Why Some People Almost Always Take Awesome Photographs
Categories: Guides
Written By: lightstalking
If you have ever spent serious time working or learning from a well-known professional photographer, then you will come to realise that some of them barely ever take a bad photo. While it can be a little disheartening to see the shots from an afternoon and know that their worst shot is better than your best, it also means there is a technique to the craft that can be emulated. In my experience, the people who take constantly excellent photos have a few characteristics and follow a few rules that set them apart from many other photographers. Here is what I have witnessed.
They Know Their Camera – Most folks I have seen whose skill I want to copy know their camera like the back of their hand. Without taking their eye from the view finder they can switch back and forth from auto-exposure bracketing, white balance adjustments, ISO, aperture and whatever else their weapon of choice can do. Usually this is a result of them having used the same gear for years and practiced so much that adjustments on their camera become a reflex. A great piece of advice for amateur photographers with a new DSLR is to sit down and read the instruction manual from cover to cover!
They Pre Plan – On the way to a shoot, these photographers are already thinking about (and probably chatting to their assistants about) the conditions they expect to be shooting under. That means they take the right selection of gear and know exactly what to do when they get there. If they are not sure about the shooting conditions, they will often plan according to a variety and take appropriate gear. I spent many train trips in Japan (as a photographer’s assistant) simply listening to my boss tell me about what the shooting conditions would likely be and how we should react to them.
They Know the Theory – A big part of what allows these people to pre plan their shoots is knowing what type of shooting situations require which type of reaction. Knowing that indoor fluorescent lighting will give a green tinge to most photos means you can adjust white balance setting on a camera accordingly. Knowing that photos of lightning are best taken at 100ISO with a tripod gives you an advantage when that situation rolls around. Knowing how to react to challenging shooting conditions allows such folks to pre-plan their shoots. The easiest way to get to know the theory behind photography is to read everything you can get your hands on about the subject.
They Get Close – Good photographers (usually) fill the frame with the subject. There is a reason that the first three rules of photography are “Get closer. Get closer. Get closer.” This might be generalising a little (landscape photography for example doesn’t require strict adherence), but when shooting a subject or person, these photographers get up close and personal. There is a reason that paparazzi get so close and jostle each other – good people shots require as much proximity as possible.
They Know Post Production – Whether they shoot on film or digital, these folks know how to get the most out of the post production process. That might mean burning and dodging in a darkroom or masking and correcting levels in Photoshop, but these guys have a solid understanding of what makes a great picture and they usually have an efficient work flow to back that up.
A lot of this comes down to a combination of two factors. Education and practice. Now education is what you make it – from reading websites like this one to buying and reading photography books and guides all the way through to going to photography colleges. Practice is pretty straight forward. How close you get to being able to emulate those folks who can take a great picture every time really depends on how much time you are willing to put into these two things.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
This is a great article. I try to instill some of these basic fundamentals in my photography students, but it takes me way too long to say all the things included here in a nice succinct list. Thanks. (BTW, The Twitter-direct comment system seems to work fine.)
January 5th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
This is good stuff and a great reminder that we are all capable of great photography.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Great tips. I already have started implementing some of these suggestions into my approach to photography. Maybe one day I'll be great.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:20 am
Very interesting post! This site is very useful!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:14 am
[...] 06.01.2010 kirjoittanut jhalmu Why Some People Almost Always Take Awesome Photographs [...]
January 6th, 2010 at 6:35 am
Some very poignant advice. This may all sound very basic, especially to experienced photographers, but it's all very true. It pays to follow each and every one of these habits. Back to the experienced photographers…we sometimes forget. So even though I've been shooting for 15 years, it never hurts to brush up on some theory or sit down with the camera manual.
Great post. THanks.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Great advice!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Couldn't agree with you more. Especially about the “up close and personal.” I know that by getting intimate with a subject I am allowing not just myself to really know them but giving my viewers the opportunity to know this individual as well.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:02 am
[...] Why Some People Almost Always Take Awesome Photographs (tags: photography) [...]
January 6th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Professionals tend to have a little something else don't they? I was once on a shoot with Sebastiao Salgado. We were in a family's house (a mud and straw hut really) in Somalia. He took my mini “i-zone” Polaroid, spent a couple of seconds framing the shot, and snapped a photo of the family inside. It was the most beautiful 1.5 X 1″ photo I've ever seen.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
[...] Why Some People Almost Always Take Awesome Photographs (tags: photography) Categories: Uncategorized Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Leave a comment Trackback [...]
January 7th, 2010 at 1:38 am
This is true, of course, but it´s only the technical point of view. What about inspiration, what about respect to the people while getting “closer”, what about building up confidence, warmth (you see it in their eyes – or not)? What about talent?
January 8th, 2010 at 4:53 am
[...] Lightstalking has Why Some People Almost Always Take Awesome Photos [...]
January 8th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
The portrait of the lady is very much accentuate with great expression and its a great capture..Thank you for a wonderful article..
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
“The easiest way to get to know the theory behind photography is to read everything you can get your hands on about the subject.”
I'd like to add that reading will get you part way there. You need to get out and shoot as much as possible. Nothing takes the place of hands on trial and error.
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I really agree with knowing your camera well. In many instances in the past, if I could not change several settings on my camera almost without looking, I would not have been able to get those shots. Which means it helps to get a camera body that has dedicated buttons for things you will be changing most.
I have several hobbyist photographer friends and what often holds their shots back is the lack of post skills, especially with regards to contrast.
And yes, there is nothing like getting close for portraits. I find the above mentioned friends are also hesitant to crop off the top of someone's head.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
[...] Why Some People Always Take Awesome Photographs [...]
April 25th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Great article,
I agree with every word. All that I know and learned was from reading books and websites like these.
Great work thanks a lot
May 6th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Wonderful read. As a newbie DSLR owner, I’m hanging on to every word you say! My passion is food photography. Thank you for sharing the knowledge so whole heartedly!
July 18th, 2010 at 4:49 am
Thanks for this great advice. As an amateur with not so secret aspirations to one day be a professional photographer, they are important to read. I know I have a great deal more to learn and look forward to the day I can devote time to it (especially digital post-production and RAW).
I might add two other pieces of advice, given to me by my first photography instructor:
1. Take detailed notes. You can’t learn from what you’ve done if you can’t remember all the settings that led to the photo. I have trouble following this as it requires taking the time to pause.
2. “You’re lucky if you can get 1 excellent photo from each roll of film”. Looking at professional photographers’ contact sheets show you that even with all the pre-planning most of their shots are not of the same caliber if their famous, widely seen photos. We see the great images and imagine that all of their photos are. More often than not, this is not the case.
Thanks, again!
July 18th, 2010 at 10:29 am
This is a great article. The hot air balloon shot is mine that you posted so not sure why it says the photo was taken by Christolakis. Please correct that.
July 18th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
This article is great, and it applies to many fields in addition to photography.
While I’m pretty marginal as a photographer, I remember similar cases when I was co ing up as a musician. I would play along side my teacher, and he would always sound great, whether it was in an Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, or the crummiest little band – it didn’t matter to him, he just always sounded top notch.
This gives me something to think about in my picture taking.
Great job.
July 18th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Hi Seattle, Aweome shot and sorry for that mistake. The link was correct, but for some reason we got the name wrong. I have corrected that one, so thanks for bringing it to our attention!