It takes time, practice and patience to be a photographer. You need to learn the technical and the creative side of a craft that is now one of the most used genres in the world. Everyday they say that billions of images are created and shared.
Photographers make decisions, they don’t fluke one good photo here and there.
A photographer sets out to fill the frame with something that they want to show others.
It’s all about intent. You make the choices.
You decide what camera to use, how to expose and capture the image, what light and mood the image will have. Then you have the post production editing decisions to make. What is it that you are going to include in your image. And we decide what to leave out! A picture can say so much, its powerful. It can move you. it can mean different things to different people. It can tell a story, or it can create conversation
When you are in the learning phase of photography it is all about experimentation. Digital photography gives us the opportunity to experiment and take lots of images. We have a camera with us all the time so can practice our skills 24/7. We can practice composition, capturing light, and how to draw the eye of the viewer into our image. We can practice making a focal point in our image by using focus and colour and light.
When we are learning you need to take time to practice the technical skills. You need to consider what will go into the frame, and how we will get it into the frame.
You can practice the rules of composition with any camera that you have to hand. its all about knowing what elements work and what doesn’t.
Analysing the work of others is a great way to learn. You are surrounded by a world of images. We can learn from every image we see. If you are watching a movie, look at the colours and tones that are used. Look at the light and the quality of that light, what direction is the light coming from. What intensity is the light. Is the light warm or cool. What composition rules are being used. How is the movie being framed. When you are looking online or in magazines or on billboards, the same thing applies. Analyse images. They are everywhere. Look for what is the hero of the shot, what are you being made to look at. What message are you getting and how does looking at the image make you feel.
The best thing is that you can practice all the time. you don’t have to have expensive equipment in today’s world to be able to practice the craft and skills.
So get out there and have fun!