Buy a pretend roll of 24 shot film. Then go someplace, anyplace, and take photos but pretend you only have 24 shots. One of the problems that I find is that it is too easy to take multiple photos. If you limit yourself to 24 you have to think about it, move around to different angles, be careful about what is in the background, check where the light is coming from, other unwanted shadows in the photograph? Just take 24 and come back and analyze them. And then if you get the chance, go back to the same place and do it again having already reviewed the first 24 photographs with some ideas in your mind of how you can improve it and go back and take 24 more. Then try somewheres else will take 24 photographs , Go home and analyze them. Check for your focus, check for camera shake, check to see if anything is blown out on the high side or just invisible of the Darkside. Maybe take a few that Will come out weird which is perfect as long as they come out weird the way you expected. Then go back the next day and shoot another 24 at the same place. Pretty soon you start paying more attention to what you're shooting.

A number of years ago I took a weeklong workshop and afterwords the teacher told me that in all the years that she had been teaching the course I had the best knowledge of dynamic range, signal to noise ratio, and all the technical aspects of shooting a photo. She also told me I took the worst photos she had seen which was exactly what I needed. This was on the third day and she really pressed on me the importance of not just walking up and taking a shot but thinking the shot through, if I took three steps to the left then that rock would not overlap The other rock and we could see sunlight between them – that kind of thing that I never thought of. It was a great week. So pay more attention to what you shoot because by now you certainly have the skills to take a good shot. And mostly have fun.

As a lifelong photographer with a fine arts degree I am relearning and adjusting to digital photo making and post processing. After all my reading and practice I am putting myself back in the practice of the art student by having my work critiqued. I joined several camera clubs and routinely participate in competitions. Even as the judges are critiquing other photographers ' work I am learning. Join camera clubs, put your work out there for other eyes to see. Sometimes it takes another person's perspective for you to see where you can grow

I'm an intermediate photographer and probably not even an advanced one. As it is now I've read tons of books, listened to a thousand hours of instructive videos and bought at least 5 five course on photography. I started as an absolute beginner about 3 years ago. I'm now at a point where I am buying instructional material that spends a lot time going over stuff I already know. What's next? What books or other instructive material would help me get to the next level. I'm already studying books on art but I don't know if I have the best ones for photography. Please advise?

I didn't read through all the posts so if my comment has already been said, then pay special attention to it. Look up the photographers for National Geographic and see what they have to say about getting to their level. I'll start you off with Joel Sartore, one of the best. In this article, there are links to other NG photographers so check out their stories, too. Basically, he says the same thing as many others: it takes practice AND persistence. Good luck!

http://www.joelsartore.com/about-joel/common-questions/becoming-national-geographic-photographe/

I love Peterson's book(s). One will thoroughly and easily learn about your camera, light, especially the exposure triangle. excellent for starters. That said, it's far cry from a tutorial on composition. There is big difference between taking a properly exposed picture vs. one with good composition and exposure. Shooting hundreds or thousands of photos will help take an accurate photograph but to achieve that next step, assuming that is the goal, you need to work with the pros and/or have your work critiqued by pros.

Pick just about any active FB page. You will find a small cadre of excellent photographers within and the rest ok and seldom ever improving composition. All too often people judge their skills by the number of likes they get. FB Friendship and com-positional quality are different.

Basically saying you need to know what to practice!!!

On a more serious note than my last reply, you need to do several things ,
#1 reading all the how to's that you can and using the info to improve your own technique, both for technical ( exposure etc) and artistic sides. No single book is going to be magic.
#2 looking at good art and photography to help determine your personal style and focus, you need to know what you want to record before you can get good at it, it's being a generalist, realize that your focus can change as time and you progress.
#3 now practice, review what you shot, did you get the result you wanted? better? if not why not? practice some more, what technique helps the most?

could probably come up with more but that should get you started, Bob.

Google Reza the famous NG photographer. I young man spent a day assisting with him. He works with all kinds of camera's loves silver reflectors and
has collection of stuff to add some light. Likes lighting available. Works slow. And spends so much time on the image. Covers for NG.

Popular Photography link:
http://www.popphoto.com/2016-annual-readers-contest-winners-and-finalists?cmpid=enews03022017&spMailingID=28096330&spUserID=ODY3MDY4ODk4MjYS1&spJobID=1000311756&spReportId=MTAwMDMxMTc1NgS2
Photos taken by readers in latest issue. What amazed me was a lot of the cameras were not the latest and greatest etc.

