My purpose for this thread is to be a place where we can all share things that have helped us be better photographers.
There are many brilliant photographers on FM who have built up a store of photography knowledge over a lifetime. It would be nice to have one place for all to go to get nuggets of wisdom on how to be better. My idea is that if you have something that has helped you be a better photographer you would share it here.
I’ll start. My favorite photography quote comes from the Great War photographer Robert Capa:
“If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
This advice is always in the front of my mind when photographing people. It’s the one piece of advice I give to people who ask me how to make their pictures better. I always say, “Get closer!” The vast majority of pictures I see online and from family and friends (of people) are shot wayyyyy too far away from the people. Yes, there are times when an environmental shot looks good with the people small in the frame, but in general, get closer.
Feel free to share your pithy nuggets of wisdom!
And here’s the great Robert Capa doing what he loved most:
I also like to interpret that quote as not only referring to physical distance and “zooming with your feet” but also emotional closeness. Photographing people you have a connection with can also make for powerful images.
mudlake wrote:
My purpose for this thread is to be a place where we can all share things that have helped us be better photographers.
There are many brilliant photographers on FM who have built up a store of photography knowledge over a lifetime. It would be nice to have one place for all to go to get nuggets of wisdom on how to be better. My idea is that if you have something that has helped you be a better photographer you would share it here.
I’ll start. My favorite photography quote comes from the Great War photographer Robert Capa:
“If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
This advice is always in the front of my mind when photographing people. It’s the one piece of advice I give to people who ask me how to make their pictures better. I always say, “Get closer!” The vast majority of pictures I see online and from family and friends (of people) are shot wayyyyy too far away from the people. Yes, there are times when an environmental shot looks good with the people small in the frame, but in general, get closer.
Feel free to share your pithy nuggets of wisdom!
And here’s the great Robert Capa doing what he loved most:
Yes, you are technically right about where a thread like this should be, but most people don’t go there. I like a lot of the many posters here in the Sony forum where I am 99% of the time. So I posted it here. And here it will remain.
mudlake wrote:
Yes, you are technically right about where a thread like this should be, but most people don’t go there. I like a lot of the many posters here in the Sony forum where I am 99% of the time. So I posted it here. And here it will remain.
Im with you on the method of getting closer to your subject, i has worked for me in my extreme macro as i dont crop for max detail and max perspective (in your face/real life)
sony a74 10x magnifacation
My recent favorite photography quote is from Garry Winogrand:
"Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed."
There is more than one way to interpret the meaning of this broad statement. For one trivial example, cropping can dramatically improve the "look" of an image. However, to me, this statement emphasizes the importance of post-processing in general, and in particular, the importance of using a good color profile as a starting point in processing from raw. It is quite remarkable how dramatically different the colors in a photo may look, depending on the choices made during processing. About 2.5 months ago, I started using Capture One as the main processing app (together with DxO Photolab, and occasionally Topaz) and I think this adoption of C1 has made a major impact on my photography.
In the current stage of my development as a photographer (at least, as I think about this myself), the processing stage seems to be considerably more important than the actual tools that I am using to obtain the raw files. On the latest trip last October, I deliberately used a FF camera (Sony A1) along with a micro-four-thirds canera (OM-1 II). I used the two systems interchangeably. Now, when processing the photos, I believe I see that I might have reached the technical level when the (self-assesed) quality of my photos does not depend on the system I use, and is determined by my present general photography skills and vision, including the post-processing skills.
ruthenium wrote:
My recent favorite photography quote is from Garry Winogrand:
"Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed."
100% correct.
Many people can spot something that looks beautiful or interesting and then make a snap of it. But 99% of the time it won't work as a photograph, it's just a "photographic document" of where I was or what happened.
Real photographers, though, have a feeling for how something looks as a photo, and they either find a good way to photograph it in the right way (right focal length, right lighting, right DOF, right composition etc.) or quickly dismiss it as not suited for a photo.
