My Top 8 Tips to Become a Great Photographer Fast!
Learning any skill in life requires following a few simple principles. The same principle exists in photography.
You can learn photography on your own, go to school or watch online photography courses and videos.
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However, you must understand how to go from point A to point B without losing your mind.
This article will teach you to increase your skills and go from an excellent photographer to a great photographer fast!
1. Pick a photography niche
There are many types of photography; you must choose the one you love the most. For example, you may have been impressed by a magazine’s landscape photographs from a trip to Jordan or how someone has captured an incredible portrait in a fashion magazine.
What Are the Different Types of Photography?
Birth
Edgy Boudoir
Branding
Children
Commercial
Corporate
Couples
Dance
Event
Family
Food
Landscape
Maternity
Motherhood
Nature
Newborn
Pet
Portraits
Seniors
Sports
Still Life
Street
Travel
Underwater
Wedding
Wildlife
What are the Different Types of Photography Styles?
Artistic
Classical
Conceptual
Day in the Life
Documentary
Editorial
Film (Exclusive)
Film (Hybrid)
Fine Art
Gallery Art
Lifestyle
Photojournalism
Portraits
I personally love photographing people.
- Find a mentor
When you finally understand what you want to photograph, you must find inspiration from top photographers in your area. That is to say, conduct research and find the most well-known photographers online.
When you check their work and what they do, try to look for a local photographer near you. You can search in Google by typing the term “portrait photographer in (type the name of your city).” After you get a bunch of results on the first and second page, check each one individually, look at what they do in their work, and ask if they need assistance.
You can list the ones you like, DM them on Instagram, and offer to assist them for free. Talk to them about your passion for photography and ask if they provide advice or need an assistant. This way, you will learn faster than doing everything on your own. If you need a mentor, I can help you out.
- Use the best lighting.
Photography is mainly learning how to use and control light. So, no matter what photography genre you are shooting, you must understand how to best use the light in your scene at any time of the day.
It might be ambient light that comes naturally from the sun or artificial light from using camera flashes, strobes, and other lighting equipment.
- As a landscape photographer, you must learn to shoot early in the morning when the light is soft, during the day, and at sunset when the most beautiful colors (golden hour) are revealed.
- A street photographer plays a lot with light and shadows in the city. It needs a lot of creativity and imagination to capture a great shot using many composition techniques and leading lines.
- Portrait photography is somehow the same. You can shoot close-up shots outdoors when it’s forecast or use reflectors and off-camera flash at sunset to create dramatic images.
- Follow a few Instagram accounts doing the work you love
Instagram is the most popular platform for many photographers. In the search bar, you can type the photography genre you are interested in following. Also, make sure to follow the photographs on the explorer page.
That page features the best photos from top photographers. Find some great photographers to follow and network with.
- When you come across images, you love to save them and then try to recreate them.
If you want to get better at what you do, you have to put in the work. First, create a list of photos you like from top photographers you follow or find online. Then, carefully study each image. Finally, question yourself how did this photographer take this photo?
What was he thinking, or what was he trying to communicate? A great way to check a photographer’s work is on Instagram. s. You can search for photos via hashtags per genre, camera, or lenses each photographer uses.
- Rule of thirds. Turn grids on your phone.
The rule of thirds is one of photography’s most famous composition techniques.
, turn the grid on your mobile device or digital camera. When you turn on the grid, you will notice four lines intersecting.
Place your subject where those lines intersect to create a better-looking image.
- Shoot everyday
Practice, practice, practice. You will not go further if you don’t apply what you learn. The essential part of photography is to take photos every single day.
Create a calendar and set a goal to practice daily for the next six months or a year. Each week, compare your best photos with the ones you took the previous week.
At the end of the month, select the top three or five and compare them again with the photos you took in the previous months.
- Learn post-processing
There are two ways to learn how to edit your images. First, you can do it on your mobile phone, tablet, or computer. Learning photo editing on a computer can increase the quality of your photos.
You can use programs such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One, Skylum, Affinity photo, etc. Photo editing on a mobile device is more straightforward.
You can use Snapseed, Darkroom, Lightroom, Photoshop mobile, and many other apps that provide filters for every photography genre. The difference between computer photo editing and mobile is that you have to do more detailed work, especially for clients and prints.
Summary
Turning from a good to a great photographer can take a few months of dedicated work.
The more time you put into learning and applying these simple photography principles, the faster you grow your photography skills.
Remember, photography’s most essential part is having fun and enjoying the journey!
To shorten your time to photography mastery and photo editing, follow me on my newsletter and Instagram.
