I have a really simple formula to success.

There are several components - not steps - that I use to communicate this to all photographers at all levels looking to improve their "game."

As Wallen suggest a camera is important, but not as important as you might think. And it's a technique used in movie production - storyboarding. But, in the context of still photography, it is referred to as previsualization.

This requires that you look at your scene, decide what is important and what isn't, and asking yourself why am I taking THIS picture.

Forgetting about fstops, metering, autofocus, and all of the techno-babble often brought up in discussions like these - just take the picture. But don't just take one - take several, changing your position each time. If possible change the time of day - early AM/PM, night, cloudy/sunny, etc. You will end up with widely different images. The goal is to "study" your subject in all ways possible.

You then compare your previsualization with the outcome. And this is perhaps the most important component that will help you advance your knowledge and improve your result. Ask yourself "how close did I come to my goal?" and if not very close, "what could I do to improve the result?"

There is not enough said about self-critique in these discussions. It is intangible, uniquely personal, and difficult to pin down, as it is constantly changing.

The answers can be simply making different exposure and camera setting decisions. It could also be things you can do in post processing. It could be lighting choices. Most of the time it is all of the above.

There are many "false prophets" that claim that getting an image to look "right" straight out of the camera is the only way to go. My heart goes out to them, since no photographer, especially digital, gets perfect images in typical random settings. That notion is a golden rule for commercial and product photography where you have 100% control over lighting, but such is seldom the choice.

When I teach this, I ask everyone to bring their cellphones - nearly everybody has one. And I assign themes to shoot, then we have a group review and discussion. My first questions to each photographer is what were you trying to record, what do you want me to see, how successful do you think you were, and what can you do to improve the results. This then becomes the subject matter for future assignments.

I also strongly encourage budding photographers to look at lots of pictures taken by others, and decide what makes some pictures memorable and impactful, and others not. Then they should revisit their own work with the same goal. It's important for every person with a camera to understand that the camera is a means of recording stuff, but more importantly, it is a communication tool. How the person viewing the image you make is probably even more important than how you view your own work - the more empathy a photographer has, usually the more effective a photographer is.

It's not about the camera - I can teach a chimpanzee to take snapshots. It's all about thought, previsualization, self-critique and constant improvement.

I wind up a semester with two quotes - One from Ansel Adams who wrote, “Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” And my own take, "you are improving your skills as a photographer if you can look at your work from year to year and see improvement."

I share a bunch of links to "contemplative photography" and the one below, for inspiration.

https://shuttermuse.com/42-inspirational-ansel-adams-quotes-photography/

All the technical aspects of photography are more easily learned once you have a purpose for learning them.

If you want to take good pictures but knows next to nothing about photography then this post is for you.

Instead of formulas and computations and all that jazz, Lets break it down to a process that works most of the time. So instead of rolling dice and waiting for luck, we will be off to a logical direction and adjust/fine tune to reason as needed.


Step 1. Have something to shoot with.
For now, don't bother with what camera you have. Anything that shoot is good and we shoot this "whatever" camera until we learn what it can not do. Then that would be the time to choose your system. (*Note to future self; "System" not camera. You will know by then)

Step 2. Have something/somewhere/someone to shoot at.
Something has many other names, Somewhere is also known as landscape and someone is a portrait.

Step 3. IMAGINE & DECIDE how the photograph will look like (Composition 1).
3a. Imagine, Have a goal and aim to achieve it. IE if i want to have a picture of runner as he breaks the finish line, then prepare by visualizing what could happen and position yourself where you can capture that moment.
3b. People stand upright so in reference, we call upright composed images as portraits and Landscapes in reference to horizons, we call horizontal pictures a landscape
3c. Look with one eye- The camera see with one plane and when we close one eye and look at things, we replicate it making us imagine more clearly what the outcome will be.

Step 4. FIND A HERO and emphasize it (Composition 2).
A hero is the main focus/element of your photo. It might be a object. group of objects, a color, a person, a group of people, emotion, story ...sky is the limit. No matter what your hero is, it is imperative that it stands out and that everything else in the picture supports it. Emphasize, make it greater than life. So that when others look at the final photo, they see exactly what you envisioned.

Step 5. NO RULES (Composition 3)
You might have read or heard of certain rules like reciprocals, rule of thirds etc. The thing is, they are not rules. They are guides. They are like maps or words and just like those, a person needs to read and understand them fully to make the best out of them.
As a beginner, set them aside for the moment and follow your instinct. IF it looks good, it probably is. Because even if each persons sense of beauty is partially biased by their experiences, we all have this innate sense of looking for harmony and balance. Let those be your guide for the moment & learn the others in its own time.