I read Ken Rockwell who has his own way of working and critically reviews. He is comfortable in saying he likes to just shoot and not
get overwhelmed with the setups and technology.

Malcom Gladwells book on "outliers" talks of the 10,000 hour rule. The beatles played in a dingy bar in Germany for months each summer all day long.
It is obvious their talent and the many hours playing set the stage for a music history.

I find my failing is not taking enough time to shoot often enough. I am a creative by profession but find the machines are not simple anymore.
A Nikon F in the 80's I had a couple of settings would choose my aperture and great film and shoot all day for my AV company.

Good luck.

The idea of the 'next level' likely comes from fixation on technique. What are your goals? Why do you photograph? If the answer to those questions is 'to impress your friends', the only path forward is augmenting your technique with more gosh-golly-gee whiz effects.

Photography without vision is an electro-mechanical-optical recording process. Period. YOU, and how you perceive life, are at the core of 'advanced' photography. Otherwise, you're more likely to become an encyclopedic reproducer of electro-mechanical-optical recording techniques.

It's imperative to be aware of how much merchandising is at the core of what you read about photography. Bigger, better, more expensive. A top-of-the-line 35mm camera capable of delivering the most precision results possible in analogue times could be had, with a couple of lenses, for well-under a thousand dollars to around $2,500. Now, equipment in that same category can put you back for $3,500-12 thousand. Has your earning power been augmented by 300 to 800 percent? I doubt it. And the photographic education industry is, other than for rank beginnings, mostly a racket. You yourself mentioned that you're already aware of redundancy.

If you're sincerely driven to improve as a photographer, as long as you have a solid understanding of the principles of photography, it's time to work on yourself. Should you come across a situation that technically confounds you, find out how to overcome that, and get back to your own view and how to improve it. Otherwise, you'll spend your life over-preparing for what will likely never really be an issue. Or, if your goal IS to impress your friends, continue with learning more gosh-golly gee techniques and effects, and enjoy yourself. There's no crime in shooting superficially for self-gratification.

I'd decide first if my goals were pro or hobby, freelance or hired, then I'd organize photography in terms of the various divisions of interest and pick my favorite whether it be portraits, sports, wildlife, macro, landscape, nature, weddings, birds in flight, product like food, etc., or some of the major subdivisions of one or more of the major interest areas and then toss my hat into that ring first, drilling down as far as it pleased me before moving on to other interests. You've been mostly advised to go helter skelter into the world and shoot everything but nothing in particular until you become psycho trying to remember what you did last time you shot a cactus flower a year ago. Won't work. Every day brings exposure to new subject matter, different requirements in terms of your skills and equipment, etc. Analyze where your interests primarily lie, get the required equipment to achieve the level where you want to function and specialize. Don't split your interests until you're satisfied that you can repeat your actions and get what you want next time you want to do it. You are not likely to ever achieve a level of expertise that will allow you to just "shoot anything you see" at a level that will satisfy you in the long run because of the new subjects we encounter each and every day. Hone in on where your interests lie and attack it systematically and do what it takes to achieve that.

As a hobbyist, I've been "helter skelter" for nearly fifty years but recently saw that I needed to drop back, pare down, and focus on narrow interests to get the kind of quality I want in my shots and it makes a lot of difference in the outcome. The before and after is amazing. The bad thing is that the number of areas of interest are so massive, diverse, time consuming, require different skills, technique, different equipment, and different energy levels. You have to adjust your desires to the natural resources around you and live with the constraints of your current circumstances unless you plan to and are willing to change them. For instance, deciding you're a wildlife shooter when you live in an area where wildlife is scarce is not a good choice and there are other practical issues that come to bear on your choices, day jobs, finances, transportation, freedom to travel, etc. I'd say your next move is going to come after some serious analysis and soul searching but the last thing you want to do is grab your camera, head out the door, and shoot everything that moves or doesn't. On the other hand, only you know what you want - maybe that would make you happy, a burned out stump here, a rusty ol' pickup there, daily sunsets, etc...

As soon as I get farther along with the book on Palo Duro Canyon I will post some pictures. I have a meeting with my publisher on Wednesday and he wants to see as much as I have done. The book is due to come out next November. I will publish some later, and the heading will no post processing

I promise you that every picture in the book and that I post have had no processing. I still use a Gossen Luna Pro hand-held light meter. I make the decisions about how my pictures turn out. Most folks let the camera make the decision.

National Geographic buys from me because they know they do not have to do ant work on my pictures. Yes, i am one of those free-lance photographers that broke the ice with NG.


I have no idea what SOOC images are. I will watch the video.