What made you a better photographer?

[Glenn NK]

All of my lenses are zoom! But if they all had to be replaced with prime lenses I still wouldn't let that, or whatever camera is handy for that matter, get in the way of enjoying photography.



What made me a better photographer? Assuming that I am getting better (and that might be questionable!), it would have to be looking at the fine images posted here and trying to learn how to do as well with my images.

Blaming laziness on zoom lenses just might be akin to the carpenter that blames his tools.

Glenn

[davidedric]

Blaming laziness on zoom lenses just might be akin to the carpenter that blames his tools.

In my case, too true, too true

[MrB]

Knowledge - being gained (slowly) by reading, listening, observing, thinking, experimenting, and practising. Oh, and a controllable camera with a good range zoom lens also helps.

Cheers.
Philip

[AB26]

Blaming laziness on zoom lenses just might be akin to the carpenter that blames his tools.

Glenn

Not helpful at all!

[shalom2010]

Hi All,

My first post on this forum!

What makes me a good photographer is (mostly) deciding what I'm going to shot on a particular day and spending as long as it takes to get the shot I want. Also not worrying about deleting 99 of the 100 shots I've taken That's the fun about digital photography.



Best Regards

Steven, Chigwell, London, UK

[oleleclos]

there is a lot of value in understanding (not 'knowing' - but 'UNDERSTANDING') - First Principles.

That's very true. And understanding, at least for me, is much more elusive than knowing. One of the first such "Eureka moments" I remember in photography was when I understood exposure and how it affects density. An early, analogue understanding that still serves me well in the digital age.

But I'm not so sure I agree that this or that piece of equipment makes us worse photographers. I have worked with lots of kit, and while I have liked some more than some, each has been a tool to realise some idea or other. Used wrongly any tool can turn out duds, but I don't believe that, say, zoom lenses or pentaprism finders are in themselves at fault.

[pnodrog]

That's very true. And understanding, at least for me, is much more elusive than knowing. One of the first such "Eureka moments" I remember in photography was when I understood exposure and how it affects density. An early, analogue understanding that still serves me well in the digital age.

But I'm not so sure I agree that this or that piece of equipment makes us worse photographers. I have worked with lots of kit, and while I have liked some more than some, each has been a tool to realise some idea or other. Used wrongly any tool can turn out duds, but I don't believe that, say, zoom lenses or pentaprism finders are in themselves at fault.

Yes, equipment does not make you a better photographer it merely provides the tools to take photographs that can be printed bigger or taken under more difficult lighting conditions etc. Choosing a car and knowing how to drive it may help us get from one place to another but the most important bit is deciding where we want to go. I think photography is a bit the same - better understanding where you want to go with an image is where the true improvements are made.

Sorry if my first post was a little obscure but it seemed the simplest way to put it. If you want your photographs to be appreciated by others you have to be able to see your photographs as they do and that is far more difficult than it sounds.

[GrahamH]

Did occassional BW chemical work, lots of snaps with film.
What really happened for me was (two main points): -
a. Turning digital, allowing me to make more mistakes with less time between the event and the examination. Action and consequence were more closely matched.
b. The ability to crop was a HUGE learning advantage. I could take my original crappy pic and try multiple other options at a later time with fewer distractions. I may not have been able to make the original into a great shot, but the cropped version was usually far better. As time progressed I made fuller use of the full frame available (APS-C for me).

I still crop, but thats because I deliberately frame slightly larger than necessary as I usually have pixels to spare. Allows for straightening and for slightly different compositions/greater flexibility if someone else desires (e.g. real estate and they want more foreground or sky to present a different message, weddings - same sort of idea).
Undoubtedly, without digital I wouldn't have improved anywhere near as much I have to date - and lots of room for improvement.

Graham
Great thread.

[AB26]

Thanks for all the positive contributions. I hope all newbies and old hands will read and learn from the information in this thread.

There is a turning point in every photographers "career" where something "snaps in" and suddenly you see the "light", I believe so. Understanding how the whole process fits together, perhaps?

Please keep posting your experience, of what you feel made you a better photographer or has improved your ability to take better pictures.

[Stagecoach]

a) When I stopped concentrating on reading every technical review and posts from the 'cameramodelgearophobes' (not relavant to CiC) and concentrated on what I had.

b) Looking at great examples of what others had produced with similar equipment to me and thinking if they can do it I should be able to, eventually.

c) Experimenting with my camera, lens and lighting under controlled conditions, eg. tripod, mirror up and various settings to determine the IQ it 'could' achieve.

