What makes a great photographer?
What makes a great photographer?
There are four main components that make up a great photographer:
- Technical knowledge. This includes the foundations of photography such as light and posing, knowledge in the basics such as shutter speed, white balance, aperture, ISO, and incorporates the technical theory and know-how in making a great image.
- Technical follow-through. This is the physical application of the technical knowledge above. It’s knowing how to set the shutter speed, aperture, how to focus, meter, and so on.
- Artistry and creativity. This is the artistic expression of the photographer, and includes composition, lines, mood, feeling, storytelling, and so on.
- Personality. We all know that you can be technically the greatest photographer, but if you want to take pictures of people, then you must have the right personality for it. You must make people feel comfortable, warm and welcome in front of the camera and therefore it’s a big part of the equation in the discussion of people photography.
The list above is from an excellent article by Bryan Caporicci on Thomas Menk’s Fuji Scoop It site, and he wrote a great article about the on coming mirror less revolution, but that is for another entry, I want to deal with the four issued above!
Number One is a given. You have to understand and be able to use the basic principles if you want to become a great image maker!
Number Two is vital. It truly is the vital application of those principles that will allow you to make the images you want to make! Once you fully understand the controls, you can solve any of the problems you will have to work through. Photography is problem solving and knowledge and application are the two key
Number Three artistry and creativity. This is where the rubber meats the road! Artistic expression is you, how you see the world and how you apply your knowledge of composing, storytelling, and expressing your feelings in your work. Artistry is art, skill, talent, brilliance, and flair, all rolled into one!
Personality is how you show up in your images!! Bryan is referring in this one about photographing people. He is right, but your personality also factors into how you approach all subjects! While your personality doesn’t have much affect on an old rusting car, it does have a big affect on how you photograph. I know I’m loosing you, but trust me there is a point in here somewhere!!!!!! I believe your outlook is vital to how you see. Are you open to new ideas, do you have a strong work ethic? Why does any of this matter? Because your willingness to stay on top of the process will result in your staying “in the process”. Even in art, sticking with it, can determine how far we go! If your personality is to stay positive and never give up, you will make the journey with a lot more success!
Thanks Bryan for a very interesting article filled with great information. Here is a link to his article:
sproutingphotographer.com
Blessings,
the pilgrim
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 at 8:29 pm
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
I love what you shared here in this article Bill and I totally agree with you on all points, especially point 4. I have been thinking a lot about how we show up in our images. How we see really determines how we capture the light and how we compose the image. While one person may choose to do a wide panorama, another might choose to zoom in and capture a small part of the landscape. I was out shooting early this morning in the desert all by myself alone with the Lord. And I am constantly amazed at how God paints the sky in different ways every morning at sunrise. I was shooting in one direction, then another, just trying to capture the beauty of the clouds. And I was actually thinking about Point 4 that you wrote about – just how someone else would probably shoot the morning sunrise and the landscape differently than me. I don’t think we even realize how much we are in our photos because of how we see the light. Thanks Bill – I learn so much from you all the time!!
We both do from our Heavenly Father!