Step 6. Adjust camera for the ambient light Color Cast & Intensity (WB - White balance & ISO - Sensor amplification)
As a beginner you may want to put both of these on Auto, hope for the best & proceed to step 4.
If you have something else in mind then remember first that color cast affects mood. bluish cast feels cold and lonely while reddish/warmer tones feels alive and homey.
6a. Our brain has its own white balance and automatically adjust the color we see so do not trust your eyes. The camera tells the truth.
6b. If you have manual WB in your camera, each settings produce the opposite in effect. If the ambient light is white and you adjust the WB to cloudy or shade (going to blue), the picture will become reddish. IE white minus blue=red
6c. If you adjust to incandescent lamp (going to red) and the ambient light is white, you photo will have a blue cast.
6d. So if the ambient light is cloudy and you set WB to cloudy, then the bluish ambient light will be normalized to white in the picture. IE blue minus blue=white
6e. High ISO numbers brightens the image but makes all underexposed areas dirty(Noisy)

Step 7. FOCUS IN FOCUS.
Give plenty of effort to focus correctly. What is in focus gets emphasized so it is good practice to put focus on what you intend to hero or to natural attention grabber, such as the nearest eye.
7a. How much element remains in focus is called Depth Of Field. DOF is dictated by Lens FOV, aperture size (f/stop) and your distance from the subject.
7b. Smaller f/stop number (actually bigger iris opening) and smaller distances (macro) makes small (narrow)DOF.
7c. A lens's FOV (Field of View) or the amount of space you can capture also affects DOF. Lens with wider FOV (low mm number) has a wider(deeper)DOF than those with high mm numbers (telephoto lens)
7d. Elements outside the DOF will be blurry. The amount and quality of blurriness is called BOKEH.

Step 8. DO NOT BE A JERK.
Movement unless intentional will wreck a picture with motion blur and streaks so learn to be a smooth operator.
8a. Support the camera properly and Refrain from jerking the trigger.
8b. Use a proper tripod and remote trigger if needed.
8c. Fast shutter speed will freeze moving objects but also make the image darker so Use the lowest shutter speed you can get away with.
8d. Slow shutter speed can be used intentionally to creates fancy movement blurs, invisibility or softness.
8e. Give the everything in view a quick scan including the exposure meter and if everything looks ok, then click away.

Step 9. CHIMP
Let us recap;
Have camera & Subject OK
Composition OK
White balance & ISO OK
Focus point OK
Aperture/DOF OK
Shutter speed/Motion blur OK
Smooth clicks OK
CHIMP - Check Cast, Histogram, I (eye - some may have their eyes closed, re do the picture) & Manipulate the Process. You may need to adjust the subject themselves, not only your camera settings.
As you get better, you will chimp less and less.

Step 10. ADJUST
Chimping allows us to see if we did right. As a beginner, this is one of your best tool. Hopefully your problem by now is only about exposure. If then, the exposure compensation button, is our first goto adjustment. Shutter speed & Aperture will be adjusted depending on our need for Motion Blur or DOF.
Since we have chosen our aperture and shutter speed deliberately, we will then adjust ISO to compensate for over or under exposure. If Adjusting ISO is not enough, then keep ISO up and adjust Aperture to allow more light. If not enough the we lessen shutter speed for more light. We set Shutter speed first on our first shoot and adjust it as our last resort.

Step 11. SHOOT UNTIL RAW
Shoot again and again. Do not be a sniper unless that is all that can be done. Change composition, DOF, Exposure etc. Make good adjustments and keep shooting. Shoot a variety of situations and subjects. Each one has their own challenges. From JPG, shoot and learn until you know and become comfortable with RAW. By this time, you will know enough of your tools that you can decide your for your system.

Step 12. ANALYZE EDIT SHOW
Study your images and see how it can be improved. Study other photographers images. Swap stories, Print your favorites etc. Learn editing soft-wares but most of all, keep the fire burning.

Photography is not a burger that can be downed in a single bite. It is a more like a pizza, whose little slices need to be nibbled and enjoyed. It is about seeing thing in another light and capturing that so others may see it too.

Glad you asked and I will surely get blasted for this set of comments but...

