Photography Tip - Shoot every day
How much do you think a fairly good violin player practices every day? Twenty minutes? Eight hours? The answer probably lies somewhere in-between. The world renowned violin player Arve Tellefsen says that he practices 6-7 hours per day, every day, to maintain his skills.
In this article I've listed a few tips that I hope will help to improve your photography.
Always bring your camera
Goes pretty much without saying I guess, but it still needs to be remembered. Photography is many skills, and not all of them needs to be practiced using a big cumbersome camera. You can practice composition with a mobile phone camera. And an iPhone will do nicely for street photography as well, if you are quick enough to capture the moment when it happens. A small fast compact may be better though. The important thing is not to bring your main big camera with all its lenses all the time, but "a" camera, that lets you "think" and practice photography as often as you can.
Look around, and look back
When you are walking about in the world looking for subjects to shoot, always remember to turn around from time to time. Look at the things you have passed from a different direction.
See the light, and the shadows
I used to say that photography was all about light. That not correct. Light is the main tool in photography, together with the absence of light. What photography is actually about is up for heated debate I guess. Brooks Jensen of the fine art photography magazine LensWork says it is about the human condition. I kind of like that.
Take pictures of every day events
There should be plenty around, so not being able to find a motif is not an excuse. I have done this a few times. I had the camera standing ready on my nightstand and started shooting when I woke up. The series is not a great piece of art, but my family loves it and I got good practice.
Start a long term project
Take one picture every day for a year. Do a portrait every day for a month. Take a picture of every cat, dog or polar bear you come across. Having a long term project, makes you think and do more photography. Its great and I really advice you to give it a go.
Get a new camera or a new lens
Sounds silly? Well it is. But it works just the same. And if it works, don't fix it. Right? So if you feel that you need more photography in your life, get a new camera or a new lens. I can virtually guarantee that your picture-per-day-ratio will increase, for a while. If you need a tip on which camera or lens, just ask me on twitter.
Take a class, or get some coaching
This is a shameless plug I admit. I will answer your photography and photoshop related questions for free in a videoblog or screencast if you just send me an email or a message on twitter. More more info, check out the Photography Coaching page.