If you master the basic skills of aiming, taking, and photographing photo objects, now try to go further. Turn it into a hobby, or even a career, rather than simply targeting vacation photos, pets, and children. Now is the time to start making “amazing” photos, not just good ones.
Step
Step 1. Find someone who can help you buy a decent camera
Maybe your dad or a photographer friend has an unused but undamaged analog SLR camera. If you don't have a camera, borrow it until you can buy it yourself. Almost all digital cameras from the past ten years, and almost all film cameras that have ever existed, are good enough to take great pictures. And after all, having your own camera will certainly help a lot.
Step 2. Learn the basics, if you haven't already
The basics of photography include composition, which is essentially the placement of an object or subject in a photo frame, complete with lighting and the basic mechanics of your camera. Read “How to Take Better Photos” as an introductory material.
Step 3. Be alert
At least half the effort to get a good picture, the difference between a great photo and an ordinary one is the ability to be in the right place and time, camera in hand. Always carry a camera as often as possible. Make sure to use it often too. If you just carry it around, it's useless.
Step 4. Be present
Just "ready" is not enough. As Ken Rockwell said at the outset of his experience, Don't you catch the revealing word in my logic, "everything that presents itself?" I'm a spectator. At first I thought photography was just about capturing pictures of things that were passing by. Apparently not! You have to go out there and find those things. Finding and seeing for yourself-that's the hard part… taking pictures of what you find, that's the easy part.
Get up, go out there and take a photo. Go every time, every day, and look for everything. Don't just wait for the right opportunity to come your way (but be prepared if it does!); go and “find that opportunity”. Look for opportunities everywhere you go (whether in the mall or across the globe), and go places to grab them. If you see something in your mind, it can be arranged and a picture taken
Step 5. Stop looking for subjects to photograph
Learn to see.
- Look for color. Or do it the other way around: look for a complete absence of color, or shoot with black-and-white film.
- Look for repetition and rhythm. Or do the opposite: look for something that is completely isolated from everything around it.
- Look for the right lighting, and lack it. Take photos of shadows, or reflections, or light streaking through something, or things in complete darkness. Many people find the 'golden moment' (the last two hours before sunset) to be ideal conditions for photography. This is because the direct lighting conditions at that time can create depth in a photo if processed properly. However, this doesn't mean that people can't take pictures during the middle of the day, because the lighting at that time is also good. The sun when directly overhead can be viewed as harsh lighting conditions. Look for slightly misty lighting conditions, or open shade, so that the light is a bit softer. However, rules are made to be broken, right? Don't be too blind to follow the guide!
- Look for emotions and body cues when you're photographing people. Do they show happiness? Mischief? Sadness? Do they look dumbfounded? Or just looking like the average person who gets a little annoyed when they know there's a camera pointed at him?
- Look for textures, shapes, and patterns. Great black-and-white photos can look amazing because black-and-white forces photographers to look for these things.
- Look for contrast. Look for things that stand out from the rest when shooting images. In your composition, use a wide aperture zoom (or wide lens), step closer and take the picture. Look for contrasts in all of the above: color in the midst of dullness, light in the midst of darkness, and so on. If you photograph people, find happiness in unexpected places. Find someone in an environment that makes them seem foreign. Or ignore all of this and take the subject completely out of context by fully opening the lens to blur the background. In short…
- Look for anything that holds the viewer's interest, but isn't a traditional “subject.” As you find a niche or object of specialization, you may end up turning to shooting general subjects again. No problem. Looking for something that is not a "subject" will improve your photography skills. Soon you will see a completely different world.
Step 6. Keep your photos as simple as possible
Get as close as possible to the subject of the photo. Use the foot and zoom lens (if you have one) to adjust the composition. Remove anything that doesn't provide important context to fully understand your photo.
Step 7. Try shooting with a film or analog camera
If you've ever used an analog camera, don't forget a digital one. Both analog and digital cameras have their own uniqueness as tools that a photographer must learn. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses, and will teach different attitudes and habits. The worst habits in digital cameras will be balanced by good habits in analog devices, and vice versa.
- Digital cameras give you immediate feedback on what went wrong and right. This camera also reduces trial costs altogether. These two factors are very valuable for new photographers. However, the costlessness of using digital tools makes it too easy to fall into the "work and pray" habit, expecting good photos at the end of the printing process.
- Analog cameras force you to be more careful when taking pictures. Even a millionaire would be reluctant to sit around on a cruise ship taking thirty-six photos of his own bath towels. The economic incentive to take more pictures of an object will tend to lead to less experimentation (which is bad), but it makes you think harder before taking the picture (which can be great, if you already have an idea of what to take before hitting the button). What's more, analog cameras "still" have their own characteristics, and now you can also get professional quality analog cameras at very low prices.
Step 8. Show your best work to others
In a sense, “Find the best photos and just show them to others.” Even the most accomplished photographers can't make a perfect photo every time they take the camera; it's just that they are very selective about which photos they want to show others.
- Do not hesitate to be "brutal" about these photos. If it's not the "best" result, never show it. The standard of your work will improve over time, and even photos that were originally pretty good will look bad to you a few months later. If this means that all you have after a day of shooting is only one or two films that are considered good, then that's it. In fact, even this means that you haven't set yourself hard enough.
