I am going to give you the secret to good photography and it is going to shock you because the secret isn’t in professional gear. In fact gear plays such a small role that if you can get over all the tech companies pushing the latest models you would be amazed at what you can create with the most basic cameras.
In fact the secret to good photography is a combination of many things not just one short and easy thing. I wish I could say tweak this and boom you are ready to be a professional but as with anything the true secret is practice, practice and practice some more and just when you think you are a professional do some more practice and be willing to learn.
Dahlia macro image.
The Best Camera is the One that is With You:
We can go around in circles talking about cameras and lenses and what gear you need to shoot just about anything you can dream of. But the real truth to making a good image isn’t the price of the camera in your hand but rather just having any camera at all with you— be it a professional grade camera or a cell phone with limitations of quality and distance.
Everyone who knows me will tell you I am not a fan of phone cameras because I find them lacking but what they won’t know is I only hold that view because I primarily shoot equine action and they simply can’t handle that well. But things like portraits or an amazing macro? They are fantastic! One of my first award winning images I took on a Samsung active phone with a 5 megapixel camera.
Because the best camera is the one I had on me and that was a phone. Just take your time and magic will happen regardless of how pricy and amazing your equipment is.
Cell Phone fireworks image.
2. Change Up Your Angles:
If you only ever take photos from a standing position, or straight on, or however you will be bored, your photography will be boring, and you will not feel inspired. Just like eating the same thing every day can get boring so can take photos in the same exact way. You have to mix it up to really start making extraordinary images.
My friends over the years love sending me fun articles, photos, or videos about the things photographers get up to while making an image. They do not send them because it’s amusing in the haha way but because they have seen me do many, many similar things. So hit that crazy pose if it gets you the shot you want but just change things up go low, go high, whatever it takes.
Calf Roping image taken from the ground.
3. Try Many Different kinds of Photography:
Like most artists you may gravitate to one area of photography more than others but like all things they can get monotonous if that’s all you do over and over. Break out and try different kinds of photography. If you love portraiture try wildlife or landscapes and vice versa.
When I was first getting into photography I wanted to take those epic fantasy portraits. It was my dream but in playing and trying different areas I found passion for rodeo and then a love of equine. I was always a horse girl but an accident took me away from them and photography brought me back. I love so many genre’s of photography that even though I have specialized I still love to take pictures of flowers and weddings, and landscapes.
You can be multi-talented, you can have many passions, but you can keep your passion for your photography alive simply through shooting many kinds of photography even if the others are just for yourself.
Landscape taken in Skagway, Alaska
4. Utilize Hard but Fun Shooting Locations:
No matter how much we wish we could grab our cameras and go on safari or travel to a medieval castle sometimes we just can’t plan those trips even if it is something we would love to photograph. Because it is new, exciting, and difficult to photograph.
So for me to do something challenging I like to visit zoo’s, animal sanctuaries, botanical gardens, national parks, whatever I can to test my skills. And it is a test of the skills because you will be regulated to shooting from a specfic area through fencing and smudge up windows.
It will offer you something different, fulfill whatever needs you may have and it is just plain fun. Photography is suppose to be fun, so go where it is fun and different to switch it up.
Image of a Monkey from Pittsburgh Zoo
5. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others:
The real secret to taking good photos after of course taking many, many photos is to stop comparing yourself to others. Everyone is different some may have been at it for twenty years and others may take 2000 images for the one amazing one you saw on Facebook.
The simple fact of the matter is the more you shoot the more your skills will improve and getting caught up in what someone else is or isn’t doing will just set you behind. Focus on yourself, your goals, and what you want to achieve the rest will come when it is time.
Cell phone selfie of Tiffany, Exposure One Studios