Name Your Top Two Photography Things Learned This Past Year

[smoke665]

The past year has been a "relearning" experience for me, after a long absence. Thinking about it last night, it seems I can finally start to see improvements as things start to click into place. I still have a long way to go, and look forward to learning now.

If I had to list the top two things I've learned about photography in the past year, the first would be a better understanding of the exposure triangle and how it relates to the shot I'm trying to take. I find myself thinking ahead as I make informed adjustments. The second would have to be learning to use Lightroom. The speed of post processing has improved dramatically thanks to LR.

How about others - What are your "Top Two"?

 

[SCraig]

Not something I learned this year, rather many years ago that has stuck with me: Decide for yourself. Whether others like a photograph or not doesn't matter. What camera / lens / bag/ tripod / flash / whatever they like or use doesn't matter. Listen to what they have to offer but decide for yourself because in the end the only one you have to please is yourself.

 

[chuasam]

1. the Back Button Focus produces more accurate focusing than semi-pressing the shutter button
2. it's okay to just use your phone if you are only sharing it on social media

 

[Destin]

I've learned three big lessons this year:

1.) If I spend too much time behind the camera, I WILL get burned out and tired of photography

2.) It's more about the journey and life experiences than the photos. Whether that's meeting people through portrait sessions or traveling to incredible places for landscapes, it's important to take some time out from behind the camera to smell the roses and talk to people.

3.) Related to the first 2 points: You have to travel to incredible places to make incredible portraits. And you need interesting subjects to make great portraits.

 

[bratkinson]

2. it's okay to just use your phone if you are only sharing it on social media

1. There's no need to take along the DSLR and 'artilliary' for vacation photos. I don't do social media, so my compact camera - a Canon G15 - is more than sufficient for everything I may want to photograph. For the handful of photos I 'share' in any way (email or online), I doubt anyone would notice that it's not a 23mp photograph taken with high-end gear.

2. Even for various photo presentations I've made (I shoot strictly for free), I've learned that trying to get every last 'tweak' possible during post processing is a complete waste of time. Unless there's some serious flaws that need correction such as too much clutter in the background or oddball lighting such as multi-color spotlights to deal with, anything more than 30 seconds of Lightroom tweaks after 'mass import' and 'mass editing' (Sync button) is too much. I'm at the point that maybe a slider or two to compensate for minor under/over-exposure and perhaps a tad of sharpening is all I do these days.

 

[table1349]

The two things I have learned....

1. A lot of the people buying cameras these days are dumber than a can of beans.

2. Refer back to #1.

 

[JustJazzie]

Even if you have never in the life of your camera changed it from saving raw files, apparently tiff is an actual thing. Always check your settings before an important shoot.

Aperture and Shutter priority modes can actually be useful in certain situations. Don't be afraid to move out of Manual.

 

[smoke665]

I've learned three big lessons this year:

1.) If I spend too much time behind the camera, I WILL get burned out and tired of photography

2.) It's more about the journey and life experiences than the photos. Whether that's meeting people through portrait sessions or traveling to incredible places for landscapes, it's important to take some time out from behind the camera to smell the roses and talk to people.

3.) Related to the first 2 points: You have to travel to incredible places to make incredible portraits. And you need interesting subjects to make great portraits.

I was with you up till #3. I'm sorry but if you truly believe this then you are seriously missing out. Not every photo opp has a marker, sometimes you have to look for them. Within 5 miles of my house I have found the campsite and spring used by Andrew Jackson as his staging area, before he entered the Creek Nation, numerous civil war cemeteries, log cabins, waterfalls, old buildings, old moonshine stills, flowers and fauna of the woods that would rival a botanical garden. Do a little detective work and I'm sure the same applies to your area, you just have to be open.

 

[nerwin]

I was with you up till #3. I'm sorry but if you truly believe this then you are seriously missing out. Not every photo opp has a marker, sometimes you have to look for them. Within 5 miles of my house I have found the campsite and spring used by Andrew Jackson as his staging area, before he entered the Creek Nation, numerous civil war cemeteries, log cabins, waterfalls, old buildings, old moonshine stills, flowers and fauna of the woods that would rival a botanical garden. Do a little detective work and I'm sure the same applies to your area, you just have to be open.

