photography tips
by Ken Marlow
Eric Kim has written his 100 photo tips with his last being: 'write your own list'. So here is my list (although mine is a work in progress and only 50 long):
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1. Not everyone will love all your photos.
2. Always shoot in RAW
4. Always shoot in manual. Except when you can't.
5. Don’t be afraid to bump up your ISO. Modern digital cameras are amazing.
6. Prime lenses will help you learn to become a better photographer
7. 35mm (on a full frame camera) is the ultimate walk around lens
8. An 85mm lens is the ultimate portrait lens
8. An 85mm lens is an amazing street lens for the less confident shooter
9. Wide lenses are 'easier' to start with for street photography than zoom lenses
9. Using 'crop' mode on a full frame gets an extra lens length for a loss in quality. 35mm = 52mm, 85mm = 128mm. Nice.
8. Thinktank's grippy neck-straps are amazing
9. Only show your best photos
10. Critique your photos and others
11. Use the histogram feature of your camera
12. Street photography sharpens your skills
13. A great photo makes real life look just slightly better than it looks through your eyes
14. Filters on your photos are ok. In fact they can help make a photo great.
15. UV filters are a must. Saves the glass on your lens.
16. Don’t explain your photos. You can title them.
17. Be happy to take 100 photos to get 1 good one.
18. Change the angle you take pictures from: crouch, find an elevated position etc.
19. Candid beats posed pictures
20. Use (and if necessary abuse) your camera equipment. Don’t wrap it in cotton wool.
21. There is no perfect equipment. Just take pictures with whatever you have.
22. Don’t take your DSLR to parties or other places you it would make you look like a twonk
23. Taking pictures of strangers is exhilarating
24. Make photographs, don’t take photographs
25. Travel and photography go together brilliantly
26. Try walking part of your commute to/from work but with a camera in your hand
27. Countryside landscape shots get boring quickly, architectural or city landscapes don't
28. Prime lenses rule.
29. Keep as many digital copies of your photos as possible. Three is good!
30. Your phone camera is an amazing camera. Use it more.
31. Black gaffer tape is your friend. Easy to hide your camera/lens logos - especially when travelling.
32. Underexposed generally beats over-exposed.
33. Grain is good.
34. Straight pictures are great.
35. Noisy photos beat blurry photos
36. No level of amazing equipment will make up for practice, skill and luck!
37. Natural light is so much better than studio lighting.
38. Better lenses don't make for better pictures.
39. Have confidence when you are interacting with photo subjects
40. Don't be afraid to explain the exact pose you want when shooting a portrait
39. Find your own style
40. Keep taking photos
41. Zoom lenses are versatile but make you lazy compared to prime lenses
41. So your lens can manage f/1. That doesn't mean you have to shoot wide open all the time.
42. Spend more time shooting and less time organising your photos
43. Make sure you have a good photo organising workflow or you won't enjoy your processing your photos.
44. Find a way to look at your best photos regularly: photo-books, digital album on your TV, share libraries on your phone, websites etc.
45. Be part of an online forum
46. Critique your own and others' photos
47. Get hold of some photo-books by famous photographers
48. Don't spend more time with your photo-books than taking photos!
49. Thanks to phones, everyone is a photographer
50. Write and/or update your own list
2. Always shoot in RAW
4. Always shoot in manual. Except when you can't.
5. Don’t be afraid to bump up your ISO. Modern digital cameras are amazing.
6. Prime lenses will help you learn to become a better photographer
7. 35mm (on a full frame camera) is the ultimate walk around lens
8. An 85mm lens is the ultimate portrait lens
8. An 85mm lens is an amazing street lens for the less confident shooter
9. Wide lenses are 'easier' to start with for street photography than zoom lenses
9. Using 'crop' mode on a full frame gets an extra lens length for a loss in quality. 35mm = 52mm, 85mm = 128mm. Nice.
8. Thinktank's grippy neck-straps are amazing
9. Only show your best photos
10. Critique your photos and others
11. Use the histogram feature of your camera
12. Street photography sharpens your skills
13. A great photo makes real life look just slightly better than it looks through your eyes
14. Filters on your photos are ok. In fact they can help make a photo great.
15. UV filters are a must. Saves the glass on your lens.
16. Don’t explain your photos. You can title them.
17. Be happy to take 100 photos to get 1 good one.
18. Change the angle you take pictures from: crouch, find an elevated position etc.
19. Candid beats posed pictures
20. Use (and if necessary abuse) your camera equipment. Don’t wrap it in cotton wool.
21. There is no perfect equipment. Just take pictures with whatever you have.
22. Don’t take your DSLR to parties or other places you it would make you look like a twonk
23. Taking pictures of strangers is exhilarating
24. Make photographs, don’t take photographs
25. Travel and photography go together brilliantly
26. Try walking part of your commute to/from work but with a camera in your hand
27. Countryside landscape shots get boring quickly, architectural or city landscapes don't
28. Prime lenses rule.
29. Keep as many digital copies of your photos as possible. Three is good!
30. Your phone camera is an amazing camera. Use it more.
31. Black gaffer tape is your friend. Easy to hide your camera/lens logos - especially when travelling.
32. Underexposed generally beats over-exposed.
33. Grain is good.
34. Straight pictures are great.
35. Noisy photos beat blurry photos
36. No level of amazing equipment will make up for practice, skill and luck!
37. Natural light is so much better than studio lighting.
38. Better lenses don't make for better pictures.
39. Have confidence when you are interacting with photo subjects
40. Don't be afraid to explain the exact pose you want when shooting a portrait
39. Find your own style
40. Keep taking photos
41. Zoom lenses are versatile but make you lazy compared to prime lenses
41. So your lens can manage f/1. That doesn't mean you have to shoot wide open all the time.
42. Spend more time shooting and less time organising your photos
43. Make sure you have a good photo organising workflow or you won't enjoy your processing your photos.
44. Find a way to look at your best photos regularly: photo-books, digital album on your TV, share libraries on your phone, websites etc.
45. Be part of an online forum
46. Critique your own and others' photos
47. Get hold of some photo-books by famous photographers
48. Don't spend more time with your photo-books than taking photos!
49. Thanks to phones, everyone is a photographer
50. Write and/or update your own list