How to Develop Your Photography Skills

Find someone who can help you acquire a good camera that is usable. Maybe your dad or your photographer friend has an extra film SLR camera. If you don't own one, borrow one until you can afford your own. Most digital cameras from previous decades, and used film cameras, are more than capable of capturing great photos. Owning your own camera will be a huge asset.

Learn the basics if you haven't already. The fundamentals of photography include composition, which is essentially how to arrange a subject within the frame, lighting, and the basic operations of a camera. Check out How to Take Better Photos with basic tutorials.

Be prepared. Half of the time, the difference between a great shot and an average one comes down to being in the right place at the right time, with your camera ready. Always carry your camera with you. Make sure to use it regularly. Simply carrying it around isn’t enough.

Be there. Being prepared isn't enough. Ken Rockwell shared his first experience, "Do you know what's wrong with my logic? 'Anything will express itself'? I was the observer. I thought photography was about capturing subjects that harmonize together. NO! You have to go out and find them. Finding and seeing is the hard part... photographing what you find is the easy part.

• Stand up, go outside, and take pictures. Go outside every day, at any time, and search for subjects. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you (but be ready when they do!); go out and find them. Look for opportunities wherever you are (whether in a shopping area or anywhere else in the world), and visit many places to discover them. If you can imagine something in your mind, chances are you can set it up and capture it!

Stop searching for subjects and learn to observe.

• Look for colors. Or conversely: search for subjects that are completely colorless, or take black and white photos.
• Look for repetition and harmony. Or the opposite, find subjects that are completely isolated from their surroundings.
• Look for light and darkness. Take pictures of shadows, or contrasts, or rays of light passing through something, or objects fully submerged in darkness. Many believe the 'golden hour' (the last two hours before sunset) provides ideal lighting for photography. This is because the direction of light creates depth when shot correctly. However, that doesn't mean you can't take good photos in the middle of the day, you just need to find the right lighting. Direct sunlight can be harsh, so look for foggy conditions or use the shade for softer light. However, rules are made to be broken, so don't adhere too rigidly to these principles!
• Look for emotion and gesture if you're photographing people. Do they show happiness? Playfulness? Sadness? Do they appear introspective? Or perhaps uncomfortable with the camera pointed at them?
• Look for texture, shapes, and patterns. Beautiful black and white photos are fantastic because they push the photographer to search for these qualities.
• Look for contrast. Find something that stands out from the rest of the photo. In your composition, use wide vision (or a wide-angle lens) and get closer to shoot. Look for contrasts in everything: colors in a dreary scene, light in the dark, and so on. If photographing people, try placing (or finding) your subject in a context that makes them stand out. Look for happiness in unexpected places. Find a person who stands out in a crowd. Or ignore this and completely remove them from the context by opening your lens fully to blur the background. In short...
• Look for anything that grabs the viewer’s attention that isn’t a traditional subject. When you find your subject, you'll realize you're just taking the same shots repeatedly. This is fine. Looking for outside subjects will dramatically improve your photography skills, and soon, you'll see an entirely different world.

Keep your photos as simple as possible. Get as close to the subject as you can. Use your feet and zoom lens (if available) to adjust the composition. Avoid irrelevant objects in the background to ensure the full impact of the photo.

Shoot with film. If you've shot with film, then switch to digital. Both film and digital cameras have a place in the beginner photographer's toolkit. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and both will teach you unique aspects of shooting. One downside of digital cameras is their lack of the balanced quality that film offers, and vice versa.

• Digital cameras provide immediate feedback on what you’re doing right and wrong. They also don’t cost extra for test shots. Both are invaluable for beginners. However, the lack of cost with digital photography makes it easier to fall into the habit of shooting "randomly" and hoping for a good shot.
• Film cameras force you to be more deliberate with your shots. Even a millionaire would hesitate before taking 36 photos of his beach towel with a film camera. The cost incentive to shoot more can lead to inexperience (which is bad), but it makes you think more carefully before shooting (which can be good if you know what you’re doing). Furthermore, film still has its own distinct look, and you can even upgrade to professional quality film gear from cheap, quirky equipment.

Showcase your best work to others. In other words, Find your best photo and share it with others. Even the most skilled photographers don’t always get the perfect shot with every click; they simply curate what they have, carefully selecting what to share with others.

• Be strict about this. If you think the photo isn’t good, don’t share it. Your standards will improve over time, and even the photos you once thought were decent might not hold up after a few months. If this means you only have one or two worthy photos from a shoot, that’s fine. In fact, it may mean you’re being just critical enough with yourself.
• Don’t look at photos in full size. Ken points out that the most important part of a photo is what is visible at the processed size. Many people will catch mistakes when they view your image at its unedited 100% size. That’s okay because their opinion doesn’t matter. Feel free to crop out anything that’s unattractive if it takes up more than 1/4 (or less) of your frame.

Seek out and embrace constructive feedback from others. Don’t fall into the trap of posting "please critique my photo" or similar calls on social media; these are often from people who simply enjoy picking apart the work of others. However, actively searching for thoughtful, constructive criticism is beneficial, as long as you are discerning about who you take feedback from.

