compositions.

Study other images extensively on sites like flickr will help considerably with group threads to post and ask questions like here on this forum or flickr.

No amount of study or reading or viewing Youtube videos will mean much if you don't get out there and practice regularly. I go out on walkabouts everyday and I shoot everyday. As I rarely leave the cave without my camera. So if you think you will master it going out just on the weekends for a couple of hours. Sadly I would say you won't progress very far.

Don't get wrapped up in techno-geek lust over newer cameras and lenses. As they are always evolving. Shoot and master what you have. When you are capable enough you will know exactly what and when you need a better performing lens or camera body.

Most important have fun and joy in doing it. Otherwise whats the point? When it becomes drudgery and there's no motivation. Then take a break from it. And do something else that brings relief and revitalizes your spirt. And reality is over the long haul you may find that photography isn't your cup of tea after all.
.

 

[Fred Berg]

When you go out to shoot, it really helps if you do so with some photographic goals in mind.

It's like writing an essay: I like to have a plan before I start. I decide before setting out what it is I want to do on this occasion and try to stick to that. I try not to get side-tracked by other things if I can help it. I think about the lenses/camera/equipment I'll need before hand and take only this with me. As I mainly use film, I also restrict myself to a set number of rolls to take with me and don't allow myself to buy any on the road. It focuses my mind on the task in hand if I know that I have, say, 48 - 72 exposures available and that's it.

I also like to read/look at books and magazines, not necessarily photography specific, but just ones which contain the sort of photos that I'd like to be able to take.

 

[TagoFabic]

What I usually do is I try and see the events or places I could go to over the weekend and do photo walks as much as I can, and I invite a couple of friends to join me as my regular subjects hehe. Agree, I sort of have an idea what I want to be translated into photos, but you'll be amazed at how the surroundings or the subjects tend to "speak to you" on set - so aside from one concept (the one planned), you could actually get a few more setups. It's quite therapeutic actually, for me. Helps in trying to broaden the creative space.


Tago Fabic
Photography + Blog | Tago Fabic