I agree, not everyone can afford to travel to incredible places or franky just don't have the time. Sure, it would be nice. But almost everyone has locations close to them where they can make incredible portraits or other photos.

 

[ronlane]

I'm not sure that I could say what my top two things that I've learned this past year. I feel like I continue to learn all the time as I try to make my images better and better. Things that I have made it a point to work in this year have been off camera lighting and posing. I feel that I have improved in these areas but also in others as well.

I attended a local PPA meeting this last week and I heard it said more than once there that education is important. So if a professional organization says that multiple times during their meeting, I guess, I'll just keep learning every-day,week,month,year.

 

[BrentC]

Since I only started photography this year its hard to say what my top two are since there is so much I have learned in this short time.

1. There is a huge learning curve in post processing images. I still only know a 1/10 of what LR can do and even less in PS. Also, having these tools and knowing how to use it you still need to have the eye for it and know what to adjust. I am nowhere there yet.

2. How addictive it can be. 95% of what I shoot is wildlife and the thrill of going to a knew place and the hope of capturing something you never seen before.

 

[adamhiram]

The main things I learned this year had to do with photographing active kids. I have a 2 year old, and was struggling to get sharp photos that really captured him doing what he does. After much searching for everything from photographing babies to sports and even pet photography, I finally got some good advice from a photographer we hired for some family portraits.

1. Stop chasing him. What I was doing was like if you asked a football ref to also be the photographer. Find good light, figure out the best direction to shoot from, and create something for him to do to keep his interest so he will come to me.
2. Shoot wide. I often tried to get tighter shots and would always end up with something blurry or out of frame. Not only does shooting wider offer a different perspective, but it also gives a much deeper depth of field at wider apertures, which is especially useful for an unpredictable fast moving subject.
3. Use a telephoto lens and shoot from a distance. This is the opposite of the last item - when kids are aware they are being photographed, they often stop what they are doing. By shooting from further away from a perspective where I am capturing lateral motion rather than towards/away from me, it's much easier to get him in frame and in focus.
4. Get a better camera! For many years I used a mid-range consumer camera, and worked under the assumption that if I couldn't get a shot the problem was me, not the gear. While that was true to an extent, upgrading from a D5100 to a D500 opened up a whole new world of tracking moving subjects with more usable focus points and a better AF system.

 

[dunfly]

1.You don't have to travel to incredible places to make incredible portraits. And you don't need interesting subjects to make great portraits.

2.People who think they know everything about cameras are usually dumber than a can of beans.

 

[JPI]

I was with you up till #3.

Same here, #1 times 3


#1 Macro has really opened my eyes and expanded this world
#2 To take the time to really look deep into each of the different environments I'm in.

 

[Destin]

I've learned three big lessons this year:

1.) If I spend too much time behind the camera, I WILL get burned out and tired of photography

2.) It's more about the journey and life experiences than the photos. Whether that's meeting people through portrait sessions or traveling to incredible places for landscapes, it's important to take some time out from behind the camera to smell the roses and talk to people.

3.) Related to the first 2 points: You have to travel to incredible places to make incredible portraits. And you need interesting subjects to make great portraits.

I was with you up till #3. I'm sorry but if you truly believe this then you are seriously missing out. Not every photo opp has a marker, sometimes you have to look for them. Within 5 miles of my house I have found the campsite and spring used by Andrew Jackson as his staging area, before he entered the Creek Nation, numerous civil war cemeteries, log cabins, waterfalls, old buildings, old moonshine stills, flowers and fauna of the woods that would rival a botanical garden. Do a little detective work and I'm sure the same applies to your area, you just have to be open.

I never said anything to disagree. Traveling to incredible places could be as simple as discovering a new waterfall a town over from yours.

That being said, after a few years as a photographer is easy to have exhausted most of the options with a 50 mile radius of home. And to continue making great materials with new content, you'll have to do some traveling. Could be a simple day trip. Could be a week on another continent.

But if you can honestly tell me you've never gotten bored with the landscapes close to your house, then you're a better person than I.