Dandelion X-ray
Earlier we asked our readers in the Your Photo Tips.com Flickr Group to give us some of their best one sentence photography tips and we had a great response! For the next few weeks I’ll be elaborating, in my own words, what those photo tips mean to me and how they can help you become a better photographer. So if you missed the original post you can find it at 16 Quick Tips For New Photographers.
Because this will be an ongoing series this will be where I tell you to bookmark the website or subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss the upcoming posts!
3 Ingredients To Becoming A Better Photographer
the_wolf_brigade also known as Tom Webb (that’s such a marketable name for the Internet age), just featured as a Fantastic Flickr Photographer, and all around nice guy said
Start with a 50mm on film, and learn to walk before you zoom.
Truly great advice to any new photographer. In fact, recently we had an article Why A Fixed Focal Length 50mm Lens Is The Must Have Lens In Your Camera Bag so that would be a great place to start.
Okay, that’s it. See you next time… wait.
While I only know Tom from contact through Flickr and comment exchanges and a couple email exchanges I’m gonna jump out on a limb here and say “That’s not all folks!”
It’s the film part and the walking part that’s super important.
See, shooting with film can really teach you a few things about photography that digital just can’t. We rely way too much on the information we are able to garner from the new cameras that we all have. You’re gonna learn patience. You’ll capture less images because film actually has continuous costs unlike a memory card that you buy once. Then you have to wait for processing which is good for patience and memory as well. You’ll be asking yourself questions like “How did I take that image? What settings was I using? Why didn’t this one turn out quite right?” Oh, you’ll stumble along the way and that’s good too! We often learn more from our mistakes than our successes. I know I have.
By using a 50mm lens you limit what you can do, and this is good. Learning to walk before you zoom is key in learning to see things that other people just won’t see. Try different angles and get closer (or farther) from the subject. Learn how the lens behaves and how your images come out. Take your time in composing and framing your photos.
Combining all of these things really sets your brain into high gear. Every shot counts more when you limit what you have.
Sometimes taking a step back will push you further.
Photograph Dandelion X-ray by the_wolf_brigade
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I love that last sentence! So much good advice in that alone.
You’ll learn when to trust the light meter and when to go with your instincts.
It will also teach you to keep notes on everything - the aperture/shutter combination, EV reading, location etc. Doing this means in the long run you’ll develop habits that will transcend the film digital conundrum and result in an ability to read the scene in an instant, with the settings becoming like instinct.
I highly recommend reading the linked article as well
Oh, and think you can’t afford a new lens? Try one of the manual lenses you can find on ebay with an adapter for your camera. A good place to start is the m42 (or Pentax screw mount system) with the 50/1.4 SMC being unbeatable value. Or then there’s the 50/1.2 Zuiko. Or the Rollei Planar 50/1.4….