When you’re just starting as a photographer, it’s easy to lose track of your goal, especially when all the photos you’ve been taking might not be turning out as great as you had expected them to. This is no cause for worry.
All photographers, even the best of professionals, have experienced this. However, they didn’t let that stop them! They plowed on and achieved success. Remember that photography is not something that you can master overnight.
If you want to be a professional photographer, you’ll also need to learn about artistic lightroom presets, skin retouching, camera equipment, on location photoshoot practices, and more. A major part of photography is to understand lighting and the changes it can bring to the composition of a photo.
It’s not an inborn gift but rather an acquired skill. Don’t let your enthusiasm die down. Keep that fire going, and soon, you’ll have great results. Here are a few ways you can keep yourself motivated when it comes to learning and mastering the art of photography.
1. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU
This is probably advice you’ve heard before. As such, it still rings true and proves to be the best advice. Have your camera on you at all times. Whenever you see a photo opportunity or feel inspired, you can be ready with your camera so that the moment doesn’t go to waste.
While mobile phones have great cameras, it helps if you go the extra mile and also carry a camera that can give you a little flexibility and wiggle room while you’re shooting.
When we say ‘always,’ we do mean always. Carry your camera with you when you go to the grocery store, the dentist’s office, or even while you’re walking your dog. You never know when a perfect capture-worthy opportunity can pass you by.
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2. SET SOME GOALS
This works for people in fields other than photography, as well. Set a career trajectory and write down what you plan to achieve as a photographer starting today. Go on until you’ve achieved all the career goals you’ve planned for yourself.
Set some milestones on the way. These milestones should not be ridiculously unachievable. For example, you could challenge yourself to enter a competition or even publish your work with a magazine.
Once you’ve completed your plan, put it somewhere you can see it so that you’re reminded of it often.
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3. START YOUR OWN 365 PROJECT
Take at least one photograph per day. This way, not only will you have visual documentation of every day of that last year, but you’ll also have grown your photography skills.
An entire year of photography is enough time for you to try out new techniques and learn along the way. If you want to make your captures public, you should look into Flickr, Blogger, and Photoblog.
4. RECEIVE FEEDBACK
Getting critiqued isn’t as bad as it sounds. In fact, receiving constructive criticism is vital in terms of your growth as a photographer. Get some feedback from other photographers. This way, you’ll know what to do different and how to improve upon things. Criticisms will help you broaden your horizons and improve your craft.
5. JOIN A COMMUNITY
If you don’t have the opportunity to interact with other photographers and gain some constructive feedback that way, joining an online community is your next best option. As we live in the age of the internet, you have a billion options of web services that let you store and share your photos. Pick one and get started. Build relationships and give and get feedback. The online community is the best place to inspire you on your photographic journey.
At Sid Photography, we welcome budding photographers to reach out to us for any assistance or advice they may need. We have over 10 years’ experience in the industry, and we can be of help to you.
6. SET ASSIGNMENTS FOR YOURSELF
Broaden your horizons by narrowing your focus. Pick one theme and focus on that. For example, you could try patterns and textures, creative framing, unconventional angles, portraits, or mundane objects.
7. CHANGE YOUR SCENERY
Don’t hamper your creative juices by staying cooped up in the same place. A change in scenery doesn’t have to be as drastic as moving to a new city. You could simply take a different route to work, try taking photo walks, or travel to a different place.
8. EXPERIMENT
Irrespective of whether you aspire to be a newborn photographer, baby photographer, kid’s photographer, or maternity photographer, it’s important to play with different concepts and techniques. A few things you could look into are painting with light, cloning yourself in pictures, high-speed photos, and using a shallow depth of field.
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9. LEARN SOMETHING NEW
You can only be truly great if you’re willing to learn. There will always be something that you can improve on. If you feel like you’ve mastered one particular style, it’s time to give another style a shot.
10. FOLLOW PHOTOGRAPHERS
There are lots of great artists who display their work on social media. These platforms are one of the best places you can find motivation from. Explore different artists, their styles, and their techniques. You can even reach out to them, commending them on their work.
There are lots of things you could do to keep yourself motivated. If you’ve grown tired of your old gear, you could get new camera equipment, shake things up and redesign your website, or make prints of your photos so that you have physical copies of your hard work.
You can even take a photography workshop so you can interact with others exploring photography or visit a photo exhibition. Photography is all about finding beauty in everyday objects. It’s a craft that’s well worth the effort of learning.
So, this concludes our list of ways to keep yourself driven and inspired when taking photographs. Do you have anything to add to this list? If yes, comment below.
Sid is a family and portrait photographer. Don’t forget to like Sid Photography on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.
