Using pictures I like to determine what I should take pictures of?
Nov 30, 2018 07:15:20 #
No photographer gets it right every time. With experience comes an increase in the likelihood that each image will be pleasing. Digital pixels are free. Shoot, shoot, shoot....analyze, and correct.
It seems that you've already done the ground work necessary to know the technical attributes of image-making. Now go out and practice. At least to me, the act of photography is way more pleasurable than the product (image). It's sort of like hunting or fishing....it is a fun activity no matter whether you ever see an animal or catch a fish.
Now, if you were a CREATIVE accountant, I would be more than happy to trade some more valuable advice for your services! <big grin>
It seems that you've already done the ground work necessary to know the technical attributes of image-making. Now go out and practice. At least to me, the act of photography is way more pleasurable than the product (image). It's sort of like hunting or fishing....it is a fun activity no matter whether you ever see an animal or catch a fish.
Now, if you were a CREATIVE accountant, I would be more than happy to trade some more valuable advice for your services! <big grin>
Nov 30, 2018 07:28:09 #
I don't have a niche either, I like everything.
So I photograph a lot of eclectics.
So I photograph a lot of eclectics.
Nov 30, 2018 08:10:57 #
Ideas to get you outside of your own head:
Shoot the light. Read this first:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-529331-1.html
Make a list of photo subjects and put them in a hat, pick one. Or do an online wheel:
https://wheeldecide.com/
http://www.superteachertools.us/spinner/
On UHH, browse the weekly challenges for ideas. This one has a scavenger hunt list:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-566153-1.html
The challenge home page:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-25-1.html
A fun assignment for me a couple of winters ago - in a topic created by a UHH user - was to photograph architecture that represents our area. Below are a few of the unique coffee kiosks on every corner of Yakima's streets. Open your mind to all possibilities!
Shoot the light. Read this first:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-529331-1.html
Make a list of photo subjects and put them in a hat, pick one. Or do an online wheel:
https://wheeldecide.com/
http://www.superteachertools.us/spinner/
On UHH, browse the weekly challenges for ideas. This one has a scavenger hunt list:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-566153-1.html
The challenge home page:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-25-1.html
A fun assignment for me a couple of winters ago - in a topic created by a UHH user - was to photograph architecture that represents our area. Below are a few of the unique coffee kiosks on every corner of Yakima's streets. Open your mind to all possibilities!
Nov 30, 2018 08:17:45 #
Take heart- engineers are sometimes the best artists :) That's because they can translate technical information into action. Creativity can be learned.
rgood44 wrote:
Hi - I am a beginning "photographer". I... (show quote)
Nov 30, 2018 08:31:31 #
DavidPine
Loc: Fredericksburg, TX
Just keep shooting. Things evolve in surprising ways like water seeking its own level.
Nov 30, 2018 08:33:06 #
DavidPine wrote:
Just keep shooting. Things evolve in surprising ways like water seeking its own level.
Nov 30, 2018 08:36:11 #
mizzee
Loc: Boston,Ma
it sounds like your struggles are more with composition than the technical details. Keep on doing the photowalks. What they do is help you focus on what you’re doing because you’re only there for one thing, photography. Using a tripod does much the same. I love the comment from the person who said to concentrate on what makes you smile! That helps you choose subject matter. Most of all, be patient with yourself! Photography is a constant learning process.
Nov 30, 2018 08:49:41 #
mizzee wrote:
it sounds like your struggles are more with composition than the technical details. Keep on doing the photowalks. What they do is help you focus on what you’re doing because you’re only there for one thing, photography. Using a tripod does much the same. I love the comment from the person who said to concentrate on what makes you smile! That helps you choose subject matter. Most of all, be patient with yourself! Photography is a constant learning process.
Yes, you'll find a subject that you like best. Mine is landscapes.
Nov 30, 2018 08:50:59 #
Stoshik wrote:
There's an old expression, "There are horses ... (show quote)
Great work and she is beautiful, and think that you have made the correct choice!
Nov 30, 2018 08:55:36 #
LarryFitz
Loc: Beacon NY
I am an amateur, therefore I my photography does not need to meet some business plan. Therefore I just go out and have fun, both taking the photos and processing them. I like to experiment, I challenge myself. If I find some subject matter boring, I find different subjects.
Nov 30, 2018 09:01:15 #
I've been reading photo mags since the 1970s, and after a while, a feel for composition got stuck in my head. You would be better off looking at what are considered great shots, rather than looking at your own. With the Internet, you can look at millions of great photos. These might give you ideas. As far as I'm concerned, Composition is King. Make it perfect in your viewfinder, and people will look at it. Of course, you need the technical aspect to be right, too.