- Do not view photos in full size. Ken points out that the most important part of a photo is the one that cannot be seen when printed at thumbnail size or thumbnail. There are people out there who will denounce your photos once they are 100% printed. It's okay, because what they say is not worth paying attention to. Feel free to show photos that don't look good and take up a quarter of the screen (or less).
Step 9. Seek and listen to other people's criticism
Don't fall into the trap of posting "critique my photos" on the Internet; this will usually only attract rags critics as discussed above. It is good to seek constructive criticism. But be careful to listen to people's input.
- Listen to the artists. If someone has a number of works of art that they would like to show – photos, paintings, music or anything else – take it seriously, because artists instinctively understand the profound impact of a work of art, whether in its own field or not (but if your photos don't react, may be best removed). Most non-artists are, too, though not in a good position to say you're on the right track (and tend to be sweet to keep your feelings in check).
- Ignore all those who are harshly criticizing your photos and unable to show or have other better photos. Their opinion is not important.
- Determine what is right and wrong from your actions. If someone likes your photo, “What made him like it?” And if not, "Where did you go wrong?" As noted above, other “artists” may be better able to explain this.
- Don't be too modest if someone likes your photos. It's natural. All photographers like their best work to be praised, just like any normal human being. But don't let this put you off.
Step 10. Search and see other works that inspire you
Not only on the technically perfect work; Any (super-rich) clown can attach a 400mm f/2.8 lens to a digital SLR camera for IDR 39,787,800, - and successfully photograph a bird of good exposition, with super sharp photos, but “still” won't make them known to people Steve Cirone. Instead, look for works that make you smile, laugh, cry, or feel “anything” instead of making you think, “this object is well exposed and well focused”. If you're interested in humanities photos, check out Steve McCurry (photographer Afghan Girl), or studio photos by Annie Leibowitz. If you're active on Flickr or other photo-sharing websites, be on the lookout for works. inspiring people (though don't make you spend so much time in front of the computer that you don't have time to go out and take pictures yourself).
Step 11. Learn some technical knowledge of photographing
No, this is not the most important part about photography. In fact, this is considered one of the least important, so it's listed below; Just point the camera and take regular shots can get good photos, and even "much" more interesting than photos with perfect focus and exposition. It's also “very much better” than a photo that wasn't taken at all simply because the one holding the camera was more concerned with shooting technique.
However, it's still useful if you know knowledge such as shutter speed, aperture, focal length, etc., and what effect these settings have on the resulting photo. None of this knowledge will make a really bad photo great, but sometimes it can help you avoid losing a good photo to technical issues, and can make an already good photo even better
Step 12. Find your niche or specialization
You may find that you are quite good at photographing people. Or love to travel and be able to take landscape photos. Or maybe you have a giant telephoto lens and like to shoot racing motorbikes. Try them all! Find one you like, enjoy, and get good at, but don't limit yourself to just that.
Step 13. Create events and socialize
- You can socialize by opening an Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or other social media account. You can also join Getty images.
- Hold exhibition events near you.
Tips
- Try your best to make each shot the best it can be. Usually, one in twenty shots can be saved, one in a hundred is good too, one in a thousand is a "Wow" photo, and if you're lucky, there may be one photo in a lifetime that everyone can appreciate.
- Do not be discouraged. If your photos haven't shown any progress after a few days or weeks, keep trying! The art of photography does require patience and dedication.
- Print your best images in a large enough format.
- Don't rely on technical and post-processing tricks like HDR to make your photos great. If it looks boring on camera, delete it immediately or throw it away.
- Buy a modern book on photography. Try saving some time and buying used books, as long as they are relatively new or relevant. Look at many photography books before buying. Also read various magazines (music, people, house, garden, architecture, babies – whatever you like). How do the photos look? What did the photographer do to take these pictures?
- It's also good if you want to look at other people's photos, or pictures in photography magazines. Criticize the photos. List two positives and two things you would like to change about the photos.
- Do the shoot yourself and have someone else check your work.
- Almost every digital camera from ten years ago, and almost every analog camera that has ever existed, will be good enough to make good photos. Don't worry about equipment until you've mastered the basics of photography. Better yet, don't have to worry about photography equipment at all.
- Learn shooting tutorials. If you have the camera and the manual, “read the book” and play with the choices that are read. Read in a quiet, undisturbed place.
- Automatic settings are intentionally provided not for fun; this allows you to concentrate on capturing the perfect shot rather than dwelling on technical calculations that you shouldn't have to worry about. Use the camera's "Program" mode, if applicable, and use program shift to select various combinations of apertures and shutter speeds. If the result is good according to the "Manual", use it. There's nothing wrong with pretending you're in the 50s, when all kinds of camera automation didn't make you a "pro" photographer.
- There is always a photography magazine available wherever and wherever you go. Nothing is the same, indeed, because in the publishing world, photos are always edited to look perfect, but at least you can see examples of colors and shapes in 2 dimensions.
- When it comes to choosing a camera, you have to be careful. Just because you buy a camera for IDR 9,283,820, - doesn't mean the photos will be great right away. If you buy an expensive camera, take the time to learn about each of its functions.
- Do not want to pay dearly for the brand. Nikon cameras for beginners for Rp. 2,652,520, - for example, have many features in common (optical features, 4x zoom) with beginner cameras from other brands (which are usually even cheaper).