The quality of information presented is worth mentioning and no, I choose not to "Skip it" because I do care about what is passed of as fact to the impressionable.

If this is a personal development story, then great. That should be stated up front.

The way the article is written is questionable based on facts, and grammar. Though well intended, these are more personal thoughts that are written as professional instruction.

I will point out a few:

1. "Anything" camera? Better to look for a camera, new or used that will do all of the basics. Many on line youtube tutorials are available to get started. A point and shoot or cell phone will not inspire or teach you the basic triangle and do little to advance.

2. "Something, someone"... Odd impression, what about abstract or street photography?

3. "Imagine and decide" is very limited to portrait and landscapes. Some of the best images ever were taken by accident. Multiple burst exposures may be a better solution. Many seasoned photographers will tell you "it's the "in between or unaware shot" that will be the best image.

4. The "hero" can not always be the "main focus" because there may be more than one subject. If you want a snap shot then use a cell phone and ask the person to smile.

5. Th "Rules" are very much worth being aware of and, discarding them is foolish from the writers perspective. Rule of thirds is proven.

6b. Manual K setting? yet you ask to set the WB to cloudy? K is manual in digits and something that is important to learn.

6e. Always go for the lowest ISO... even in dim or dark environments, you still might be able to use a low ISO. For example, if you have your camera mounted on a tripod or sitting completely still on a table. In that case, you can safely use a low ISO and brighten your photo via a long shutter speed instead, since you won’t introduce camera shake.

7a. Wrong because, not all lenses are created equal. A 50mm 1.2 will have less DOF than a 200mm f 4.0 at the same frame size. and other reasons due to quality and construction of a lens.

9. "Chimping" odd perspective, really?

10. "Exposure comp first choice"? Certainly comes in second over choosing the type of metering the camera can produce. Not everything needs compensation and it takes time to adjust and may even throw off your exposure if you change direction to the light.

10. "Shutter speed last resort" Funny advise. what about pan shots or considering it as the most or least important part of the triangle?

11. Always shoot Raw. that shot you took several years ago could be invaluable later. It takes little effort to set the camera for both Jpeg and RAW. Jpeg is a finished but limited editable image. Raw is the original DNA or recipe.

The perspective apart from the wording and spelling seems to come from a seasoned instructor. Maybe that's why there is no introduction.

This could have been a personal story of how he sees things in comparison to what is general knowledge.
It comes across to me as soap boxing and ill informed at best....

I do care about what is offered as instruction on the HOG and do pay attention to postings like this.

I am going do defend Wallen against your generally poorly informed and highly biased opinions offered as facts - just because.

1. Anything cameras are fine - I often teach photography using cellphone cameras. It eliminates the need and corresponding anxiety when the "triangle" is considered. People need to learn how to see before they need to learn the technical aspects of a camera. There are too many camera "experts" that take beautifully exposed but otherwise incredibly mediocre images. You don't need to know the "triangle" to take great images. And you can certainly take memorable images with a cellphone or a point and shoot.

Here are a bunch of images taken by pros using cellphones:

https://www.google.com/search?sa=X&q=images+taken+by+professional+photographers+using+cell+phones&tbm=isch&source=univ&ved=2ahUKEwimla3gl4zgAhVxhuAKHWoTAX0QsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1920&bih=1098

2. "Something" clearly covers everything that is not landscape or portrait - and street photography is usually either something or someone.

3. Imagine and decide is solid, on point and very practical advice to give to a beginner - read the title of the thread again in case you forgot.

4. Every image should have a hero. If an image has multiple "heroes" then it is often considered a weaker composition with competing foci. A better composition is where the viewer's eye and attention is drawn to a main focus. Such photographs rarely need a narrative - they are that clear. An image with multiple areas of focus are usually more successful as a series of individual images, rather than one large image with multiple, competing areas of focus.

5. Rules are guides, not dogma, and are bound to be broken - it's what makes art interesting. Study avant garde artists, musicians, photographers, etc - you will see how breaking the rules unleashes creative potential that would never be released if everyone "followed the rules." Every new movement in fine art was met with resistance by the traditionalists, but thank goodness it didn't stop the artists. Yes the rule of thirds is a good approach for some photography, but so are many others - here is a list of 20 compositional rules that work for the specific situation, and many of them conflict with each other. Does that mean that they are any less valid? I don't think so.

https://petapixel.com/2016/09/14/20-composition-techniques-will-improve-photos/

My favorite quote regarding the rules of composition comes from Edward Weston - "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." So much for the notion that any "rule" of composition is somehow "proven."

