Four Ways to Improve Photography Techniques

Introduction: Looking at the Internet, whether it is 3C product forums or photography-specific discussion areas, there are all kinds of introductory photography tutorials. Talking about how to practice photography? What photography skills can be learned? This article is about me, a forever beginner, trying to summarize and share with you some of my experiences in learning photography after reading so many articles. Four Ways to Improve Your Photography

And as the title says, these are just ways, not formula-like instructions. But I try to avoid empty advice and dogmatic learning, and strive to make these four approaches a widely applicable guide to enlightenment in photography.

(1) Go buy an introductory book!

This is a piece of advice that makes people struggle. Do you need to know some hard knowledge about photography (aperture, shutter, ISO?), it has nothing to do with the creation of photography. Japanese photographer "Ume Kayo" (うめかよ) is a good example. Meijiayo uses a Canon EOS 5 film monocular, paired with a 50mm prime lens and Forever Fujifilm 400-degree film, and she only uses automatic mode!

Umejiayo's "Men" Series

Go Buy a basic photography book! Please note that it is not a manual for a certain product, but a teaching book that details the basics of aperture, shutter, ISO, various modes, focus, focal length, etc. This kind of book does not tell you the techniques of photography, it is like a small encyclopedia of photography. Buy a copy and keep it by your side. When you have any questions about photography or equipment, you can flip through it and get quick guidance. Although there is no shortage of such introductory teaching articles on the Internet, a published and systematically organized teaching book, with simple and concise text and illustrations, can very clearly explain everything from exposure, proper nouns, camera classification and operation. knowledge of principles. Although this knowledge cannot improve the quality of your works in a short period of time, it is the most steady and steady way to learn.

(2) Use a fixed focus lens!

Many photography creators often recommend that anyone who is interested in photography go back to shooting with film, whether it is a point-and-shoot camera or a SLR camera, the key point is It lies in retrieving the original intention of photography through formal nostalgia. Including forcing you to learn manual exposure, focus on composition, and careful shutter speed, film photography, as a constrained photography, forces photographers to think about each photo, the meaning of each shutter and themselves. Through this kind of ritual practice, we can better find the reason and goal of our approach to photography. Why not use a zoom lens? It goes without saying that the advantages of a zoom lens are that it is convenient and less aggressive. But a zoom lens takes away the ability to choose the focal length. This sentence sounds paradoxical, but the reality is that you will get lost in the zoom and be afraid to move. Using a zoom lens may seem like a flexible use of various focal lengths at first glance, but it can easily fall into the trap of photographers simply standing at a fixed point to take good photos.

Use different prime lenses! Use the wide-angle lens to capture tense landscapes and dramatic events; use the medium and telephoto standard lenses to photograph the people around you and daily life; use the telephoto lens to capture the people around you and your daily life. Care about all the little things. Understand the effects presented by each focal length, and then use a wide-angle lens to take pictures to see the interaction between people; use a standard lens to observe events instead of your eyes; use a telephoto lens to peek into the scenery and the world. Find the focal length that suits you best, measure the distance between you and the world you care about, and develop your own photographic eye.

But here is a special reminder for users with one eye. Generally speaking, prime lenses will be equipped with a large aperture, and the charming bokeh created by a large aperture is often more likely to cause people to be confused by the shallow depth of field than a zoom lens. Shallow depth of field does not mean good photos. Understand the application of good aperture, shutter and ISO sensitivity, and then try to use the field of view in your hands!

(3) Use the best equipment!

But in fact, there is no best equipment in the field of photography. (Maybe the most expensive ones) Usually experienced photographers will advise beginners to start with basic equipment. For single-eye lenses, it is the so-called entry-level kit lens set (such as Canon's hundreds-digit series and Nikon's thousands-digit series, please refer to official data). I think that with the development of camera technology, digital SLR cameras have been graded from professional models to entry-level models. Although the product segmentation is based on price, it is also the result of the layer-by-layer castration of the developed technology. In other words, users who buy an entry-level SLR will only buy a SLR with incomplete functions.

You don’t have to buy the best camera (but I recommend buying the best camera within your budget). Try to borrow or rent it, and then get to know this expensive but fully functional camera before shooting. What additional functions does the camera have? What are the uses of these functions? What is the difference between it and my own camera? What shortcomings does it make up for? What difficulties does it overcome?

The better the camera, the better the camera. The basic trend is to present better shooting quality and improve the success rate of shooting. But neither has anything to do with the content of the shoot.

If you use a $100,000 camera to capture an egg, it's still an egg; but if you use a convenience store camera worth $150 to capture the scene of a special event, that moment is art.

But after understanding the gap between the best equipment and yourself, you can think about, what can I overcome by myself? What do I don’t need? In this process, you will naturally It can improve your shooting skills. As for beginners who want to go straight to the top, I suggest reading the instruction manual that comes with the product (it is thick, but quite solid), and then use it as much as possible! The higher the level of the camera, the more it can make up for it. We have many shortcomings and can focus more on the content of photography itself.

(4) Eliminate photos!

You don’t have to delete photos, but don’t make them public hastily.

The value of a photo will not be immediately apparent at the moment of production, but will have different time and space values ??as time goes by. Therefore, I think there is no need to delete unsatisfactory photos rashly. Maybe you will look back at these photos in a few years and you will have different ideas. But eliminating photos is always a step that must be carried out ruthlessly before publishing a work. The very act of eliminating photos is a review and criticism of one's own photography. Because it is your own review, please listen to your own voice and feel the connection between each photo and yourself. Bear your own criticism well, but don't belittle yourself and give up on yourself. The act of eliminating works is like finding gold among millions of fine sands. People only ask about the gold, not how much sand has been washed away.

The elimination of photos can be carried out in several stages, selecting three hundred photos from one thousand photos, selecting one hundred photos from three hundred photos, and then selecting fifty photos from one hundred photos. Then pick ten out of fifty, and then pick out one out of ten.

Every elimination is like heartbreaking. Obviously this one is indistinguishable from this one, but you have to move forward and retreat from the two. In this process, you can clearly understand what you want? What elements do you really like? What do you really care about? What kind of photos make you happy? What kind of photos make you happy no matter what? Is it necessary to share, publish, and announce it to the world without hesitation?

The factors that affect this photo are not necessarily the composition, the skill of presentation, the effect of the equipment, or about a certain event . That factor will gradually emerge in the selection of photos one after another. Stop uploading and publishing photos hastily, calm down and think about the meaning of these photos and their relationship with you!

These four ways are what I think can be used as a self-taught photography beginner. Reference and practice the four directions. The first three directions mostly focus on basic knowledge and equipment, namely understanding the equipment, mastering the equipment, and overcoming the equipment. The last point, regarding the content of photography, is that photographers are expected to carefully review their own results, and develop the habit of sorting out and eliminating works, that is, improving the core spirit of photography and restraining themselves.

Finally, I wish all friends who are interested in photography can find their own photography.