I suck at photography. Help.

[lxxlim]

it's ok..

after a while, you will think you have improved

then 6 months, 1 year down the road, whatever you thought was bloody good would be really sucky again. i think up till date i only really like <20 of my shots. that's what, 3-4 years.

my advice is, use the fact that you are not meeting up to your standards positively. look at more pictures. feel the drive to improve, take more, get the right people to criticise them, get the wrong people to criticise them, learn. understand. assimilate. improve.

if the attitude is right, maybe you might not have a knack for it like some of the more talented people.. but if the attitude is right, the only way is up. for sure.

just remember, don't beat yourself up until you feel sick of photography. that is the worst way to go about doing things. also, don't give yourself so much slack that you start thinking that "oh, i shoot xmm, my friends say WA CHIO means i am improving".

make sure you always, always think before you take a shot. that is what differentiates a photographer's thought process from snap-shot takers, there is thought behind it. conceptualise, ask yourself : what do i want to show? what do i want to see? what do i want to remember?

keep shooting, and remember, always enjoy yourself.

photography is not a lifetime hobby, and it teaches you a lot of things. one important thing is that it tells you a lot about life - what you put in, might not necessarily be what you get out of it. but the faithful always get rewarded.

cheers!

Well said,i like this.

 

[lekzhiyang1994]

Wow. It's been one day and there's so many replies. Erm, I dont know how to do the "copy and reply" kind of thing. Thanks a lot for all your encouragements. My friend who got me interested in photography told me that it takes time to improve too. I guess i'll just have to be alittle more patient. But I wont be able to shoot alot this year though. Anw if you guys are interested or anything, you can visit my flickr and give me some comments on how to improve. I'm not sure if it'll be updated regularly though.

Here's the link: www.flickr.com/lekzhiyang

Once again, thanks for the tips and encouragements. I'll keep trying!

 

[Dream Merchant]

Assuming that you have the technicalities under your belt, and what you envisioned in your mind turned out to be what your photographs show ... you have to identify what YOU feel is lacking in your work, what YOU want to achieve or what YOU want YOUR photo to show.

Learning the 'how', 'when' what's needed' is already difficult, but not knowing 'WHAT' and 'WHY' will make it impossible to achieve, or you may achieve the what, but it might still be less satisfying if you don't really know the 'why'.

Ala the old Phil Collins song - you can't get what you want if you don't know what you want.

 

[krishna91]

Wow. It's been one day and there's so many replies. Erm, I dont know how to do the "copy and reply" kind of thing. Thanks a lot for all your encouragements. My friend who got me interested in photography told me that it takes time to improve too. I guess i'll just have to be alittle more patient. But I wont be able to shoot alot this year though. Anw if you guys are interested or anything, you can visit my flickr and give me some comments on how to improve. I'm not sure if it'll be updated regularly though.

Here's the link: www.flickr.com/lekzhiyang

Once again, thanks for the tips and encouragements. I'll keep trying!

Hey, your photos are not all that bad buddy. I like some of them. You've got some interesting concepts. Keep it up, keep shooting and trust your instincts.

 

[dacteo]

Wow. It's been one day and there's so many replies. Erm, I dont know how to do the "copy and reply" kind of thing. Thanks a lot for all your encouragements. My friend who got me interested in photography told me that it takes time to improve too. I guess i'll just have to be alittle more patient. But I wont be able to shoot alot this year though. Anw if you guys are interested or anything, you can visit my flickr and give me some comments on how to improve. I'm not sure if it'll be updated regularly though.

Here's the link: www.flickr.com/lekzhiyang

Once again, thanks for the tips and encouragements. I'll keep trying!

Hey TS... I think i can understand how u r feeling as i bought my dslr abt 2 mths before u in sep 09. sometimes will think i am shooting junk and how come some ppl can just shoot easily and seem to have a flair for it... whether i shld give up.

But i tell myself I want to enjoy it... if not i will give up and not enjoy the fun from it. so i will be patient and shoot more and understand more of my dslr wat it can do for me...

lets all enjoy it

 

[Foxshade]

Hey TS... I think i can understand how u r feeling as i bought my dslr abt 2 mths before u in sep 09. sometimes will think i am shooting junk and how come some ppl can just shoot easily and seem to have a flair for it... whether i shld give up.

But i tell myself I want to enjoy it... if not i will give up and not enjoy the fun from it. so i will be patient and shoot more and understand more of my dslr wat it can do for me...

lets all enjoy it

I got mine in Dec 08
I guess need to maintain balance between enjoying it and making an effort to improve.

Explore the manual to get to know your camera well. Know what it can do and what it can't do.

Experiment with every possible combinations of settings, and see the result.

Read about composition, and try it. I am trying to learn about composition from here.

