11 Actionable Things You And I Can Do To Improve Our Photography in 2023. And also some more thoughts on the last episode, What Is Photography? My 2023 Update On What Photography Actually Is.
Hi and welcome to Episode 148 of the Photography Explained podcast. I’m your host Rick, and in each episode I will try to explain one photographic to you in plain English, in less than 27 minutes (ish), without the irrelevant details. What I tell you is based on my lifetime of photographic experience. And not Google. Not in this episode.
First – here is the answery bit
The 11 actionable things that you and I can do to improve our photography in 2023 are
- Get out more and take photos
- Learn to use all our gear properly
- Start all over again
- Simplify and get rid of distractions
- Really think about composition
Ok – I had to stop there – if I didn’t do this I would have been in danger of creating an hour long episode, and I don’t think any of us are ready for that yet are we? Well I’m not yet, it’s only been 148 episodes after all! So I am saving the last 6 for episode 149. Well I want to do this good stuff justice ok?
So you will just have to wait for 6-11…..
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!
These things don’t cost a penny, they don’t cost a cent, these are just ways of taking what we have, what we know, and thinking afresh about how to take better photos.
Right – here are 1-5
1 Get out more and take photos
The number one way for you and me to improve our photography in 2023 is to get out more and take photos. And this is deliberately worded. Get out more and take photos.
Not get out and take more photos necessarily. Oh no.
I guess an even better way of putting this is “get out more but take less photos”. There I have said it.
What do I mean?
Well, every time we go out and take photos we are creating something new. Every time we go out and take photos we are thinking of creating something new, and that something new we will have forever. We are thinking creatively, and are putting into practise everything that we have learned. And in practising what we have learned, by applying all this good stuff, we should be improving as well.
When you are out taking photos, really think about what you are taking a photo of and why. I don’t want to go too deep into this, that is not my way of course. Think of it like this – would you rather have a couple of really interesting photos to work on when you get home, or hundreds of average photos to wade through to find a decent photo to work with?
I know which I would rather have.
One decent photo and I am happy.
Every time we go out and take photos we are creating new stuff – this is the point of photography to me – creating new stuff.
Learn to use all our gear properly
I used to buy gear, lots of gear. I used to think that the more gear that I had the better a photographer I would become. And quite the reverse is the case.
And I rarely learned how to use the gear properly.
That includes cameras. Yes cameras. I bought a Canon 400D years ago, just before I went into full frame cameras. I was upgrading from my starter Canon EOS 100FN, I think it was. Well it was a few years ago to be fair, and let’s not forget I can barely remember yesterday!
No I bought a Canon 400D with a few minutes research, and when it arrived I just went out and started using it. I was disappointed with the results so I quickly sold it and got another camera.
Yes I really did this.
It wasn’t the camera that was at fault – it was me. But I thought that the camera was no good. I really did. So sorry Canon, it’s not your fault.
And I have bought loads of other gear that I have never learned to use properly. I have even bought gear that I have never used, shame on me.
Learn to use what you have. And let’s take this a step further – if you have gear that you do not need get rid of it.
I have a one year rule. If I have stuff that I do not use after a year I get rid of it. Yes I have really done this, and had a few selling frenzies.
And that has left me with a small amount of essential gear that I need and use. And that is the gear that I have practised with, and learned inside out.
I know there isn’t a lot to a tripod or a tripod, head, but you still need to practise with it and your camera and any lenses that you have, which will help you take photos more easily. Do this at home when you don’t have time pressures, don’t do what I did and take some new kit and try it out in critical situations.
You should learn your camera inside out though, and know what it does, what it can do, what it cannot do, what its’s limitations are. How to get the best out of your camera. You have spent a lot of money on a camera right, so why wouldn’t you do this?
And you should pack the stuff that you need and use in your camera bag and make sure that it all has a home of it’s own, is all safe and nicely protected, and you can get to it all.
Start all over again
I have just done this. It was going to be 10 things but this made it 11. I have gone back to basics, gone back to how I take photos, and started to rethink everything. And where has this got me?
Well it has got me thinking to be less rigid. I have come up with workflows for image capture and processing that are the most efficient that they can be. Very defined processes that make me the leanest meanest most efficient photographer.
But they are boring.
Plain boring.
So I have given myself a break, and allowed myself the freedom to have fun. Sure when I am working taking photos I get the photos that I need to get, but I also allow myself the freedom to try new stuff. And to be less regimented in how I take and process photos.
I have been writing about photos that I have taken over the years on my blog, and this has been a big part of the process. As has re editing photos that I edited years ago.
So if you have been doing this for years you might want to have a rethink about what you are doing, and why and how you are doing it
And if you are new to photography and struggling then you might want to do the same.
And either way it might just be a case of giving yourself a break like I did, relaxing and enjoying taking photos. This can make a real difference – it did to me!
And if you are struggling and need help get in touch and let’s see how I can help you.
Simplify and get rid of distractions
Another favourite of mine, and something else that I am a little too obsessed with.
What distractions am I talking about here?
Gear – I have got rid of loads of photography gear. I have less gear now than ever.
Software. I used to have every photo editing software product out there. And I was rubbish at all of them. Now I use Lightroom only. I have got rid of everything else. Ok I use Luminar to change skies, and Photoshop to remove the odd thing, but that is all. I have got rid of everything else.
And as a result I am quite good with Lightroom.
What I take photos of.
Now this is a biggy to me. I used to be all things to all people. I would photograph anything and everything. Quite literally.
I was average at a lot of things, and had a lot of gear too. I know I mentioned that but this is relevant here too.