We all know the situation when we are in a really beautiful landscape but have to admit that there simply is no photo to be had.
ruthenium wrote:
My recent favorite photography quote is from Garry Winogrand:
"Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed." [...]
Yes. But Garry said a lot of things. For example: "The photograph should be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed."
It can be hard.
mudlake wrote:
[...]My idea is that if you have something that has helped you be a better photographer you would share it here.[...]
I think i have learned some and perhaps even got a bit better thanks to discussions with other photographers and people interested in images. The discussions has been held in real life (the best way) and on-line. The latter has worked as well if the critique and comments have been somewhat formalized.
Jonas B wrote:
Yes. But Garry said a lot of things. For example: "The photograph should be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed."
It can be hard.
Don't we all (may say "a lot of things)? This is perfectly human and normal, and the same person can say different, possibly contradictory, things at different times in life.
There is much truth in this quote. Indeed, we can reasonably expect that the better photographs might be "eye-opening" for a viewer by revealing and emphasizing (through processing) either certain beautiful aspects of a subject that might be visible to the trained eye of a good photographer, yet not others', or something genuinely interesting that might not be obvious to everyone.
Quotes like these should not be understood as divine, coming from gods and expressing an unquestionable truth.
mudlake wrote:
My purpose for this thread is to be a place where we can all share things that have helped us be better photographers.
There are many brilliant photographers on FM who have built up a store of photography knowledge over a lifetime. It would be nice to have one place for all to go to get nuggets of wisdom on how to be better. My idea is that if you have something that has helped you be a better photographer you would share it here.
I’ll start. My favorite photography quote comes from the Great War photographer Robert Capa:
“If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
This advice is always in the front of my mind when photographing people. It’s the one piece of advice I give to people who ask me how to make their pictures better. I always say, “Get closer!” The vast majority of pictures I see online and from family and friends (of people) are shot wayyyyy too far away from the people. Yes, there are times when an environmental shot looks good with the people small in the frame, but in general, get closer.
Feel free to share your pithy nuggets of wisdom!
And here’s the great Robert Capa doing what he loved most:
First, and related to the “you’re not close enough” quote… my father was an enthusiastic and talented amateur photographer. (Perhaps related to his lifelong interest in educational technology, something that let him to a doctorate from Columbia, apparently the second awarded with that focus.) He started all of us at a young age and had a brilliant strategy for getting us to slow down and think. He paid for the processing, but we had to pay for the film. That made us think twice before pressing that shutter release. but relevant to your point, I can still hear him saying, as we made photographs, “Take three steps closer!”
Second, I’m not sure how or whether it fits this thread, but I’ve been incredibly fortunate to from personal relationships with several somewhat renowned photographers. Getting past the fan stage with them and just becoming friends has made a huge difference. I may return and tell a few stories about that…
'Many people can spot something that looks beautiful or interesting and then make a snap of it. But 99% of the time it won't work as a photograph'
We are forced to learn how to identify compositions that look great but photograph poorly, and compositions that look ordinary but make for wonderful photographs. Absolutely key for travel photography, and one reason to photograph people, as human subjects almost always have something to offer photographically.
You have to see what the lens sees, what the sensor gets from the lens. Mirrorless' greatest advantage.
Before taking the shot (if time permits) spend 30-60 seconds on framing and perfecting the angle and placement of the camera, omitting extraneous material if possible, arranging elements to make them work harmoniously in the ensuing image. Separate this creative stage fro your technical settings, do one then the other. This is left brain-right brain swapping, make sure both work properly.
Develop habits before setting out, as you check your gear and bag, start thinking about what and how you will work. Habits assist you in entering the zone of creative 'flow', and take you away from the mundane world. You will know when you arrive in the zone, because the successful images come one after the other, in sequence. Devote yourself to getting the best out of yourself, regardless of weather, other people, etc. 'Luck' is the nexus between preparation and opportunity.
