10 Favorite “Best Photo Tips”…. By You!
The following post on The Great Photography Tips is by San Francisco based photographer Jim M. Goldstein. Learn more about him at the end of this post.
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When I posted The Best Photo Tip I Ever Received and turned the tables to ask what your best photo tip was I expected a few responses, but I was blown away by the response of 100 people. It just goes to show you that the collective knowledge of the photographic community should never be underestimated.
As a photographer it is extremely important to keep an open mind, seek out new knowledge and learn from others. In this point I know I’m preaching to the choir or else you wouldn’t be reading Digital Photography School. My point is that even those that write and post here at DPS have as much to learn from you as you from us. To take a little detour from my planned series of posts I wanted to point out my favorite “Best Photo Tips” by you the readers of DPS.
In no particular order they are…
- “Think BEFORE you press the shutter” – Fuzzy
- “Do you REALLY want a photo of this?” – Brian Rueb
or
“Would you put it on your wall?” – Chet - “Light is EVERYTHING in photography” – Teineli
similarly…
“Don’t take photographs of subjects, take photographs of the light” – Cedric
and very succinctly put…
“Your photo will be no better than the quality of the light… if the light is mediocre, do not expect anything more than a mediocre photo” – GL - “The difference between great photographers and a not so great photographers is that the great ones don’t show their crappy pictures.” – Bill Boem
- “K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple Stupid” – Laura
- “Try to express your emotion in photo.” – Igor
- “It’s not the camera” – Smitty
- “Take notes on every shot – you will learn far more from your failures.” – D. T. North
- “Bring your camera with you.” – Sybren
- “Never stop learning.” – steaminhaggis
Honorable Mentions:
- “If it’s worth taking one photo of, it’s worth taking a whole roll of. ” – Dan Wolfgang
- “Know your gear” – Scott
- “Fill the frame.” – Tim
- “Stop reading – go shooting.” – UncleSam
To all that took the time to reply to the original post thanks and here’s to more great comments and conversations! If you didn’t yet add your best photography tip – feel free to do so in comments below or share some of your knowledge over in our digital photography forum.
This post was written by Jim M. Goldstein. Jim’s landscape, nature, travel and photojournalismphotography is featured on his web site JMG-Galleries.com, and blog. In addition Jim’s podcast “EXIF and Beyond” features photographer interviews and chronicles the creation of some of his images. In addition Jim can be followed on Twitter and FriendFeed.
30 Responses to “10 Favorite “Best Photo Tips”…. By You!” - Add Yours
June 13th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Nice set of tips. Short and simple. Most of them come down to simple thinking carefully about what you doing. The more experience one has the more that will become second nature.
Gav
June 13th, 2008 at 1:15 am
On tip 9 by Sybren: “Take your camera with you”.
It sounds so silly, but what a great tip to be reminded of all the time. I don’t know how many times I think, ‘what a great shot; if only I had my camera.’ I need to get in the habit of taking it with me to capture the moment when it happens.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:52 am
I suppose “know your gear” works. But I would recommend always checking your iso!
June 13th, 2008 at 5:27 am
No. 9 – “Bring your camera with you” is the best. Can’t count the numbers of times I’ve said to myself.
CK
June 13th, 2008 at 6:49 am
“Try to express your emotion in photo.†– Igor SO hard to do but alwyas great result
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Read your camera manual from start to finish. Then read it again.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:03 am
If I know the light is not good, the portrait will reflect not only bad or harsh lighting, but my lack of confidence in the shot. Most of my favorite portraits I felt great about through the lens before I pushed the button. Kind of zen, but true.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I am a big believer in #3, #7 and #9.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am
This was awesome. Very nice tips ;)
June 13th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
#2b: “Would you put it on your Wall?”
Awesome tip that I often neglect. I think this one is most important when you’re going through your work flow. There are a ton of images in my queue that should’ve been deleted from my HD a long time ago, but haven’t been able to part with the images. After being reminded by that great tip, I just went through and deleted a good 15-20 images that I obviously would never put on my wall.
JMG – It’s awesome to turn things over to this crowd every once in a while. It’s even more awesome that you acknowledged everyone’s incredible wisdom in such a post. Thanks for that.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I love “It is not the camera!”. i feel someone insults me by saying “Your pictures are great… you must have a good camera.”.
One person said this to me just before we ate dinner. The dinner was great so I told her she must have a great stove!
I think she was offended because I didn’t say she was a great cook. I don’t know why! :-P
June 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
“The difference between great photographers and a not so great photographers is that the great ones don’t show their crappy pictures.†– Bill Boem
Possibly the best advice really….
