In a consumer society it often becomes a programmed response that we need a new camera, lens or the latest software to life our work. But have we really obtained all we can from what we have? It is very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that we can just do something when …
Just as revisiting your previous work to see if it can be improved is good, so is revisiting favorite subject matter or places. With the wealth of subject matter and locations that most of us have access to, there is a huge urge to not revisit something or someplace we have already worked but to …
As photographers and artists we are usually focused on the individual image or work. This is fine, as far as it goes. Indeed it is necessary for creating that stunning image. But it is not the only option. We rarely use images by themselves. In an article there will be several, in a book a …
Avoiding stagnation in your creativity is an ongoing task. It is very easy to settle into a rut. This is a normal but regrettable state of affairs. It is regrettable because it is so easy to do and so many ideas in our culture teach us that stability is good. Stability, perhaps yes, but stagnation …
It is hard to judge our images completely when we only examine them on screen. Especially since the arrival of digital, many of us do not print images as much as we used to. Images look different in print than they do on the screen. You can gain a different perspective. The key to the …
The way SLRs are being sold today may not be doing your photography any favors. Fix this by the purchase of one extra lens. Today when you buy an SLR, whether analog or digital, it either is a body only or it comes with a zoom lens. Kits zooms are usually ok lenses but with …
There is no point shooting a lot if you never analyze what you have done. The process that should go hand-in-hand with shooting more is analyzing more. Analyze more means to bring more conscious consideration to all the images you look at, both yours and other people’s, and to setting aside the time to actually …
Ideas of natural talent are being overturned by a focus on practice. Practice makes perfect. Like many skills, photography requires practice, practice and more practice. Recent research is presenting a convincing case that our old ideas about some people possessing natural talent and genius are wrong. Sure, people may have a natural predisposition in certain …
Other people’s reviews can assist you when making a purchase decision. But once you have your gear, you need to do your own testing. Reading the manuals is only the first step of getting the most from your camera gear, you have to become familiar with how it actual works in practice. This means playing …
Clean images are not always what we want. So let’s dirty up your photography. If you think back to analogue photography, we often made use of very grainy film, soft focus, blur or rough forms of printing to create a particular look. There is no reason not to do the same with digital. There are …