In my blog lately I have gone on rants about exhibits and quality and the like, while I started out with the goal of helping the members of the Casements Camera Club to be better photographers. The 7th Annual Spring Exhibit in the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center (up till June 28) is a dream, so nothing to complain about!
I do want to share some simple tips to help your photography along. And why do I say “simple”? Well… our esteemed member Herb Paynter, who writes a wonderful blog called “The Way Eye Sees It” (http://www.thewayeyesseesit.com)
helped me with a really, really simple tip in one of his articles about how to get sharper images. The first tip was: CLEAN YOUR LENS! I must confess I didn’t do that nearly enough, so that’s my first thing now before a shoot: I clean my lens. And it really makes a difference. So THANK YOU, Herb!
As you know I do a lot of self-publishing via Blurb (http://www.blurb.com)
and I got their top 10 of very simple tips to improve your photography. I adapted the phrasing slightly from the standpoint of my own experiences:
#1 – Know your equipment and then forget it. When you buy a new camera learn the manual from top to bottom and backwards and then put it in PDF form in your phone, so that you can always consult it if necessary.
#2 – Know your weakness and address it. Take workshops and learn from others.
#3 – Practice. That’s my thing I always say to everybody: practice, practice, practice. Quoting Henri Cartier-Bresson: “Your first 10,000 images are your worst”. The challenges the Casements Camera Club put out every month are a great way of practicing!
#4 – Be Patient. I must confess that is my weakness. I am not patient at all, but I’m learning and enjoying the process in the meantime.
#5 – Look at the work of photographers you admire. Go to museums and I would say not only photographers, but also painters. Look at Rembrandt’s work and see what Rembrandt light is all about.
#6 – Less is more: less gear, less distractions, less mental baggage. Going on a trip with one camera and one lens is eye-opening
#7 – Learn the Basics: light, timing and composition – again: take workshops, and learn from others.
#8 – Take chances – don’t expect a perfect image all the time, be ready to fail and learn from it.
#9 – Create a narrative – that’s why the pictures of National Geographic are so great: the photographers visit a site for at least a month and take pictures all the time, so the pictures fit the story.
And most of all:
#10 – HAVE FUN!!! We have joined a camera club because we like to take pictures. We are with like-minded people and that’s what it’s all about….
Till next time,
Ans