Probably one thing we all have in common regardless of how long we have been taken photos is our desire to improve. The Photo Profile series has been a great way to gain an insight to the work of other photographers around the world and over the next few months we are going to look at different photography projects styles and post production exercises.
To kick things off Stephen Van Tuyl has produced a ten tip guide to improving your photography. If you have anything to then please post a message in the comments.
1. Know your camera
This easily the most important tip of the ten. Whether you have a point and shoot or a more advanced DSLR, understanding your cameras’ various settings and modes is crucial to being able to take photos which are more than just snap shots. Study your manual! (assuming you can find the part that’s printed in english.)
2. Experiment
Learn about histograms, ISO speeds, f stops and white balance settings. Experiment with these settings and see what kind of results you come up with. For example set your white balance to “cloudy” on a bright, sunny day. You’ll be surprised to see how much warmer the colors are. Taking the time to “play around” like this can pay big dividends in the long run. Tell your girlfriend that’s not what I meant by “playing around.” Besides, you’re studying right now. focus my friend. focus.
3. Filters
I carry three filters in my camera bag. A standard UV filter. It helps protect expensive lenses from dust and scratches. Cuts down on lens glare and reduces the haziness and “blue cast” sometimes caused by ultraviolet light. Especially at higher elevations. Polarizer. Reduces unwanted reflections and gives warmer tones. Neutral Density Filter. Reduces the available light to the lens in order to allow for longer exposure times. Sunglasses. Not so great for taking pictures but they do a good job of hiding bloodshot,
morning after eyes.
4. Use a Tripod
A good tripod is an essential tool in every photographers “kit,” When light conditions areless than ideal, it is physically impossible to hold a camera still enough to get the “pin sharp” focus you need. This is also where the auto timer comes in handy, By setting the timer for a two second delay your hands are not in contact with the camera when the shutter releases, further reducing the chances of any inadvertant movement. The ten second timer works great if you want to get into the shot with your girlfriend but that puts us in a whole different rating slot.
5. Get Closer
As my long time friend and mentor, Harry Snowden is so fond of saying. “Before you click that shutter ask yourself one final question. Can I get closer?” Unless you are using background, free space, or distance as “photo elements” they can actually detract from the overall impact of your shot. Generally speaking, you want your subject to pretty much fill the frame.
There are of course, notable exceptions. Panos, wide angle landscapes, perspective shots, etc. This is where a good eye for composition comes in very handy. The point is, you want your subject to be clearly obvious to your viewers. The great Ansel Adams once said “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” Trust me, it doesn’t take long for an “ambiguous” photo to find its way to the infamous “box”. You know, the one everybody has that’s full of vacation and family snapshots you never look at but can’t quite bring yourself to throw out? Yeah, that’s the one.
6. Take your Time
Unless you see a shot that needs to be taken quickly. A grab shot, as it’s known in the trade, (a childs’ candid facial expression, the gracefully arcing trajectory of the deer your wife just hit as it flies across the hood of your car) don’t just point and shoot. Take some time to set it up. Move around. Shoot from several different angles. Pay attention to light position and shadows. If your subject is a person, move around and take note of the highlights on their skin and hair. Quite often you will end up with several excellent shots of the same subject from different perspectives.
7. Take Lots of Photos
There’s an old adage in photography. ” Take a thousand shots to get one good one.” There is truth in that saying! I once filled an entire 2gig card and didn’t end up with a single usable image. Poor light conditions, camera shake. Any number of things can go wrong with any shot so take a lot of them! Some of my favorite shots have been completely “accidental”.
I’ll be searching through a group of photos and find one that I took in passing, just to get another angle or light condition and it will turn out to be the “shot of the day”. Also, don’t delete the ones you’re not quite sure about right away. Wait a week or so and go back and look at them again. Often times you’ll find something you like on second look. Just think what would have happened if your wife had acted on her first impression of you.
8. Look at other photographer’s work
In tip #5 I mentioned having a good eye for composition. While some people come by this naturally, it is possible to improve your “eye” by viewing the work of other good artists and photographers.
You begin to get a feel for things like camera positioning and angle. Lighting and exposure. Other elements in the shot and how they interact with the main subject, etc. The work of other artists can also be an excellent source of inspiration. You’ll find yourself attempting to recreate certain effects and set ups and you learn a lot about your own developing style in the process.
9. Ask Questions!
Don’t be afraid to contact photographers you admire and ask their advise. You will find that most of them are down to earth, nice people who are more than willing to share their experience with someone who is genuinely interested in learning. You might even develop some lasting friendships. So what if they call it stalking. Who are they to judge you anyway, right?
10. To HDR or Not HDR ?
The answer is “mostly not.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of high dynamic range photography when used properly and in moderation. Unfortunately it is rapidly becoming one of the most over used effects out there. The fact is, HDR does not work for all subjects. Just because you know how to do it, doesn’t mean you should.
