Could not do it.. I posted 35 camera ads a cupel of days ago and woke up in the middle of the night and I ended some of them. I need my Nikon (F2) and I need to photograph to feel good.
All this just because yesterday I saw that Eric Kim had put up "100 Photography Tips for Beginners" and I got a desire to make new pictures.
100 Photography Tips for Beginners by Eric Kim
1. “When in doubt, click.”
2. Be selective about what you decide to photograph; but once you find something good, shoot the hell out of it.
3. Big cameras are overrated
4. Don’t “take” photos, “make” photos
5. Focus less on technical settings; focus more on composition and framing
6. “Set it and forget it”
7. What you subtract from a frame is more important than what you add to a frame
8. The most important question to ask yourself in photography: “Why do I make photos?”
9. Buy books, not gear
10. Photography workshops are a better “bang-for-the-buck” experience than attending photography schools
11. Aim to make 1 good photo a month, and 1 great photo a year
12. More megapixels, more problems
13. Some useful compositional tips
14. The best investment for a photographer is a good pair of shoes
15. Photograph what you’re afraid of
16. Creativity is about constraints, not about having unlimited options
17. It is hard to make a good body of work in exotic countries
18. Seek to make connections, not photos
19. “Shoot from the gut, edit with your brain”
20. The point of photography isn’t to become a great photographer, but to live a great life
21. Every photo you make is a self-portrait of yourself
22. Have a strong visual anchor in your photo
23. The 3 things that make a great photograph
24. How to capture emotions
25. Don’t crop your photos
26. Share fewer photos on social media
27. You can never get enough “likes” on social media
28. Seek to unlearn photographic myths
29. Do you like your own photos?
30. Would a master photographer from the past shoot with an iPhone today?
31. Don’t just take 1–2 photos of a scene (work the scene)
32. Never compare yourself with others
33. Aim to improve your photography by 1% everyday
34. Aim to make complex photos, not complicated photos
35. Distrust social media
36. Print your work
37. The journey is the reward
38. Photograph everyday for 5 minutes, rather than photographing for 5 hours once a week
39. The best camera is the most invisible camera
40. Seek to have fewer people like your work
41. Cross-pollinate your photography to be more creative
42. If nobody else existed, would you still make photos?
43. The photos you decide not to make are more important than the photos you do make.
44. Photography is 90% editing your work (choosing your best photos) and 10% actually making photos.
45. Aim to make one memorable photograph before you die
46. Photograph like a child
47. Aim to reduce the size of your camera
48. “Creepiness is proportional to focal length.”
49. The best “zoom” is “foot-zoom”
50. When in doubt, drink more coffee
51. A good way to judge your compositions: flip your photos upside down
52. Be a flaneur
53. The more time you spend on social media, the less satisfied you will be with your photography
54. You are only as good as your last photo
55. Aim for longevity in photography
56. “If you aren’t busy being born, you’re busy dying.” – Bob Dylan
57. Seek to know a few photographers very well, rather than many photographers superficially
58. Apply the 80/20 rule in your photography
59. Print your work as small 4×6’s to select your best photos
60. There are no “good” or “bad” photos, but there are certainly “interesting” and “boring” photos
61. Purge your photos once a year
62. Aim to get one good photo from a thousand photos
63. Make your own website portfolio
64. Don’t be suckered by nostalgia from the past
65. Train your eyes daily like a bodybuilder trains his body daily
66. Be a lazy photographer
67. Don’t “chimp”
68. How to kill envy in photography
69. Only take photos when you feel like it
70. A question to ask yourself: “Is photography adding stress to my life, or removing stress from my life?”
71. Shoot both horizontal and vertical photos
72. Use minus-exposure compensation in harsh light
73. A photographer’s best tool is his/her smile
74. Shoot with your flash more often
75. For portraits, put your subject’s eye in the direct center of the frame
76. If someone criticizes your photo; remember, they aren’t criticizing you as a human being
77. If you travel, always try to pack as light as possible
78. “Kill your babies”
79. Sequence your photos like a movie
80. How can you turn your obstacles into an opportunity?
81. Make interesting photos out of boring things
82. Shoot RAW+JPEG
83. Don’t buy a photography book you don’t plan on re-reading
84. Bokeh is overrated
85. Don’t just study photographers
86. Don’t define your photography
87. The more you give, the more you receive in return
88. When shooting, look down, and look up
89. Assume other photographers know better than you do
90. Don’t trust photography editors who don’t know how to make photos themselves
91. When conflicted between buying two cameras, buy neither
92. Why do we take photos of strangers with cameras worth thousands of dollars, whereas we photograph our loved ones just with our iPhones?
93. Don’t take photos of everything; know when to just enjoy the moment
94. Start off shooting black and white, then transition into color later
95. Post-processing, filters, and presets are not “cheating”
96. Don’t think years, think decades
97. Shoot everyday as if it were your last
98. Give away your old gear
99. Start your own photography blog
100. Create your own list of 100 tips
Thanks for giving me new inspiration Eric.
