Every budding or aspiring photographer wants to click stunning and splendid images. They all want to click photographs that can be admired and praised by others. But achieving such images usually takes time. It doesn’t happen by just buying a fancy camera (which is a common misconception with a lot of people these days!). It doesn’t happen by going to fancy locations too. It happens when you persistently and dedicatedly work towards making even the most ordinary things look beautiful. And you’ve got to develop good habits for that.
Take inspiration
It’s always good to see the work of others. You must learn more about the best photographers in the world, and what famous photographers did to be where they are today. Read more, learn more, and consequently you will be evolving each day, with your photography skills getting better and better. If you like certain photos, try and duplicate those to enhance your photography skills. Challenge yourself to get similar photos, and you will realize that you are learning new things in the process.
Be Ready and Prepared in advance
You want to catch the sunset, but forgot to charge the camera battery in a hurry? You are at a wedding, but forgot to carry your tele lens and are stuck with just a fisheye? Don’t let that happen. To get better photos, your focus should be on the photos and the creative aspect of them, NOT on backend problems. Good photographers always prepare in advance by cleaning their lenses and cameras, charging their batteries and packing all necessary things way in advance. They are also never late at an event, so there is no hurry to do things and cover up for the time lost.
Click Everyday
Good photography doesn’t happen overnight or in just one go. It happens when you practice everyday. There is science involved in the making and functioning of a camera, and there is art and aesthetics involved in framing the perfect shot. Only when you practice everyday do you understand the combination of both better, and that’s when you start getting good pictures. So make it a point to take your camera along with you everyday, wherever you go, and practice as much as you can whenever possible.
Move Yourself, not the world!
A good habit to get better photos is to be more proactive. If there are people blocking your view, move around and look for another angle. Ask yourself consciously, will you get a better shot when you kneel down or go up a tree? Look around for more angles and shooting points around you. Better pictures don’t come by asking people to move things or themselves for you; they come by moving yourself and making good use of obstructions, such as playing with them in foregrounding etc. So break that habit of getting a ‘clear’ view of things, and make yourself move as much as you can.
Aim for Variety
Good photographers always aim for variety. If you’ve done something before and have got a beautiful shot, it means you’ve mastered that bit. But the next time, you don’t have to show your mastery; you’ve to instead try and do something new. You must aim for different styles of photography and different kinds of framing each time you pick up the camera. Again, inspiration and research plays an important role in helping you do this, so read photography books, essays, magazines etc. and look at other’s work to know how you can achieve variety in your photography.
Think!
Shoot with your mind. Don’t just focus on getting ‘a lot’ of photographs. Instead, focus on getting ‘good’ photographs. Take time before framing each shot to see what you really want to focus on. Try and get some meaning into your pictures, and soon, it’ll become second nature to you.
