I have been into photography for awhile and have some nice photos (atleast I think so).
However I have always been....take the picture, and look at at the LCD to see if I need to retake it. (most time I use aperature priority.)
I would like to get to the point of where I can take one picture and have it come out the way that I want. I really don't know about meters or anything like that.
Shoot medium format or larger format film cameras for a couple of years. I don't mean to sound trite, but the the very act of using these mediums properly and the cost of the film and processing will make the "preparation" for the shot so important the percentage of first shots being keepers will absolutely go up. This may not very be a very practical solution so using a tripod will be a second solution as it will force a degree of care and thought that may be lacking handheld. All these are just methods to "think through" the shot fully before firing the shutter.
It's aimed at landscape shooters, but most of it applies to all photography.
Part of getting better is knowing your gear intimately, so that you can focus (literally and figuratively) on the composition and not think about the stuff in your hands.
well aside from going out and buying a very expensive medium format system just to practice with, or reading novels, i found the best way is to sit back at examine the pics straight from the camera. forget what works about the shot, but focus on what is wrong with the shot and try to figure out what you could have done to avoid that. keeping these in mind will help you with things like metering, proper composition and making sure you have a fast enough shutter speed.
1) Buy a book that focuses on SLR photography and discusses metering, exposure, composition, depth of field, etc. I actually recommend looking for a book originally intended for film SLRs; it will have all the important stuff about actually taking the picture and no junk about computers, the internet, compact digital cameras etc, that have nothing to do with photography. Plus, if it says "film" on the cover, it will probably be on clearance.
2) Start using a tripod, if you are not already. Go out for a day of shooting and set up your tripod for every shot. Once you are freed of thinking about shutter speed and the position of your body, it sets up a whole lot of new options.
