pappleg

Early in my photographic career (avocation not vocation) I did lots of black & white as I had my own darkroom. One "exercise" that Fred Picker (an Ansel Adams devotee) used and recommended to approximate "seeing" things in B&W was to squint severely and use a cardboard cutout to the 2 X 3 proportions of the 35mm frame. This does two things it minimizes details and mutes colors so that you can "see" the main compositional elements with less distractions and forces one to "deal" with the rectangle of your camera. Simplifying often complex compositions helps one to see and either unify or eliminate distracting elements in our photos. As Paul Sager mentioned earlier focus on different and unique viewpoints and you will find yourself soon making stronger images. Often it is indeed as simple as getting closer to your subject either physically or by lens selection and a comfortable position for you as photographer often produces weak images. BTW I, too, was an accountant-don't discount the creativity you can achieve.

Pat

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

"Is there a way to take a bunch of photos and rate them to help focus my passion?"

Spoken like a true accountant!!!

But really, connect the two. What do you like about accounting (assuming you are in that line as a result of some appeal)? Is it the symmetry of double entry? The complexity of taxes? Try to see that represented in your environment and then figure out how to take a picture of that.

Another route is to use a very detailed process such as that provided in "The Artists Way" by Julia Cameron.

https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1543591022&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=the+artists%27+way&psc=1

An earlier edition is available for Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Workbook-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585425338/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1585425338&pd_rd_r=ff51b12f-f4b2-11e8-8154-dbb4535511b8&pd_rd_w=vSuVv&pd_rd_wg=rLhwW&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=XM6P49BF2P09133MK2GZ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=XM6P49BF2P09133MK2GZ

Rineal Loc: Copake NY

Study light and develop over time a sense for when it is exciting - that's the time to be shooting!

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Forgot to mention: read Bryan Peterson’s “Understanding Composition Field Guide” and “Learning To See Creatively”.

nathanweddings

We all see things differently. Your model is so beautiful that there is certainly no need for enhancement or "improvement". You background choice is a different story. It competes for the veiwer's attention. Just a suggestion from a 40 year international portrait photographer. Keep it up!

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

rgood44, as you raise your camera to your eye, ask yourself this question, "What am I seeing right now that makes me want to capture it?" There is always a reason to take a picture, figure out your reasons for wanting to photograph it. When you review your images ask youself "does this image communicate the reason that I made it?" If it does, look at your exposure data, study the composition and gather as much information as you can as to why the image works for you. If it's helpful, write a few notes in a pocket notebook and carry it with you. If the image does not speak to you, then ask yourself "why doesn't it represent what I thought I saw, what did I miss?" Not only do you need to know what you got "right," you also need to understand why some of your efforts are missing the mark. Photographs are both obvious and subtle, over time you will learn what does work for you. Once you achieve that mind set, then you can ask yourself "how could I have composed the shot to make it even more interesting. could I do this in a way to reveal something new?" That's the beginning of creativity. Don't be impatient, for most of us this process took a while, but getting there is well worth the journey.

Toment Loc: FL, IL

Great question! Lots of answers!
Reading through the posts here is very interesting and shows the great value this forum has. The gallery is a great source! Keep up daily here and you’ll learn more and more, but, most of all, have fun!

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I've been photographing seriously, as a fine art avocation, for eight years. I believe what has helped me to grow in photography was my quest to learn the technical aspects as well as the artistic aspects. At some point, they both came together and now I can occasionally get it right. As someone else has said, we just don't get it right in every shot. Another thing that has helped me to grow in photography is that I shoot a lot, anyway from 10,000 to 15,000 images a year. Additionally, learning how to effectively use software, such as LR and PS, have helped to attain my vision at times. Speaking of which, a vision is probably one of the most important aspects of photography if you want to get better. Getting better is always my goal. These days, most often, since I know composition very well, I don't have to even think about that when I take a shot, sometimes I can just see the final version in my mind, not always though. I believe that learning to be a good fine art photographer (which to me includes landscapes and wildlife) is a process where, at some point, everything just clicks into place. I've included a recent shot as an example of how technical skill and artistic knowledge came together to get the shot I wanted. I saw some beautiful leaves, I think large maple leaves (not always good at that) and my friend said, "let's drop one in the water" and I did that and when I dropped it into the water I saw what it could be knowing what I could do in software. So, it all came together to create my vision of a fall leaf.

