Among the many articles I have read here, at Photography Life, the most controversial are the ones that especially call my attention. Despite being against the polemics, I am in favor of sincere dialogue, because through dialogue we can grow internally too. In my opinion, there are several steps that one can take in order to make better pictures. Therefore, I invite you all to carry out a reflection on the subject.
Table of Contents
The Theme
The most important initial step is having some sort of a theme to your work (you might even call it a “project”). And the more specific, the better! For example, we can dedicate ourselves to take pictures of birds, but if we create a theme within the subject, our photos will be inherently better, as they will be related through something common. For example, one could study and photograph bird migration patterns, or perhaps photograph ecological problems that impact bird populations. With such themes, a variety of situations that normally would not come to mind when thinking about pictures of birds may emerge, making your work even more interesting.
Themes and photography projects are endless. For example, for portraiture, we can use a theme related to coffee workers and that’s exactly what I have done in this article. It is interesting how the more specific the subject becomes, the more captivating photography can get.
Location
The location is obviously very important – that’s where you shoot. Studying it, learning the best moments and times of light, the great possibilities of varying the angles and the best lenses to use for the particular location will be very important in yielding potentially stunning images. You must also know the location in order to be efficient with your time – the more you know, the faster and easier you will be able to execute a project. In the choice of lenses, you must take into account your theme / project, because depending on your approach, things like angle of view, focal length and maximum aperture might vary and change. In the case of coffee workers, for example, I used portrait lenses suitable to my style and I did not just concentrate on the portraits themselves – in many cases, I wanted to highlight the surrounding environment and the working conditions of the workers, which is very important.
The second plan is where we place the subject in the environment and, in this case, a wide-angle might be preferable in order to show what’s going on around the subject. This also does not mean that you cannot use telephoto lenses – sometimes telephoto lenses are even more preferable, as they allow focusing in one particular area of the scene, rather than introduce all the potentially undesirable clutter.
Now that our theme and location are set, it is time to reflect on our possibilities.
Possibilities
Many argue that photography is an elitist profession, full of people with financial possibilities. And it can certainly be true in some cases, especially when it comes to digital photography. If we take two skilled photographers and put them in a jungle in Borneo, Indonesia with different-level equipment and budgets to work with, it is expected that the one with the better gear and resources will yield better photographs. For example, if photographer A has limited gear, such as the Nikon D7100 with a kit 18-55mm lens and say a single telephoto lens such as the 70-300mm VR, with a 7 day deadline, whereas photographer B has a Nikon D5 with a collection of exquisite lenses such as the holy trinity (14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm), along with high-end super telephoto lenses such as the 200mm f/2, 400mm f/2.8 and 800mm f/5.6, and on top of that has all other tools and resources such as a helicopter, a plane, etc, with unlimited time on his/her hands, it is expected that the latter will produce much better work, simply due to the above factors. So in a way, gear and resources unfortunately do matter when it comes to possibilities, but it does not mean that we should ignore other factors such as knowledge, skill, patience, luck, etc. However, one must evaluate and understand their possibilities and limits – what we can and cannot do with the tools and resources we have today.
Understanding and knowing the tools you have today is very important. For example, if you shoot an event with other photographers who are shooting with 70-200mm lenses and you do not own such a lens, lenses such as the 105mm f/2.8 or other classic portrait lenses can produce similar, if not better quality images. Knowing your lens limitations, you might need to move around more and try different angles, but that’s the beauty – your gear will force you to get more creative than the others, which might actually make your images look better in comparison. If you photograph wildlife, you might not have the $10K 600mm f/4 that your neighboring photographer might be shooting with, but slap on a 200-500mm budget lens on your camera body and it is all about the subject and the light at that point. While he will be busy attaching his lens to a gimbal head, you are already out taking pictures hand-held and capturing those unique moments he is missing out on. Sometimes, it is as simple as waking up earlier than others that will give you the advantage. Many photographers are often lazy to get up early, but you know that it is all about that early morning and late afternoon light that makes a picture go from average to superb.
References
Studying good photographers and having references in your head is fundamental in growing your photography. It would be very naive on our part to think that we are the first to conceive this or that project. We should use tools such as Google before making our projects, and references will certainly arise. Nowadays, the level of photography is highly elevated – there are many amazing photographers out there. Right here, at Photography Life, you can find very young photographers who already get it right, whereas for many of us, it took years of practice to get to where they are today…
Studying known photographers and their work is important. If you shoot in Black and White, you should know who Henri Cartier-Bresson, Fan Ho and Sebastiao Salgado are. You should study their work, study their compositions and how they interpreted light. The same goes for all other types of photography – understanding and knowing masters of particular photography genres will help you in shaping who you are today and where you will be tomorrow. It will be a good reference point in your head and it will make you want to get better.