Nov 30, 2018 09:31:46 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
rgood44 wrote:
Hi - I am a beginning "photographer". I... (show quote)
My early inspiration came from National Geographic Magazine.
Nov 30, 2018 09:32:20 #
Nov 30, 2018 09:42:46 #
I’ll walk around the neighborhood with the dog and the macro lens...shoot lots of pictures of flowers...real close up, with minimal external context (sidewalk, stems,leaves, unless necessary). Work around the light: is it straight on, oblique, backlit? Is there something else interesting going on in there (the other week we had some lougy bees)? Being macro, the balance is hand holding a slow shutter speed vs depth of field. Or max out your ISO.
Take a walk in the woods. Are there neat shots of a leaf-covered pathway? Backlit grasses? Reflections on water?
We’ll walk down to the lake with the telephoto...great blue herons, geese, ducks, swans, egrets, ospreys, and the rare eagle.
Down by the ocean...boats, docks...
Yeah...this may introduce a little stress into your life, but it’s a different stress because you can judge your results, make adjustments, try again, all with minimal consequences.
I started out shooting slide film (I had a thing for Ektachrome 200) on a Canon TLb...then a Nikon FE2. Now a D810. You had to get the composition right, and the exposure. No second chances. I still shoot that way...rarely bracket, ISO rarely moves off 200, tight crop in the camera. And even today, if I don’t like the shot, I don’t take it.
And yes...there are times I come home empty handed.
Take a walk in the woods. Are there neat shots of a leaf-covered pathway? Backlit grasses? Reflections on water?
We’ll walk down to the lake with the telephoto...great blue herons, geese, ducks, swans, egrets, ospreys, and the rare eagle.
Down by the ocean...boats, docks...
Yeah...this may introduce a little stress into your life, but it’s a different stress because you can judge your results, make adjustments, try again, all with minimal consequences.
I started out shooting slide film (I had a thing for Ektachrome 200) on a Canon TLb...then a Nikon FE2. Now a D810. You had to get the composition right, and the exposure. No second chances. I still shoot that way...rarely bracket, ISO rarely moves off 200, tight crop in the camera. And even today, if I don’t like the shot, I don’t take it.
And yes...there are times I come home empty handed.
Nov 30, 2018 09:59:29 #
Having time to shoot can be a problem. Suggest you put yourself on a "make time for your self" schedule, even if it is only 15 or 30 minutes a week or day. Set that time aside just for you to go out and shoot some photos. May I also suggest maybe trying MACRO photography. You can find lots of subjects in our own backyard, a park close by, or even in your office or house. A very reasonable post-processing software is "Smart Photo Editor" about $40 - and has all kinds of presets to expand your creativity. Check out Mike Moats - Macro Club on FaceBook. He has tons of good stuff and if you join the club he offers all kinds of short videos.
If you have a smartphone with a camera - you have access to photography all the time. I have an iPhone 7+, it has a close up lens and a telephoto lens. You can get lots of great photography with today's smartphones. That way you can take pictures just about anytime without having to have your regular DSLR camera equipment.
I too have an engineering background and have to work at improving my creativity - it just takes practice, practice, practice. For some folks it comes natural, for the rest of us we just have to hone that skill. As time went on in learning photography I started to develop my "photographers eye". I started to see things differently and started to see in my minds eye what the photo could look like. It's really a lot of fun once you develop that skill. It doesn't take that much to grasp the "technical" aspects of operating the camera, it's the creativity that takes time. For me, I have started to focus on "lighting" - which is a major aspect of photography and "composition". Both of these will certainly expand your creativity.
Keep it up. Save some of your first photos (good or bad) and then a year from now take a look at them and see how much you have improved over that period of time. Then do it again.
If you have a smartphone with a camera - you have access to photography all the time. I have an iPhone 7+, it has a close up lens and a telephoto lens. You can get lots of great photography with today's smartphones. That way you can take pictures just about anytime without having to have your regular DSLR camera equipment.
I too have an engineering background and have to work at improving my creativity - it just takes practice, practice, practice. For some folks it comes natural, for the rest of us we just have to hone that skill. As time went on in learning photography I started to develop my "photographers eye". I started to see things differently and started to see in my minds eye what the photo could look like. It's really a lot of fun once you develop that skill. It doesn't take that much to grasp the "technical" aspects of operating the camera, it's the creativity that takes time. For me, I have started to focus on "lighting" - which is a major aspect of photography and "composition". Both of these will certainly expand your creativity.
Keep it up. Save some of your first photos (good or bad) and then a year from now take a look at them and see how much you have improved over that period of time. Then do it again.
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