Recently I was presented the question, “How does one improve as a photographer? This question came from a well seasoned photographer and it got me thinking of the things I’ve done in the past. While the things listed below worked for me they may not work for everyone. Which leads me to wonder what do you do to improve as a photographer when you feel you’ve hit a wall?
Viewing "99 Cents" by Andreas Gursky
10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer
- Cut off participation on photo critique forums. Over time many of the submitted photos start to emulate each other converging into a common style versus diverging to original work.
- Begin viewing art web sites more frequently to get inspiration from contemporary artists
- Begin going to more museums and traveling exhibits to see the work of other artists (not just photographers)
- Begin looking at and reading classic and contemporary art books
- Force yourself to use different lenses
- Intentionally avoided taking the same types of shots by recognizing one’s habits in the field
- Identify and start personal art projects that you’ll find fulfilling even if they’re unlikely to resonate with others
- Monitor new technologies (hardware, software or even things out of left field that are unrelated) to see if they might be creatively applied to make something new and never before seen.
- Take a lot of iPhone photos as a creative white board to see things you might pass over otherwise
- Ask yourself “What if…?” a lot and try to formulate something new from your basic curiosity.
As I see it this desire to continually improve is healthy and a great sign. I see far too many photographers (well known big names) fall into the habit of trying to reproduce work they had success with many years earlier. Photography is moving at such a fast pace that these older styles and techniques are now easily reproduced by lesser experienced photographers. The result is people losing respect for them or just becoming jaded by them. I wrote about this a bit here in The Subtlety of Greatness and Today’s Loss of Appreciation.
Now more than ever it really takes a lot of skill, self-discipline and motivation to dig deeper and push farther. Great photographers are always pushing the limits and having seen this in my study of photography over the years it has served as a very strong source of motivation.
Personally I can’t help but think if you’re not looking back at your older work and being dissatisfied you’re not growing as a photographer. This is why I run the Best of Photos 20XX blog project. Every year I look back and think I should trash my old photos. It’s not where I want to be. The day I lose that feeling is the day I know I’m done. There should always be new creative horizons to aim for and explore.
some very strong statements!!
really appreciate this…
I joined a forum for the first time three weeks ago on Facebook (I’m new to G+) and have already noticed a trend towards emmulating previous posts and individuals interpretations of the same photograph. In the few day’s that I have been exploring G+ I have learned so much and am completely inspired to try new styles and explore the endless possibilities!
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I love your list. I would add study light and be genuinely passionate in life – it will carry over into your photography.
I like your list, Jim. I would add that setting some sort of goal or project can help. You get the satisfaction of working toward something, and creating a body of work, that’s your own. The more work you put into it, the better it will get, and the more satisfaction you’ll feel. I also think it’s good to create something in print, not just online. For example, I’ll work on a project for a few years, then produce a print-on-demand book. That doesn’t mean the project is over, necessarily, but it creates a milestone, and it gives you something tangible that you can be proud of.
Very Good List !! I was just thinking today as I was looking back on some shots from a couple of years ago and just about deleted them for that very reason, Some of them I was hard pressed to think what was I looking for or at… I stopped #1 sometime ago – great advise !
Thanks
Kevin
Master Photoshop.
good write up
I’d add two cents from me:
At first I strongly support what John W. Wall said – working on a project could be very motivating and also challenging, and thus – lead to photographer’s self-improvement.
Second – it’s worth sometimes focus on something non-visual; music, book, chatting with a stranger, etc., and try to find some images there. Believe me, it works. 🙂
Yeah, right 😉
I would rather say: buy some good shoes. Photography so often needs walking so many miles…
Hi Jim, thanks for these interesting ideas. For #1 I’d add – Swap an online photo forum for a photo critique group that meets in person. My photo group in Berkeley also invites, and pays, guest critics from the local photo scene in the Bay Area when we need some fresh input. A strong personal art group can really help you grow and stretch.
No iphone in my pocket – what should I do?
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Great inspiring thoughts Jim! I agree with all the points mention but highly resonate with cutting off the critiquing forums if they are not helping you be yourself! Forcing oneself to use different lenses really helps and also creating personal projects that satisfy yourself and not others.
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Inspirational wise words, Jim. Thank you for this top notch read.
great insight and truth.
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I usually don’t like lists because they are just a way to grab people’s attention with useless, common sense do’s and don’ts for the starting out photographer. However, I quite enjoyed reading your list as it’s something that ALL photographers should practice, not just beginners.
Glad I read it!
I’d revise #5 to “use only one lens for 3 months.”
Make it about composition, not gear.
“Use different lenses” and “use your iphone more often”?
I’m obviously not the target reader of this blog.
I’d keep #1 and scrap off the rest.
I didn’t care for those two points either, but the rest of the list is pretty good. I hate focus on gear. I have one lens and no iPhone or point and shoot.
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I always like looking at art of all mediums. It is inspirational. I also like to play around with alternative lighting schemes. Experiment, play!
Definitely some solid advice. I’ve found that there are tons of fabulous images on Google Plus- if you take the time to search them out. Kind of an up and coming resource in my opinion…
Give up Photoshop for one month and take the time to take good pictures.
“Begin viewing art web sites more frequently to get inspiration from contemporary artists” …it is a very important point, helps young photographer build some real orientation were they stand and in which direction is the flow 😉 …actually it can be added to 1 point instead of spending their time commenting and showing off some expertise it would me much more helpful to observe the pros websites and think about what their approach to photography should be.
Great advice.
These are all good points to help improve photography. Some are very important to think about. Some are thrown to the back burner once you perfect them. Thanks for the great blog post
Great read. I Whole heartedly agree, better photography comes through a diverse source of inspiration.
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Totally agree with the last sentence, with both my art and photography I’m constantly looking back and being disappointed with what I’ve done. I’m actually really hard on myself, but I know that that feeling is the feeling which pushes me more and more. Good post.
Some great advice here, I love to visit art galleries and see the way the old masters as well as contemporary artists have interpreted and represented light within their paintings.