DigitalPro Shooter Volume 2, Issue 1, January 6th, 2003
Happy New Year and welcome to DPS 2-1. This issue marks our second year of publishing DigitalPro Shooter, the industry's leading newsletter for serious digital photographers. We ring in 2003 with over 10 times as many subscribers as we had this time last year. Clearly digital photography is alive and well!
We've already heard from many of our readers that one of their big New Year's resolutions is to improve their photography. Continued learning is certainly on our personal list every year! So in this issue we present our top 10 ways to improve your photography this year:
10. Get out and shoot! Really this is the single most important tip. If you don't shoot, you can't improve. Reading a book, a website, or even this newsletter isn't any good if you don't get out and shoot. If you can't get out, shoot around the house. Just using your equipment and staying sharp is important, even if you aren't out shooting your favorite subjects.
9. Experiment. Don't just shoot the way you're comfortable or the subjects with which you're comfortable. Try new techniques. Whether you get ideas from thin air or by seeing images that make you say, "How did they do that?", give them a try. Especially with digital where images are "free", it only costs a little time to experiment and good things can happen. Try shooting scenics with your telephoto, or wildlife with your wide angle. Or instead of getting every image sharp, work on some well-planned motion blur. You get the idea.
8. Practice. If experimenting is trying something new, practice is working on what you already know how to do. Just like any other skill, staying sharp as a photographer is easier if you practice. You can practice panning without wild animals or athletes, using pets, cars, or even passing airplanes. You can practice judging white balance anytime. And quickly framing and composing--not to mention honing your vision to see what the camera will see for subject and background--can be done anywhere.
7. Decide. Deciding you want to improve is a big piece of getting started. Many shooters are quick to make excuses for their photography. And as long as you're enjoying your shooting, there is no requirement that you improve. But if you want to, then instead of spending energy thinking of reasons that you can't improve, spend the same energy on making progress.
6. Read. There are plenty of excellent digital photography websites & an increasing number of books. But don't believe everything you read. Personally, we look at the accompanying images to see if the author can deliver the goods.
5. Look. Sometimes just looking at photographs is enough to help you learn. Seeing what is possible can help inspire you to learn how to produce similar images yourself.
4. Learn. There are many great photography workshops. Take one from someone who's advice and style you trust. In particular, if you want to improve, take one from someone willing to tell you when your images don't work. Getting candid feedback is essential. If you're interested in wildlife photography, Moose has just announced his 2003 safari schedule, and I've announced that I'll be leading a trip back to Alaska to photograph Grizzly Bears & Puffins. If landscapes are more your style, the Digital Landscape Workshop Series is being offered.
3. Borrow. It's always tempting to think that more or better gear will improve your photography. Sometimes it will. And there will always be enthusiastic endorsements for any new piece of equipment. But the cheapest and easiest way to decide whether a new camera or lens will allow you to take better images is to borrow or rent it and put it to the test. Then you can decide based on your shooting style.
2. Expand. Don't just work on your own specialty. Learning to shoot new subjects in new ways will make you a better overall photographer.
1. Share. All of us have photographs we love. But our art and skill is also judged by how our work is perceived by our peers.
Recent threads include Studio Lighting in the Portrait Forum and Custom Tone Curves in the Software Tools forum.
Remember that DigitalPro supports many different filing styles. You can use a traditional stock filing system based on subjects and locations, or a date based filing system using the automatic creation of new folders based on the image name, date and time. If you do some of each you can use both systems and select each time you file a set of images.