• Take feedback from fellow artists. If someone has remarkable artistic work to showcase—photos, paintings, music, or anything else—that’s reason enough to take their words seriously because artists inherently understand the emotional impact, even if they aren’t in your field (and if your photos don’t resonate with anyone, maybe they should be deleted). Most non-artists also have the ability to notice quality, though they may not be able to point out composition specifics. They may also say nice things just to avoid hurting your feelings.
• Ignore those who criticize your work but don’t have impressive works of their own to show. Their opinions simply aren’t worth listening to.
• Recognize where you’re succeeding and where you’re missing the mark. If someone enjoys your photo, what exactly do they like about it? If they don’t, what could you have done differently? As mentioned earlier, other artists will be able to help you pinpoint this.
• Don’t be overly humble if someone admires your work. It’s natural for a photographer to enjoy praise for their masterpiece, just like anyone else. However, be careful not to become arrogant.

Find the works that inspire you. This doesn’t mean just focusing on flawless technical execution; any wealthy fool can slap a 400mm lens and f/2.8 aperture on a $3000 DSLR and take a sharp photo of a bird with perfect exposure, but that doesn’t make them Steve Cirone. Instead, look for works that make you laugh, cry, or feel anything, not just ones that make you focus on perfect exposure and sharpness. If you love portraits, check out Steve McCurry’s works (the photographer behind the Afghan Girl image), or Annie Leibowitz’s photography studio. If you use Flickr or any other image-sharing platform, pay attention to people who inspire you (but don’t spend so much time on the computer that you forget to go outside and take photos).

Learn the technical details. No, this isn’t the most important aspect of photography. In fact, it’s one of the least crucial parts, and that’s why things are the way they are; a stunning shot captured on instinct, simply by aiming and clicking, can be much more interesting than a dull photo with perfect sharpness and exposure. It’s also far more beautiful by far than an image missed because someone was too concerned with the small details.

• However, it’s still useful to know technical aspects such as shutter speed, aperture, focal length, etc., and the effects these have on your photos. They won’t magically transform a bad photo into a good one, but they might help you avoid missing a great shot due to technical issues, and they could even improve photos that are already good.

Find a subject to photograph. You may find that you’re good at photographing people because you have great communication skills. You may love getting outside, no matter the weather, to capture stunning landscapes. You may own a long lens and have a passion for shooting motorcycle races. Try all of these! Find a subject you enjoy and excel at, but don’t limit yourself.

Organizing events and social interactions.

• You can engage socially by creating accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or other social media platforms. Alternatively, you may join the online image repository Getty Images.
• You could organize a local exhibition in your neighborhood.

• Avoid relying on techniques and post-processing tricks like HDR to enhance your photos. If an image feels dull, don’t hesitate to delete or discard it.
• Invest in newly released photography books. Save money by purchasing secondhand ones as long as they are still relevant. Browse and examine various photography books before buying. Also, explore magazines (on music, people, family, gardens, architecture, children – anything that sparks your interest). What do the images look like? How do the photographers approach them?
• Looking at others' photos or artwork in photo magazines can be beneficial. Critique those photos. Make a list of two things you like and two things you would change in the photos.
• Take photos yourself and have others critique your work.
• Almost all digital cameras from previous decades and most film cameras from any era are more than capable of producing excellent photos. Don’t stress about the accompanying gear until you’ve mastered the basics. Even with better equipment, don’t ever worry about your gear.
• Read the manual. If you own a camera and have its manual, read the manual and experiment with the functions while doing so. Read in a place where you won’t be distracted.
• Focus on creating valuable photos with every shot. Particularly, one out of every twenty might be the key shot, one out of every hundred could be great, and one out of every thousand could be the photo of a lifetime that everyone acknowledges.
• Don’t get discouraged. If your photos haven’t improved after a few days or weeks, keep at it! Photography also requires persistence and dedication.
• Print your best photo in a reasonably large size.
• Exit auto mode; this allows you to focus on capturing beautiful photos rather than worrying about trivial technical aspects. Switch to "Program" mode, if available, and use program shift to get different combinations of aperture and shutter speed. If you can only take beautiful photos in "Manual" mode, use it, but keep in mind that just because you’re in manual mode doesn’t make you "professional".
• Always carry a magazine wherever you go. While published photos are usually altered to look their best, at least you can find examples of color and shape in 2D mode.
• Be careful when choosing a camera. Spending 16 million VND on a camera doesn’t guarantee you’ll take great photos right away. If you buy a more expensive model, make sure you understand each function thoroughly.
• Don’t buy based on brand. For instance, a 4 million VND Nikon camera for beginners shares many features (e.g., optics, four times magnification) with a cheaper beginner camera, just with a different brand.

• When taking pictures of people in public, always be polite and remember to ask permission if you’re photographing an individual or taking a portrait. Be sure to thank them and show them the photo. Understand that for social or religious reasons, some individuals may not want their photos taken. Additionally, be aware of any usage rights related to images, especially if you plan to use the photo for commercial purposes.

• Camera. You should own at least two: a film camera and a digital one (as mentioned above).