5 Skills For You The Photographer

The modern camera should, at least in theory, make creating great images an easier process than it used to be – with all these exposure modes, focussing tools, picture styles and such, camera manufacturers would like you to believe that it’s just a matter of squeezing the shutter and hey presto you’ve nailed it. Getting the business of exposure right has become more straightforward for the photographer – you really don’t need to know much to get some passable shots but what about if you want to take your photography further?

Photography is very different from that of even ten years ago. Good modern photographers need to be able to do so much more than compose and frame a shot, a whole set of new techniques are needed if you want to develop your photography to a really high standard. Here are five key ways to make your photography shine:

1. Know Your Software

Practice your ‘developing’ skills to where you can take an image and get the very best out of it in your digital darkroom. This is vital whether you want to be primarily a ‘photographer’ or an ‘image-maker’ and allows you to have greater control over your work so it’s the very best that it can be. This means choosing a solid piece of editing software and learning how to use it to its full potential. You have to choose a program that best suits your interests and needs. Be prepared to change your mind.

2. Get the Basics Right

You need to know composition, exposure and how to utilise your camera to get the most out of it. It doesn’t matter much what camera you’re using, if you don’t really know how to point it then you’re going to struggle to get anything good out of it. Read your manual and learn what your camera can (and can’t) do. Study and understand options like depth of field, focal planes and shutter speeds. This can get confusing and a bit dull at times but it will help you to understand how to produce a particular effect or look when you start to frame in your mind what you want an image to look like in its final form.

3. Be Flexible

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut taking the same kind of shots and processing them in the same way over and over again. Or just adopting one set of tools and failing to implement new ones, when they become available. Developing your work means that you do need to develop the way you work. Being conscious of issues such as workflow and how they impact on your ability to produce good images. If you fail to understand you won’t survive and will fail to keep your interest in photography in general, you also need to be able to innovate and change if you’re really going to produce some impressive images.

4. Study Others’ Work

Art rarely is in isolation, the work of other people can be helpful for you to develop your own style, hone your skills and increase your knowledge. Spend time every day looking at the work of others, thinking about how they created a specific look or effect and work out how you could replicate it. An important tool for the modern photographer is networking with other photographers on-line or in real life. On-line communities such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are a great way to get your work ‘out there’ but are an even better resource for inspiration and discussion. They even allow you to engage in projects which will boost your skills and experience. In real life, you should check out your local camera club or photo-walk group. Interacting with other photographers in the flesh is a great way to learn new things and increase your engagement with photography overall, it might give you access to new shooting opportunities and equipment and will certainly challenge the way you see your own photography.

5. Practice

Enough cannot be said on this subject, you can read all the books, internet sites or magazine articles you like but there’s no substitute for actually picking up your camera and using it. Passion for photography comes from the feeling of having created something unique and interesting with your camera – it may be a single image, a small portfolio or an entire body of work. There is just no substitute for picking your camera up and pointing it at things in earnest, and ideally you should be using your camera as a portal to show others something you are passionate about. Having the ability to show something you love in a new and visually exciting way comes with practice and so practice is the thing that more than anything else will make your photographs stand out from the crowd.