And I was always trying new things, always looking for more gear, for new ways of doing things.
And I was getting nowhere with my photography.
And when I ditched the distractions and decided that I was going to do one thing, photograph buildings, everything changed.
I simplified every aspect of my photography, got rid of the distractions, and focussed on my one thing.
Really think about composition
Think about each and every photo that you take before you take the photo. And once you have decided that you want to take a photo take time to get the best composition that you can. See the composition is all that other people are looking at – what you include in a photo and what you do not include. And how you include stuff.
Composition is king people – the better the composition the better the photo. I would much rather you spent 20 minutes taking one photo rather than 20 minutes and taking 20 photos of the same thing.
More on this in an upcoming episode – yes composition really is that important in photography.
The talky bit
You might have noticed by now that a lot of what I keep banging on about is all about the taking of the photos. It is about everything up to the point where you take the photo. Everything up to that point has an influence on the photo that you are taking.
Photography is drawing with light, so everything up to that moment when you press the shutter release, when you capture that light, all combines into the photo that you are taking.
If this all sounds vague and woolly let me explain.
What is the most important thing in photography? What is the most important thing in your photography? What is the most important thing in my photography?
Simple. It is what is in the photos that we share with the outside world. That is what it important. I used to get hung up on so much of the other stuff, very much to the detriment of my photography.
Of course gear is important, of course getting photos technically correct is important. Of course they are.
But what you are taking a photo of is much more important.
That is all that I want to say here. I could go on, but I won’t.
Right – talky bit over – what if I use a phone and not a camera?
Same thing applies. And that is part of the point of singling out this question – what if I use a phone to take photos and not camera. It is fine. A phone is a device that you can use to take photos.
And everything that I have said here applies. And this can transport you from taking “snaps” to great photos.
Don’t let the fact that you are using a phone rather than a camera devalue your photography. No, treat your phone just like a camera and think about what you are doing.
Like I say, everything that I have talked about here applies whatever you take your photos with.
What do I do?
I have started getting out more again and taking photos. I have been taking less photos for many years now, and still enjoying just having a couple of decent captures to work on rather than hundreds of average/ rubbish photos. This has got rid of the problem that I used to have of how to decide which photos to edit.
No those days are long gone. But that is what I used to do, just go out and take endless mediocre photos. And then get back home and have hundreds of photos, and no idea what to do next.
These days I genuinely go out looking to get one photo. Of course on a client shoot I get the photos that I have to, but if the client wants 30 photos I try to take 30 photos and no more. Of course this never happens, there are always photos that don’t get used, but a lot less than there used to be.
I think that my approach used to be to take loads of photos and then make one of them great in Lightroom. Yep I had that the wrong way round!
I have learned to use all my gear properly
I have done this. I went through the Canon 6D manual from start to end. It was interesting to do this. OK it had its dull bits, but I learnt lots that I did not know. And in doing this I have set up my camera to work to its best for me. And that was invaluable.
And I have sat at home and put all my gear together to make sure that I can use it almost with my eyes closed. I was going to say in the dark, not quite but almost. And if it was that dark what would I be photographing anyways?
I use less gear now than ever, and I love it. This is one for another episode.
Start all over again
I have gone back to the beginning and this has really refreshed how I view my photography. It really has and I have immediately started to create better, more interesting photos. Not many but that is part of the point.
Simplify and get rid of distractions
I do what I do and that is that. I am not constantly looking to change things. I am thinking about what I do and how I can do that better. But I don’t have a closed mind to learning, developing, growing, trying new things.
Really think about composition
My top tip to get the best composition that you can is this – walk around. This is what I do. I walk around and look. I see what there is that I can photograph, and I look at the light, and see how it is lighting a scene.
I look at the various things that I want to photograph and how they relate to each other.
I will do this first and then decide what I want to take a photo of. This is when I get my camera out and look at compositions – putting my camera to my eye gives me the boundaries of what I can include in a photo, and what I am leaving out.
This is the thing that I do before I take every photo. And doing this I take less photos than I ever have, and the photos that I take are better.
Some thoughts from the last episode
On reflection a dodgy title for sure, but there was some good stuff in there (if I do say so myself in brackets). So much so that I have three episodes scheduled that are a direct result of this one episode.
Photography is drawing with light, so is light important in photos? Of course it is. And you can use light to make your photos better.
And I want to resolve the burning question of the day – if you are in a room at night with the lights off is there no light, or is the light just dark? I might never get to the bottom of this, but I will give it a go ok?
That’s enough for this episode, time to move on. Three more episodes on my list which is good.
Next episode
Well part 2 of course, the other 6 things out of my 11 actionable things you and I can do to improve our photography in 2023. So, 11 Actionable Things You And I Can Do To Improve Our Photography in 2023 – Part 2 it is then!
And now some stuff for you to do
First off, if you have a photography question you want me to answer in plain English, in less than 27minutes (ish) but still without the irrelevant details, just head over to PhotographyExplainedPodcast.com/start where you can find out what to do. Or just say hi. It would be lovely to hear from you.
And a favour or two
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That’s all.
This episode was brought to you by, erm, a good old cheese and pickle sandwich and a bag of salt and vinegar crisps all washed down with a Diet Pepsi before I settled down in my home-made, acoustically cushioned recording emporium.
I’ve been Rick McEvoy, thanks again very much for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast (it says here), and for giving me between 20 and 30 (ish) minutes of your valuable time.
Take care, stay safe
Cheers from me Rick
OK – that was the podcast episode.
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Thank you
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Cheers from me Rick
