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7 Actionable Tips For New Photographers To Improve Your Images Today
Learning photography is so much fun, but it can also be hard work! There is so much to learn and take on board, that it can feel a little overwhelming.
In this post, I'm going to give you just seven quick tips that you can take action on TODAY that will help give you better photos. So, for each tip, you also have an action item - there's no sitting around being an armchair photographer here 😀
Ready? Let's get stuck in!
How to Get Started Using Lightroom Classic - A Beginners Guide
We all know that learning a new piece of software can be daunting - this is especially true when we're talking about Lightroom, which has so many modules, panels, buttons and options that you might not even know where to start!
It has taken me quite a few years to figure out Lightroom, and right at the beginning I really wish I had someone leading me through the process step by step - it would have saved me so much time and allowed me to concentrate on getting good images, rather than sorting out my mess!
Creativity Exercise: 30 Photographs in 30 Minutes
Welcome back for another creative challenge! If you are new to the blog, every month for 2017 I will be posting a creative exercise for you to do. So if you like the idea of a monthly flex of your photography muscles, come back at the first Tuesday of every month for your assignment. You can of course do these at ANY time, so at the bottom of this post you will find links to the previous challenges too!
This particular exercise is absolutely wonderful for those times when you are feeling a bit creatively blocked or stuck in a rut - you know those times when you just aren’t feeling motivated to pick up your camera, and when you do you feel like everything you take looks blah and boring.
The reason we are having this creativity exercise this month is this is because that is EXACTLY how I have been feeling of late!
Photography has been a major part of my life for a long time now, and between writing blog posts, doing live streams in the Facebook group, answering questions, recording lessons and creating courses on the subject, I feel like the actual part of taking the photos is something that I have fallen out of doing! I know that this feeling is pretty common with professional photographers, because their creativity in essence becomes their job, which in and itself can get repetitive. However, it can - nay, it WILL - happen to everyone, regardless of whether you are a hobbyist or a seasoned pro.
So, for this exercise, we are going to be limiting ourselves with how we shoot (because believe or not limitations HELP your creativity!) but only with regard to location and time.
Beginners Photography Tutorial: Your Guide to the Exposure Triangle
Today we are going to go right back to the very beginning for any brand new photographers out there, and lay open the foundations of capturing an image - exposure.
We’ll look at what exposure is, what the three elements are that allow us to control it, and finally how they all work together in something called the Exposure Triangle.
This is literally Step 1 in learning photography (and in fact is the very first lesson in my Auto to Awesome course!) but although it's fundamental, it can be anything but easy to grasp! So it might take a few read throughs before it starts to make much sense if this is your first time learning about it, but don't worry, it does get easier as you move on 😃
So without further ado, let's get crackin'!
Creativity Exercise: Using Framing as a Composition Tool
Welcome back for another creative challenge! If you are new to the blog, every month for 2017 I will be posting a creative exercise for you to do. So if you like the idea of a monthly flex of your photography muscles, come back at the first Tuesday of every month for your assignment. You can of course do these at ANY time, so at the bottom of this post you will find links to the previous challenges too!
For this month's exercise, we are going to use an often overlooked composition tool - framing.
Framing your subject is ja really powerful way to bring your viewers attention to what’s important in your image, while also bringing an extra element of interest, so it's a great composition tool to be able to pull out of your back pocket.
The good news is it’s not hard to do, it's only a question of being able to see the possibilities around you when shooting - and that's what this creative exercise will help you do!
5 ways to improve your photography skills - without taking a photo
When I ask members of my Facebook group what their biggest struggle with photography is, the same thing comes up time and time again: lack of time.
I completely understand that it can sometimes be hard to find time to physically practise photography on a consistent basis - in fact, as I write this, I don't think I have picked up my camera for at least a couple of weeks either 😀. If you are anything like me, you will probably also find that the only time you really get to yourself is after the kids have gone to bed, which maybe isn't the time we want to whip the camera out and start taking photos!
The good news is you can still improve your photography skills without necessarily needing to have a camera in your hand. So if you find yourself with only a few minutes to spare during the day, or find that you get get most of your "free" time when everyone else is sound asleep, here are some other ways you can improve your skills without even needing to take a photo.
Check Out These Reader Favourites
It's been quite a few years now since I made the switch from Aperture Priority Mode to shooting in Manual Mode, and it was one of the BEST things I ever did to improve my photography skills.
It was like a whole new world opened up to me, and I started TRULY understanding exposure, and in turn, getting the images that I wanted.
Of course, there was a lot to learn, and there are some things I wish I had known before I started!
So, here are 10 things about shooting in Manual Mode that you might just wish you knew…