Are you an aspiring photographer? My here are some things that helped (and continue to help!) me get up and going in the photography business:
“Get it Together” kit by Millie Holloman
and of course, lots and lots of practice!
Here are some free tips…
-Do not rely on photoshop. Yes, it’s true that you can work miracles in Photoshop, but the image looses quality with every change that you make to the exposure and lighting, and there is no guarantee that the colors are going to come out correctly if you took a significantly under- or over-exposed picture, even with color correction. I use Photoshop for minor editions and making colors pop just like everyone else, but don’t let it be a crutch!
-Speaking of crutches… STOP SHOOTING ON AUTOMATIC! (Just to clarify, I’m talking about the bright green automatic square on your camera’s mode selection dial – NOT automatic focus. You should definitely keep using auto-focus). I can’t tell you how many beginning photographers have emailed me asking for tips about lenses, thinking that the right lens will help their colors be brighter and prevent them from underexposing or overexposing images. After a little bit of talking, I usually discover that they are shooting on automatic. You are never going to get the photos that you’re wanting until you learn how to use manual settings. This means understanding and utilizing the correct ISO, shutter speed, and F-Stop. Don’t know what those are? You should definitely sign up for a ONE on ONE session, I would love to help you out!
-Practice, Practice, PRACTICE! Drag your friends around town for an afternoon and practice with different backgrounds and lighting. If you plan to get into wedding photography, try to sneak into a church (legally of course…) and get one of your sweet and loving friends to put on a wedding dress (you can usually find something that will work at a local thrift store), or recruit a real-life bride to help you out. Speaking from experience, brides are ALWAYS up for free pictures. It’s important to practice color balance and lighting techniques, especially with white dresses.
Let me also add…. There are MANY other photographers with FAR more experience and knowledge than me. I am definitely not claiming to be an expert. However, in my short little time as a photographer enough people have asked me for some beginning tips that I decided to develop the learn section. So this is just me sharing my info. From time to time I will have blog posts “for photographers”, so follow my blog if you want!