Trail those gurus in this forum, and check out their shots. Compare their shots with the composition rules. That's all I have been doing, and will always be doing. :bsmilie:

There are times they break the composition rules, yet still look good. Explore the reason why.

 

[dacteo]

I got mine in Dec 08
I guess need to maintain balance between enjoying it and making an effort to improve.

Explore the manual to get to know your camera well. Know what it can do and what it can't do.

Experiment with every possible combinations of settings, and see the result.

Read about composition, and try it. I am trying to learn about composition from here.

Trail those gurus in this forum, and check out their shots. Compare their shots with the composition rules. That's all I have been doing, and will always be doing. :bsmilie:

There are times they break the composition rules, yet still look good. Explore the reason why.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[MartinS]

I find a great medium to help improve is Flickr. I really enjoy trawling this site for inspiration and adding the ones I like to my "favourites". It makes it easier for me to go back to them over and over again to try to emulate the techniques and composition used.

 

[eosandy]

A good way to self-critique is to put a shot you think is good as desktop wallpaper for a while, and see if you still like it as time passes. If you find you don't like it, you can usually pinpoint what's wrong. If you do like it and can handle it as you own wallpaper then it's a good first step.

Someone said it takes around 10,000 shots before you are "good". I tend to think that the shot process changes over time and that you develop the "eye" but you need to examine what you are doing, and not just switch to burst mode (unless the situation warrants it)!

 

[MintChoco]

Hey, your shots aren't as bad as you made them sound, heh. I particularly like the one with the swing set.

So many people have given their encouragement to you. Like people have said, this isn't something you can be good at right away. Go out, shoot more and slowly get comfortable with the whole thing, and you'll find that you can produce better pictures.

I got a dSLR in Nov, but I don't think I'm that good. I have my good moments, then I have my bad ones more than the good. Heh.

All the best!

 

[ortega]

after almost 20 years since i first picked up a camera, i am still learning
it is a never ending process and your perceptions change over time

 

[kniveswood]

It's good to feel that you suck, that's when you will improve. After a year of sucking, look back at your old photos, I'm sure you will find that you improved.

 

[leowyien]

Keep thinking about your weaknesses and try to improve them. For your strengths, take them a step further.

 

[kfchrispy]

hey, your photos look better than mine.
And I've been shooting for like 8 months now.
hahaha...

 

[wongcho]

Just a suggestion. If your camera has auto function try to take your best shot and also take the same under auto mode. Compare the differences and if your manual is better than auto you are doing fine. If not ask why you have chosen some other parameters (maybe you wanted a greater depth of field etc..). Know and enjoy the differences. There is more satisfaction when you can capture what you wanted to take - sometimes different objectives and different perspective will yield different results.

 

[shutterkhai]

been to ur flickr page and yes..not too bad some of your shots..i belive u will get there one day..might be sooner than later..just that the sooner really depends on how much effort u put it.

but hey, so far i see that it's a good start..maybe ud like to find ur style or rather what do u feel most comfortable inshooting, landscape? protrait? still life? not to say u cant shoot others if ur comfortable on one, but make the best of the one that ur comfortable in and showcase it..

u might just have ideas in incorporating them altogether one day! eg, portrait & landscape

keep shooting my friend!

 

[coolthought]

I have another perspective on "just keep shooting and you will improve".

I was scolded other day by someone who is schooling me on photography. "stop killing your shutter count". As far as I now, each DSLR has a "lifespan" based on shutter count. This is why those experienced DSLR user buyer will ask for shutter count.

So, again. Know your equipment and its abilities. F-stop, focusing distance, depth of field, what is the possible hand held shutter speed,....etc.... keep shooting but keep a clear mind what it is you are trying to get....

 

[night86mare]

I have another perspective on "just keep shooting and you will improve".

I was scolded other day by someone who is schooling me on photography. "stop killing your shutter count". As far as I now, each DSLR has a "lifespan" based on shutter count. This is why those experienced DSLR user buyer will ask for shutter count.

the shutter c an be easily replaced.

last i remember, mostly around 200-300 $.

if the person who is schooling you is a good teacher, it has less to do with cost. as a hobbyist, the hobby is loss-making in the long run. unless you are a professional you will not have to think in terms of lifespan, resources. whatever he/she is saying is "think before you shoot" - i hope. because thought is the most important thing differentiating a snapshot from a masterpiece.

 

[Verticoastro]

I take about 3 to 4 years to see the improvement... I am not talented. so, I take longer time to learn...

you might take a look at library and mags to get inspired.. improvement is not overnight... also good technical knowledge is crucial so that you don't have to worry about camera setting and concentrate on getting good and nicely composed picture...

Read a lot, see a lot, research a lot... keep shooting...

 

[Ericulf]

don't worry. you're not alone XD

I'm learning too.. alot of great people here would be willing to help and post constructive comments when you post your photos!