Humility
You might be a great photographer already. You might have the money to buy a high-end camera with an 800mm f/5.6 to parade everywhere you go. However, you might be walking on a thin line with your pride and arrogance, so watch out! At the end of the day, it is not about you – it is about what you can do for the world around you.
Be open and listen to what others have to say, because sometimes a little phrase might be the biggest tip of your life.
Mood
Be an joyful photographer. Look into your heart to see what you should do next, even if you are on your own and nobody wants to support you. Do not let others make your day gray!
And always remember the following:
“Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now”
Mark Knopfler
Happy shooting my friends!
Very nice articles and photos, especially the B&W ones – beautiful eyes of photo #3! I agree that it takes hard work and skills to translate your vision into compelling photographs as you have shared with us here. Thank you.
BTW. Nice quote from Mark Knopfler.
Thank you joe
I really like that you tell us to have a theme for photographs. This will help me to find what I really want to take pictures of. I know that I love taking pictures of people but I never thought to create a theme around them. It’s brilliant. Also, to really get to know other photographers is just what I needed to hear/read. How can I get better at what I love if I do not explore the work of those just like me.
I am just starting out and there is no way that I can afford the high end products but I don’t need them now. I just need to understand the equipment that I have and use it the best way I can. Thank you so much for this article.
Many thanks, Jennifer. I think much more important than having high end equipment, is simply go for it. The techniques you can explore the site or take the Nassim video course, which I’m sure will help you a lot. Good luck in your photos.
Sincerely,
Hi there,
Definitely helpful post. I really love it. how effective tips it is! I know NIKON D750 @ 24mm is the best for photography. But I think awesome photos depend on A major portion of photo editing process. Am I right? Whatever thanks for sharing a thoughtful advice. See you again.
Hello, Carlotta.
More or less. There is no good post processing if the image is not good, has poor lighting and does not have a good frame. So partly I disagree with you. The photographer’s look is definitely the most important. Post-processing is a supplement, but remember the great photos remembered by everyone were in a time well before the image editing programs, this proves that the most important thing is the photographer’s look. Thanks for the question and sorry for my lousy English.
Thank-you for sharing your thoughtful advice and wisdom. It is very welcome.
Enjoy the holidays.
Linda
Thank you linda
great photos andre thank ypu for sharing
Thank you fyzo.
I did not even realize that you cut off the heads in some of the images – as the photos are so direct – they capture the essence of the person – adding the top of their head would not have helped the composition or the point of the photo. Good call. Great photos.
Thank you Linda.
I came across your article at the most opportune time. My daughter and I are taking photography classes and having a wonderful time bonding in our little photography adventures and sharing our creativity and coaching each other, etc. But, some of the students in some of our classes definitely have bigger budgets than we do and some of the students have much more time – and these factors put a wet blanket on my daughter the other day. She thinks she will never be equipped sufficiently to make her mark, let alone compete. I tried encouraging her, but, what do I know – I am her mother! Your article is absolutely perfect and coming at the most appropriate time. Thank you for being realistic and inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
By the way, I think that the photographs you shared in the story are great. The photos are direct, human and thought provoking. Again, thanks for sharing.
Linda, thanks for your honest account. I’ll be honest, too. Today the photograph goes through a delicate moment. Many photographers, lots of cameras and few opportunities. Even then, even in a difficult situation like today, I do not think your daughter should be discouraged. The important thing is how we are going to sell our work and make money from photography. A brief suggestion is to combine photography with some other service. For example, graphic design, web design and learning how to market with it. The problem is not the equipment but creativity and market opening. Therefore, being a photographer, living in photography, today involves more than knowing photography. Perseverance, enjoying the profession is very important in this case. I see many people start taking pictures because they think being a photographer is an easy option to make quick insertion money in the market. This is a mistake. You have to be VERY dedicated and competitive, because there are a lot of good people out there. This is the time when the young person should look inside, make a self-analysis and feel if he is going to face the challenge for the rest of his life. I hope I’ve helped. Sincerely. André
My girlfriend often gives me a hard time about cutting off heads, but I believe instinctually we are driven to the subject’s eyes.
Hi Andre, My name is Yao and I’m a wedding photographer from avisionstudios.ca . Looking at your pictures all I can say is spectacular! One of my favorite type of photo styles is black and white and I’m always looking to learn from great photographers and sharing ideas. Thanks again for sharing! Yao.
Thank You Yao. Here is a great place to us talk about photography. See you
André
Love the article. In my humble opinion, I have many of those fancy lenses, and don’t need most. I went through the typical acquisition arc.
I prefer people as subjects. Nearly every time, the images that I cherish, come from my 50 MM prime or 85MM prime. I practice often, but I am reminded of early advice, if you don’t have the zoom, use your feet! The simplicity of your set up can add character to the image. Now, I will go to practice without the heavy lenses, and enjoy the freedom of the 50.
Kieran, You said one important word. Freedom. I think the freedom offered by primes is fantastic.