I saw a bit of the programme about Anny lebovitz on iTV player, They showed her very early photos… they showed no crappy ones there ;)
June 13th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Pay as much attention to the background as you do to the foreground.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Yes, I feel that 8 and 9 are most important to me.
When I look at my photographs I search for mistakes ot things I can avoid in future shots. t’s good to learn from mistakes. And comparing old photo’s to my new photos help me to see how much I’ve changed.
And always bring your camera with you everywhere you go. I realized that at the most unexpected moments, I see a great picture. So I bring my camera and extra batteries with me everywhere.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:57 am
It´s not the camera, it´s the eye behind it…
I´ve been to a couple of job interviewa where I have been asked how much my gear was worth??!! Dumb people really think a $10,000 camera is bound to take excellent photos compared to a lowly $1,000 one. Put that expensive camera on a table and watch it carefully…it won´t do squat till someone with some creativity and talent grabs it, if you have the eye you can catch a masterpiece on one of those disposable cardboard kodaks.
It is sad but employers (the dumb ones) think expensive=quality
pity they´re not willing to open their minds a bit.
June 14th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Photo-a-Day challenge should be on the list.
Tip 2, I’m not sure. I think it’s better not to edit yourself too much, especially when it comes to digital. You can sometimes take a photo that you think might not be that good, but you get surprised.
June 14th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Lately I’m guided by this one: “decisive moments are everywhere. You just need to stop and wait for them”. This means that most of the time it doesn’t matter to search for a specific event to document. There are equivalent photography possibilities in apparently not so cool situation. Stop and wait. Study the scene, what happens, what moves, what doesn’t. The decisive moment will come at some point. Be ready!
June 14th, 2008 at 4:16 am
I say…”amen” to all these tips! Well said….and I would add just….enjoy yourself when you photograph…breathe in the moment, and shoot away!!!:)
June 14th, 2008 at 7:48 am
I am along the lines with Bakari, I am still coming to terms with Photography and have taken many many photos of not good standard but for some reason I don’t delete them all. I find myself looking at them and finding one simple aspect in a bad photo and turn it into a piece of artwork using Photoshop CS3 which I am still learning
June 14th, 2008 at 8:04 am
p.s oops forgot my tip, so to speak. There is a reason why you have chosen to take the photo, take several with different settings and “merge” the ones that are almost there noting the settings, the more you do it the more you learn, speaking as a beginner
June 14th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I’ve been preaching #4 and #7 for years now and can only get a few to believe me. You don’t have to have a DSLR to take great photographs, and make each shot you choose to put online unique.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Shoot RAW, adjust the WB and/or color temperature, tweak the contrast, saturation, or EV, and sometimes the photo is fine as is.
Oh, by the way, you don’t need an expensive DSLR. I’ve been shooting with fixed lens cameras for years, and have lots of tremendous photos I would put against any Nikon, Leica, or Hasselblad.
Camera makers have the public duped into believing you need to drop a couple grand to have a good camera, when in fact, it’s the photographer who determines the quality of shot.
June 14th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I recently read an article about photographing lightening storms but I can’t remember where or the “How to” part of it. Last night we had a gorgeous lightening display. Can anyone help with how to photograph it? Thanks, Nancy
June 14th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
agree with Polly K about not deleting. Many times after months I review and it helps me to see that I am making progress and to critique my own pics.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:30 am
I just finished a digital photo class at my local college and I have a decent camera. I would love to start making a little money or at least enter some contests to see if any of my pics are any good. My family, of course thinks they are good but I don’t get any WOWs. (But then, they don’t really care for the art I have hanging on the walls either and some of them are the ‘Greats’.)
What is the best place to start to get some experience AND constructive feedback to boost my confidence?
Thanks, any ideas are greatly appreciated
June 16th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Here are some of ours:
1. Does it tell a story? When you’re busy learning the technical stuff, sometimes you get so engrossed in it that you just miss the point entirely.
2. It’s not your gear, it’s your eye. I know a few people who take photos with P&S cameras that could make DSLR users weep. Give your expensive little toys a break once in a while and take a walk with a cheap disposable camera.
3. Read the manual. If I had a dollar for every photographer who didn’t read their camera’s manual, I’d have retired a long time ago.
June 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Nice tips
I wish you success , Continued to work .
Thanks
June 19th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
:)”SMILE…!!!” ;)
July 14th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Take your camera with you always
great tip.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
“The difference between great photographers and a not so great photographers is that the great ones don’t show their crappy pictures.†– Bill Boem
:) Made me laugh! a great post with lots of simple things to remember.
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