About the Author
Stephen Van Tuyl is A photographer, web designer and owner of Dawg Digital Design Studio in Cave Junction, Oregon.
His work has appeared in the Bend Bulletin, the New York Times and National Geographic.
Links:
Blog – http://stephenvantuyl.com/blog
Gallery – http://stephenvantuyl.com
Dawg Digital – http://dawgdigital.com
I love that you put TFM first! Our results are governed a great deal by how well we understand the abilities and limitations of our tools. And a nice sneaky “learn the priciples of photography” as a Number Two is also important.
I carry both a digital and film cameras and like to believe that I know them inside out, but I keep the manuals for both in my camera bag. Ditto the same set of filters. Except my polariser in Circular as a Linear will only work properly on an SLR not a dSLR. Next on my must-have list is a Reverse ND Grad. Pricey but if your dead set on landscape photography it’s going to cut out the hard line when you reverse the traditional ND grad.
All of your tips are essential and very well put! Except #10 – that one goes into the eternal debate we photogs like to engage in 😉
love #10! something i am coming across far too much right now is the amount of people who are posting HDR. yes, it looks cool, but is becoming FAR too overused!
@SusanG. Thanks for your feed back. Much appreciated. Long live the eternal debate.
@David. Thanks man!
Great tips Stephen, straight to the point with a touch of humour! Love it!
I would have to agree with #10, I’m not a huge fan of extreme editing to the point the ‘natural-ness’ of the shot can’t be seen anymore. I’m at #7, not thousands more hundreds really and it’s so frustrating when you look at the subject with your own eyes and yet it doesn’t appear that way post-shot! Then again I suppose thats where #1 comes in! #8 is certainly my biggest learning tool – Flickr is one of the best avenues for it too!
Again, great article. Enjoyed reading it.
@Paula Thanks!
Thanks for this post!!
It is actually a lot of common sense stuff, that you just don’t stop to think about. They are great tips, and I’ve taken notes!
=)
@Brittani Thank you very much!
Nice, solid rules Stephen. I love experimenting with settings and such, and also like to see what other photographers have done. If I see a shot or tone that I admire, I’ll often check out the EXIF settings on Flickr and make a mental note.
And I’m gonna go with “No HDR” as well.
Great reminders. HDR has always bothered me. Except in some very specific instances–city lights, for one–it looks really artificial and plasticky.
If there’s one sure sign that a photo was taken by a complete beginner, it’s that they haven’t learned to get closer to their subject. The best piece of advice I was given by a pro (a long time ago) was to ask one question before you take any photo:
What am I taking the photograph of?
On a side note, the whole HDR thing has become so abused that it’s become simply boring, and is often an indication of someone trying too hard.
I appreciate the tension between #6 and #7. Taking your time and taking lots of photos in some ways seem to contradict. IMHO #6 trumps #7.
Else-‘net, I was accused by a photographer who presents himself as a mentor and teacher of being “a hater” because I had the gumption to say that HDR was overused and mostly done badly.
In other words, I absolutely agree with you. Also with everything else you’ve written here. Thanks for a great article. I’ll be passing it on to others.
A lot of good advice, such as knowing your camera and take a lot of photos, which I think is essential to anyone who want to get better at what they do. Know your equipment aand do it a lot.
However, from a street photographer’s view, a tripod will only drag you down. And after a while, you can compose and set up a shot wuickly, but that requires that you are constantly aware of your ssurrondings, elements, light etc etc.
As for HDR, I’m sure it has its uses. I just can’t think of any…
Turn your flash on outside in the sunlight. You are now using fill flash and a two light photographer. 🙂 Is it perfect, no.
High overhead sunlight and direct on camera flash are the two worst types of lighting there are, IMO. But mix the two and you can improve the image. Just remember not every photo needs fill flash. Shadows can be good.
Oh and on the getting closer. I tell real new photographers when you think you moved closer take one more step because you are probably still not close enough. 🙂
Thanks for the post and I fully agreed with No.8 & No.9.
I loves to ‘observe’ others shot as to learn more from their way of shooting a good photos. And I found that most of them (pros) are very down to earth and willing to share their opinions in photography. Guess what, quite a few of them became my close friend since.
Thanks again!
Just a quick note; the reason people hate on HDR so much is that they don’t recall seeing many good HDR shots. That’s because when used subtly and applied well it can look a shot taken in high contrast conditions look properly exposed. It’s important to remember that our eyes are far better with HDR scenes than our cameras, and imo HDR’s goal should be to try and overcome the shortcomings of gear and render high contrast landscape shots in the same detail we could see them with the naked eye.
Needless to say, you’re right in that there’s absolutely loads of godawful HDR shots floating around because people are clueless about what actually makes a good image and just like playing with toys. Still, if you know what you’re doing you can improve your shots using HDR techniques and chances are most people won’t even realise they’re seeing an HDR image.