{"id":6019,"date":"2012-08-09T12:25:30","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T12:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=6019"},"modified":"2012-08-10T13:18:44","modified_gmt":"2012-08-10T13:18:44","slug":"ten-ways-to-improve-your-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=6019","title":{"rendered":"Ten Ways to Improve Your Photography!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I started thinking about this on the plane yesterday, flying down to Austin. \u00a0I often challenge myself to see what I’ve learned from experience. \u00a0I think you will find this a unique list of thoughts, and I’m pretty certain, if you take them to heart, they will make a big difference in your work!!!<\/p>\n

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1. \u00a0Always have a camera with you. \u00a0Murphy’s law says, “the best shots happen when your camera is at home!” \u00a0Even a small pocket point and shoot or your iPhone will work fine in a pinch!<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. \u00a0Practice learning to see and understand light. \u00a0Where is it coming from, what is it’s quality, and most importantly what is it doing to the subjects around you?!<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. \u00a0Look for color that stands out from the background, both screaming color and muted tones, then crop down to just a photograph that is color for the sheer sake of color.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. \u00a0If you can’t or won’t carry a tripod, work very hard on your handholding technique. \u00a0Learn how to use solid structures to brace yourself against. \u00a0Determine what is the lowest shutter speed you “know” you can hand hold and still get sharp images, and then discipline yourself to stay above that speed. \u00a0Practice exceptional technique! \u00a0 If nothing else, consider a good quality small table top tripod that you can keep handy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. \u00a0Except when driving, use a zen like calmness to truly visualize your surroundings. \u00a0Take the time to find all the intricate patterns, line, color and light interplay that make for great images. You will find the more you look, the more you will see!!<\/span><\/p>\n

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6. \u00a0Shoot wide, tall, close, then even closer, and shoot from all angles, high to low. \u00a0I even learned to fly an airplane so my tripod could be 500 feet tall!<\/span><\/p>\n

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7. \u00a0One camera and one lens of exceptional quality are better than two mediocre cameras and 10 lenses. \u00a0It’s actually easier to make great photographs the less you have to think about the equipment. \u00a0Though quality equipment matters, it’s your vision that matters the most!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

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8. \u00a0Study the work of others, on the internet, like 500 pix.com, and great magazines like National Geographic, Geo, or old copies of Life. \u00a0Exposing your photographic soul to great work will inspire you to see differently, and expand your own vision and approach to the most common of subjects. When I need a visual pick up I study the work of Christopher Burkett, Bill Cox, Mike Moats, Scott Kelby, Jim Begley, and Art Wolfe. \u00a0I walk away every time convinced that I have so much room to improve!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

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9. \u00a0Practice, Practice, Practice. \u00a0My best periods as a photographer, over the last 43 years, have been the times that I was most active as a shooter! \u00a0Practice may not make perfect, but it sure makes you a lot better!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

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10. \u00a0Have fun! \u00a0The best work comes out of a great enthusiasm for the craft, light, and the incredible visual treat around us, that we call the world! \u00a0Smile, you’re behind the camera!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

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In Him,<\/p>\n

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the pilgrim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I started thinking about this on the plane yesterday, flying down to Austin. \u00a0I often challenge myself to see what I’ve learned from experience. \u00a0I think you will find this a unique list of thoughts, and I’m pretty certain, if you take them to heart, they will make a big difference in your work!!!   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronicles","category-learning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6019"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6022,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6019\/revisions\/6022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}