This post is designed to help anybody interested in photography to improve their photography skills. Whether you are hoping to start a career in content creation or you just want to pursue it as a hobby – I wanted to share my experience and give you tips that helped me.
I presume you know the basics of manual shooting and setting your ISO, aperture and so on.
Set Yourself Up For Success
Rather under-expose your picture! You can always bring the shadows back, but highlights will be blown out if over-exposed.
Shoot in RAW to make post-editing possible and to achieve best results.
Always straighten your horizon! It’s such an easy thing to fix, however, I see so many creators still not doing it.
Photo Tip #1: Upgrade Your Photography Gear
Since I was 11 years old – I have been starting to take photos. From a disposable camera with 25 picture film, to pocket digital cameras and to my first DSLR.
I started off with a Canon EOS 600D and a Canon 18-135mm lens and was super happy for the longest time. Back then it was a huge step forward and the lens was perfect for travelling, covering a range of scenes.
However, the biggest game-changer that helped to improve my photography skills was upgrading to my now Canon EOS 6D. The full frame is everything I knew was missing. All my photos are shot on a Sigma 24-70mm lens, a more affordable option to the Canon counterpart.
Although this new camera made a huge difference in my work – ultimately its the person taking the photo, that counts. You dont need to have the best equipment if you dont know how to use it.
And, you don’t need the best equipment when starting out either. Big content creators or companies might have the budget and know they’re going to make it back. Most of them also started out with whatever they had back then and upgraded later on.
Photo Tip #2: Using Grid Lines
You might have heard of the Rule of Thirds or The Golden Ratio – to place your subject on one of those points makes it more pleasing on the viewer’s eye. On top of this, there are a couple of other grid outlines that also highlight the subject(s).
When you edit your picture in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, go to the Crop Tool to activate it and see the grid lines available.
Go ahead and press ‘O’ on your keyboard to jump to the different options and ‘O+Shift’ to change the direction of certain grid lines.
Cropping your photo according to those grid lines can definitely transform your photo and put the focus on the subject!
The way to mastering any skill is to keep practising it – over and over again.
Photo Tip #3: Get Feedback
Sometimes we are too close to our own work to see what we could have than better and improve. There is tremendous value in tips from people who are further down the line.
The best place I found is Facebook groups such as ‘Fstoppers’ or ‘Photography and Friends’.
Photo Tip #4: Develop Your Photo Editing Style
I think photo editing must be the most fun part when it comes to improving your photography skills. Don’t get me wrong, I love taking photos but post-processing is where I relax and enjoy the work the most.
The better you set your settings when taking the photos, the less you have to work on – just keep this in mind.
Photo editing is definitely a learning curve and your still will probably change over time.
To learn more about photo editing you can check out these content creators on YouTube. I love watching their tutorials and vlogs and got lots of value out of it!
Peter McKinnon I Maarten Schrader (got a photo editing course) I Sawyer Hartman
You could also go ahead and start off by purchasing a preset. This will instantly transform your photos and give you a better idea on how to achieve certain edits.
If you are a travel brand ready to uplevel your social media activities I would love to have a chat. Feel free to have a look at my photography portfolios and drop me a message if it resonates with you.
Photo Tip #5: Keep Educating Yourself
Photography trends constantly change, so staying on top of that will be a huge benefit!
Take a look into an editing class at SkillShare, Udemy or watch tutorials on YouTube.
Photography Skills: Courses & Programs
I think one of the best investments you can make is to join one of those amazing photography programs, created by people who are already successful and whom you might be following already.
In the end, improving your photography skills is an art form, a fantastic way to express yourself with through. It’s one of the best ways to bring your brand to life. It gives you the chance to show the essence of you and your brand, showcase your products and tell a story.
From there, its a matter of expanding on other creative outlets such as videography and animation – to really mix things up and catch your viewer’s eye.
To get 10 additional tips on how you can improve your photography skills – download my FREE photography checklist and get started!
Keep creating! x Christin
