These 3 tips will elevate your photography INSTANTLY
3 tips that will elevate my photography game instantly? Like, right now? Yes, my dear Padawan. Of course, I can´t guarantee you that your work will blow up and you will become the greatest photographer who walked this earth, BUT, you will get better for sure when you apply these 3 tips. If you do already know them, congratulations, you deserve a pat on your shoulder! So buckle up, grab your notes, and let's get to them!
1. Learn to create art out of the ordinary!
What do I mean by this? Let's say it like this: It doesn't require that much skill, to take a good picture in perfect conditions and in an exotic location, where just the place itself elevates the composition of the picture anyways. It is much harder, on the other hand, to create beautiful imagery of everyday subjects in a “boring” environment, where you HAVE to use your creativity in order to achieve great results. Thankfully, this is very easy to practice, just by trying to capture objects and small details creatively in your home. This helps you also to have more attention to details, which your eye might skip on a daily basis. It will also get easier for you to find beauty in the small things as well!
2. Get the right, and diverse inspiration!
As an artist, it is inevitable to create something entirely new, without any inspiration, out of the blue. It is simply impossible. I guarantee you, that the picture that you thought was one of a kind, a never seen before masterpiece, has been shot probably several thousands of times similarly, with the same idea in mind (looking at all the analog shooters convincing themselves that their shot of a gas station/vintage car is the most original). Almost every media can be seen as inspiration: Some get more inspired by music, some on the other hand by paintings. What actually matters though, is the diversity of your sources of inspiration.
Here some examples:
Instead of scrolling through your favorite photographer's Instagram, check the artists that he/she follows, you will possibly find people who will open untraveled creative roads to you.
Switch it off! Go to a museum, take a walk, or browse through some photography books, it will be a breath of fresh air from Instagram and Pinterest.
Watch a movie, with good cinematics and lighting! Here is a list I found of 32 movies for every taste!
3. Practice makes perfect.
This might be the simplest and most overused advice you will ever hear, but just shoot as much and as many subjects, scenarios, and styles as you can! This will make the process of trial and error waaaay shorter than you might think. Who do you think learns more from their mistakes, someone who shoots once a month, and always the same type of pictures, or someone grabbing their camera multiple times a week, trying out many different styles of photography? I think you already know the answer! You might say, yeaaah but I don't have my camera always on me. Really? Grab your phone and mobile Lightroom app, and create straight out of your pocket! Trust me, the better you get, the better your pictures will get, no matter if taken with a phone or an expensive camera! Or even better, pick up an old digital compact camera like the one here!
So here we are, at the end of my list! I hope you enjoyed these tips and can make use of them on your way to becoming a better photographer. I am certainly sure that you will be surprised by how much progress you made after you apply those 3 tricks regularly, let alone the long-term results! Becoming a good photographer requires of course a lot more than just these 3 things, but those are a big help to jumpstart your creative process, so grab your camera or phone, and take some bangers!