6. Once again, beginners don't need to know all about most of this - either from Wallen's narrative or yours. But at least Wallen's suggestions help a beginner interpret a scene differently.

7. If you mean that a 50mm F1.2 has shallower DoF than a 200mm F4 at the same magnification (image size in the frame) and aperture - you need to go look at some DoF charts. For the same magnification and aperture the DoF will be similar, and here is the reason why:

http://www.dofmaster.com/dof_imagesize.html

Quality and construction of a lens has nothing to do with depth of field other than the off chance that the aperture is not being reported correctly.

9. Chimping. I do it all the time in order to fine-tune my camera settings. I started doing this in the 60s when I used a polaroid film back in my 4x5 Sinar to get an instant (well, it took a minute) review image to check for lighting, depth of field, geometry and focus.

10. For a beginner - which is who Wallen wrote this for - the exposure comp button is a no-brainer and easy to adjust. Triangle doesn't come onto the beginner's radar. It's good to keep the audience here in your mind.

11. Yes, if a beginner student shows up with a camera that can shoot raw - they should never rely on the camera to produce a jpeg. However, such is rarely the case with beginners. So, in the interest of keeping things simple jpegs will suffice until the beginner starts to push the limits of what can be done with jpeg. Again, sound advice from Wallen.

Like yourself I pay lots of attention to posts like this. But I did not feel the need to tear it apart and dismiss it in lieu of presenting MY way of doing things, as fact. One of the wonderful things about photography is that there are multiple ways of getting things done, and it is eminently adaptable to individual learning styles and information acquisition rates. I am not saying that anything you brought up in your critique is flat out wrong - I am saying that much of what you presented was targeted at a more intermediate photographer, and probably not the best choices for beginners. In this respect, keeping in mind the target audience -Wallen absolutely nailed it - you, not so much. I guess you don't really teach, do you? Yo do take some nice pictures though.

First of all, my sincere thanks to Gene51 for standing in my behalf. Likewise my gratitude to everyone who expressed appreciation to the post.

To catchlight, i'm grateful for you reading such a long list. Unfortunately, you missed its purpose and meaning. Critique is always welcome as it is how we are tested, how we learn and grow. But we should be careful to read thoroughly and with an open mind. For many times in your comments, you are speaking your own words as mine.

My apologies for not stating who i am. My outlook is "We should listen even to the smallest voice, for everyone has a story to tell". Hence, i focused on the message and not messenger. Actually, i have been contemplating signing my paintings in the back so people would focus on the artwork and not the name of the artist.

If it matters, Wallen is my real name. My journey in photography started at a very young age, the Kodak Ektra 110 being the very first camera i had my hands on. I love photography so much that my best friend would comment that i'd use my last coin to buy film. I am an instructor and that journey also began fairly early in my life. At 18, I was trained to teach Chinese boxing, Aikido Dijitsu and Arnis and reached Black 2nd Dan in 1995 -seven years later.
Diligently I taught twice weekly until 1997 after which it became an on and off affair.

I am not famous but you may have already seen my work many times as I used to be in animation. I was one of the many artists who gave you Darkwing Duck (Walt Disney), Hanna Barbera's Tom & Jerry Kids, Pirates of Darkwater, Young Robin Hood, Fish Police, and Japanese Anime from TOEI and others.
My last stint in animation was in 2006 in which i gave training to Assistant Animators/IB(Those that make the key frames move), and Matte Painters(Those that make background paintings).
At approximately the same time, 2005 to be exact, i was a ground instructor in the aviation field, handling Drawing II, Theory of Flight, Helicopter Principles & Aviation Safety.

2007 to 2010, while working in Tawasel Studio Dubai, i was also a volunteer instructor of Photoshop, Advance Illustrator, PowerPoint and HTML for FCC, a non profit organization under the office of the Philippine Embassy in the U.A.E. We were teaching skills to underprivileged overseas workers for them to qualify for higher paying jobs.
Starting 2010 to present, I got employed as a Graphic Designer in a multi racial/multi billion dollar company were i use a camera/handle images every working day.

I do not wish to construe myself as an authority and claim position of greater knowledge or renown.
But i do know my ABC's both technically and artistically when i made the post. I even clearly stated that its "A Process that works most of the time" because i know there is more than one way to skin a cat.