PHOTOGRAPHY ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS
Before we get started: This post was originally shared with my email community in September 2019. I’m sharing it with you on the the blog today by way of a gentle pep-talk and a reminder not to allow yourself to become crippled by comparison on social media.
This post also gives a little insight as to what you might expect from my fortnightly Letters from the Road. If you’d like to receive letters like this to your inbox every other Saturday, you can sign up below. You’ll also receive my complimentary 7 day guide to better photos with your children.
If you hang around on Instagram for too long, looking for photography inspiration, you might get more than you bargained for.
Sometimes, the way people talk about photography can make it seem untouchable or unattainable, as they hold their craft in reverence. I used to be so intimidated by the words and photos I saw on social media that they would leave me crippled in self-doubt and questioning my self-worth.
We’re exposed to more of other people’s finished creations than ever before. We look and admire and then when we create, a lot of the time it might not be that great. Too often we might think we’re just not good enough or talented enough. Yet if you a take a moment to look at someone else’s cutting room floor, what do you think you’ll see? I’ll tell you. What you’ll find there is a sea of mediocre attempts, the failed experiments and the crappy first drafts.
Creativity truly is magic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for the masses. It can lift your spirits in unimaginable ways and when you’re in the flow, it’s easy to believe in divine intervention. I’ve seen it happen for myself but I also live the graft. I’ve clocked the hours. Pressed my shutter button hundreds of thousands of times. And that’s the part that really counts. When you’re learning, it’s the only thing you have any control over. Whether you’re willing to show up again and again, tweak your settings, try this angle or that. Learn to slow down and look at the colour and quality of the changing light. Train your eye to spot the visual signposts that point to good photo-making. Tune in to the story of your life.
Don’t kid yourself that creativity only blesses the chosen few. Every photographer you admire puts in the graft. They’re learning the language of light, composition, colour & story all the time. They might be more fluent now so the hits come more often but I promise you, you’ll get there too.
So don’t overthink it, just crack on with the graft. Don’t let anyone’s best efforts distract you from whatever it is you need to do to improve. Pick up your camera and take some photos. Learn online. Try to take it with you when you leave the house. Just keep going and don’t let the jaw-dropping creations put you off. You'll get there.
If you don’t believe me, just watch this :)