Continue to learn, continue to shoot, continue to be critical and take direction from others who know more than you do about photography and I bet you will reach your goal. Do you go on photography tours? These are great tools to learn more. In two days I am going to Cuba to learn about street photography on a tour with Steve Simon. Just do an online search for photo tours and sign up for one. I've gone on many of them and that has helped me to grow as a photographer. Hope this helps you. Also, feel free to check out my images online and you should do the same for other people who give you advice on this site.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Maybe give yourself a few themes (one at a time, like this week I'll be only taking pictures of....). It could be anything, a certain animal, object, just anything that comes to your mind and stick to it. That way you're "forced" to take pics from a variety of angles, perspectives etc., as not to have a lot of similar shots. After a while it will give you new ideas and likely a fresh approach on taking pictures overall and hopefully sparks your interest and creativity as well!

IDguy Loc: Idaho

And if you are at a loss for themes google “photographer theme ideas”.

Two examples of what you’ll find:

https://photographyicon.com/photography-themes

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn5C6P1rxY6PEU6xUKapbCQ

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Another approach is to learn about composition "rules" then go out and try to take pictures that conform these "rules" until you do not have to think about them.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

I would say if you like it, photograph it. It matters not whether anyone else might like. And usually you will find that there are a few others out there who share your likes.

John O.

What helped me was to talk to a guy who was an advanced photographer who was a member of a few photo clubs, he was a judge for photo contests and won many contests as well. He sat down with me and spent about 20 minutes going over photos of mine that I wanted him to critique. That helped me and the first digital contest I entered, I got a 3rd place and an honorable mention. Being a member of a club and entering club competitions helps to see where you stand in comparison to your peers and why. One of the best books on my bookshelf is "Composing Photos - Focus on the fundamentals" by Peter Ensenberger and printed by Focal Press. This book is easy to understand and has lots and lots of photos for illustrating his points.

htbrown Loc: San Francisco Bay Area

Never believe this. Everybody is creative - if they allow themselves to be.

Finding the best way for your creativity to come out is a journey, and even if you know you want to be, say, a photographer, it takes work to learn how to make that creativity manifest. I once had dinner with an Indian flutist who had a worldwide reputation. He was excited because that very day he had finally hit a note on his flute he had been trying to hit for thirty years. It takes work, and there is always room for improvement.

Take pictures of things that interest you. Take pictures of things that don't interest you much - you might be surprised. Read about composition. Go to a museum and look at paintings. Look at photos you think are good, that maybe you'd like to emulate. What is good about them? What attracts your eye? What could be different?

Pablo Picasso once said, "Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working."

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

There are lots of good suggestions here. But as an engineer talking to an accountant who wants to use photography to reduce stress, my advice to you is to make note of all these suggestions on a piece of paper, fold the paper up, and file it in a drawer somewhere that you can find it later. The last thing you want to do when you are approaching a new hobby to reduce stress is to do it in a way that increases the stress you are already feeling. The result will be that you will end up hating it and putting your camera in a drawer somewhere and still having your stress.

Instead, my suggestion would be to build a bridge from what you undoubtedly do very naturally, which is collecting, organizing, and analyzing information. Take a walk with your camera. Pick something that sounds interesting to you. Maybe it's tree bark. Maybe it's the leaves on those trees (maybe not a really good idea this time of year). Maybe it's the entire trees. Maybe it's neighborhood fences. Take pictures of each.

When you get back home, look at those images. Are they interesting to you? Why? Do they represent what you remember from when you were looking at the actual thing? Why? What could have made them more interesting? (Maybe including the scar of a sawn-off branch in an image of tree bark). Which ones look similar? Which ones Look different? Why? Which ones are your favorites? Why do you think that is?

You may find that you were interested in the texture of tree bark. So now you know that texture rings a bell with you. Or maybe it was the structure of the tree limbs, or of the geometry of fences, or the color of leaves. Now you have something that you can pursue with purpose, and instead of having to develop a completely new approach, you can do it the same way you approach accounting. You can also practice your technique while doing all of this.

Why do I suggest this? Because the discipline that makes you a good accountant can also make you a good photographer, but there are also some new things you are going to need to become familiar and comfortable with. For example, as an accountant, you have had it drilled into your head that things need to "balance"...your subject needs to be in the middle of the frame, your horizon needs to be halfway between the top and bottom of your image. We just think like that..accountants and engineers. But we need to learn that a little imbalance is more artistically pleasing...like odd numbers of subjects in an image, or dividing the frame into thirds vertically and horizontally instead of halves, or dividing along a diagonal instead of vertically or horizontally. Change can be uncomfortable, especially when there is already stress involved, so ease into it as you learn. I'd rather you discover this on your own rather than make an artificial choice based on what you have seen in some photographs.

As some have already said...a hobby should be fun. Don't make it a chore. You can worry about competitions or what other people think later.