[LeoLeo]

Well,

Did my photography improved over last years? maybe, maybe not. What made me a better photographer? If there are two words to summarise this, will be Education and Practice, Practice correctly, to be precise.

Colin is so right, passing your knoledge to others will show your gaps and limitation, will give you that sense of understanding and more important, at least for me, tollerance to myself and to others.

Know rules to be able to bend it, know your gaps to avoid them, know your limits/limitations.

There are "dozzilions" of images/tutorials/movies/etc with wrong/incomplete or misleading "information", but so few when is about "why you took that picture?"

For myself, the momment when it was not necessary to explain my picture, become the moment when I told myself "well done, you finally learned something". I do not believe that I am a better photographer, I know that I just scratch the surface.

I am more convinced over and over that photography IS an intelectual process, not only emotional one. "The art of SEEing" can be learned, teach, pass to others, but you have to think, "why I takeing this picture?"

"People are results of enviroment and heredity". For photography is education and work, at lest for me.

Do I become a better photographer? NO, but I feel "better" with myself.

Leo

[sqjaw]

Learning from others and paying attention to what I am doing, Like what shutter speed or what F-stop to use,
what do I want the photo to be about, and some schooling also helps, But not least is the joy of doing what
I like:

[Hazeb1]

Taking the time to learn from CiC, and other sites, reading. talking with others and seeking guidence. Most importantly, I've practiced. I still have a long way to go, but I feel if you are genuinely interested in improving or have a goal, you will do what is needed to improve from a technical POV. As I improve, my pure enjoymnet of photography has continued to increase.

[Dave Humphries]

Like one or two others, I put great store in knowing the underlying principles.

When presented with a new situation, I feel this allows me to make informed choices and come home with acceptable results.

In fact understanding the principles is easier than learning everything "parrot fashion" because there are fewer principles than variations. I wish I could think of an analogy.


The other part is "doing it".
Knowing what you should do ahead of time doesn't always cover all the "eventualities" of life
There's no substitute for first hand experience; go get that experience and have fun.


That said, you can always learn from other's mistakes
I am equally sure other's learn from mine

[tbob]

In fact understanding the principles is easier than learning everything "parrot fashion" because there are fewer principles than variations. I wish I could think of an analogy.

Pretty much any task that requires thought, skill and manipulation of objects. And maybe making love

[William W]

I wish I could think of an analogy.

An analogy you might wish to use for one example is:

The AMOUNT of exposure TIME determines arresting (or not) of SUBJECT MOTION.

If that Basic Principle is understood, then it is really easy to understand why High Speed Sync often makes blurry images – which is a point Colin made recently, on another thread.

WW

[drjuice]

Taking my camera everywhere, even since I busted my L (non-dominant) elbow. Since I got my first 35mm camera in 1963, my camera(s) are stashed away someplace in my car, unless I'm taking pictures or uploading my images.

Asking for comments from somebody whose photography I admire.

Asking very specific questions about elements of the images when somebody with a combined background in design and photography is around.

But one thing always drives me crazy when I ask for comments is that very often the person giving the comments doesn't have an understanding of what the purpose of the image is. For example, one judge in a recent print photo contest where the title of the picture was Patterns under the Grape Arbor, commented that I wasn't using thirds properly even though the photographer (me) certainly intended to have the patterns completely covering the extent of the print (which they did).
In another case, I submitted an image that got the identical comment from the same judge for a picture that had such an accurate reflection that I got rid of everything in the picture that wasn't the original image that caught my eye and in its reflection because I didn't want to distract from the perfection of the reflection. I even lost track of which end was the top and had to look at the EXIF information in the original image.

I'm jes' sayin'....

v

[KCBrecks]

C in C, of course.

[WJT]

Starting out with a fully manual K 1000 was a good idea so I was forced to learn the basics. Learning from others on CiC has been my biggest advance without doubt, that said if you dont have thick skin and cant take advice or critique its a waste of time. When it comes down to practice, trying different styles of photography has been a good way to learn and getting out of my comfort zone. So much more to learn, "if your not growing your dying".

[drjuice]

Or, Wayne, as one of my friends has as her tagline in her signature block:

"If I've learned something on the day I pass away, it will have been a good day."

My personal cut is: "If you're not curious, you might as well be dead."

I'm jes' sayin'....

virginia