Hello 365 Community! :) So I have been doing the project for just over 3 months and it's been an amazing experience thus far. I'm at the point where I want to be more deliberate about how to improve. More specifically, I'd like to focus on more taking more risks -- movement, people, wider scope, pictures that elicit an emotion. I would so appreciate any guidance by way of tips, techniques, mindsets/approaches. I'd also love some constructive criticism on what I've shot thus far. No ego.
Just keep snapping away. Like any other art, eventually you'll find what you like, what you don't like. It all then melds into your "style" Eventually someone could look at your photo and say "hey...Bess took that." Just keep experimenting. I would definitely recommend the themes, challenges, and competitions on here. Try them out. They really help push you into areas you may not have tried before.
i would echo what the others said... participating in the themes and challenges will really help... the technique and camera settings challenges will guide you in using your settings to control your results... and the themes will make you think about how YOU want to tell a story with a picture... :)
The next stage would be to move towards more composed, more intentional shots and away from easy snapshots that anyone can take. (I'm trying to get away from this myself.) The themes and challenges are good and I'd recommend "Get Pushed" as a way of stepping outside your comfort zone, or the "Camera Settings" challenge. I did "Get Pushed" for a while last time I was here - you end up doing a few things that wouldn't have occurred to you as well as ones you've put off.
Just like others have said, themes and challenges would be a great way. I think that if I were you I would (loosely) concentrate on one aspect of photography each week i.e. the effects of different settings on your camera, the rule of thirds, close ups, landscapes, b&w etc. That way your technical understanding will improve in a structured way and you will get a better understanding of how each of those things impact upon each other.
@bessc Hi, have you read any good photography books or even been through your camera manual and got to know your camera fully? I don't mean that to sound patronising, but I don't know your level of expertise, and understanding your camera is key to getting intentional rather than accidental great shots!
@bessc Do themes! Like everyone said, the competitions are a great way to participate, get feedback, AND practice and improve. Also, what helps me to get inspired and experiment is seeing what other people do in their own albums. Finally, I repeat: DO THEMES. It doesn't have to be the ones on here, it can be your own themes. Think of projects you could do. Shoot in mono one week, do street photography another week, try to shoot abstracts, pick colors, letters, numbers, watch tutorials, ask a friend to pose for you, etc. etc. Find new places, get ideas, and so on. Do all of these things and I guarantee the rest will come with it. :)
@bessc Hi Bess, you asked about mindsets, and I think it is important to be a bit of a perfectionist, either when taking the shot, or in editing, or both. Editing is easier. You should expect to spend at least 10 minutes editing your photo before posting, and sometimes much longer. The more you practise the easier it gets.
I looked through your photos, and the composition is good, but there are some distractions. I see that you do edit your photos to at least crop them, and that is good. Don't be afraid to crop a lot; look at your photos super critically and crop out all distractions, even minor ones. In 'The Best Ride Ever" there is the back of a stop sign near the young girl. Crop it out. If you can't crop it, try using b&w to minimize it's presence (ever wondered why street photography is almost always b&w?).
Always check your verticals and horizontals. Adjust your pictures so they arer truly vertical and horizontal, or make them deliberately very angled. "Shy Girl" is a very nice photo, but the slightly off vertical just takes away from it a bit. I don't know what editing software you have, but free ones like Picasa allow you straighten pictures.
Focus is very important. Something in the picture has to be in focus, unless you are doing an abstract. I'm afraid "Walk Home Buddy", even though it has value for you, is not really sharable. "Form, Focus, and Discipline" has very good focus.
Exposure, contrast, and saturation are also important. Be bold; move the sliders to extremes and then dial them back. That works much better when working with raw, but that is not available on your camera. If you want to produce great photos, raw is essential.
I hope I didn't come across as too critical, just trying to pass on some of what I think about when making a picture. Feel free to take or leave my advice as you see fit.
@danielwsc Not at all!!! It's exactly what I was looking for. This is GREAT feedback and I agree with almost everything if not all of what you said. I really appreciate the time you took to look through the photos and give me really specific feedback as well as general approaches to snapping, cropping, etc. THANK YOU!
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I looked through your photos, and the composition is good, but there are some distractions. I see that you do edit your photos to at least crop them, and that is good. Don't be afraid to crop a lot; look at your photos super critically and crop out all distractions, even minor ones. In 'The Best Ride Ever" there is the back of a stop sign near the young girl. Crop it out. If you can't crop it, try using b&w to minimize it's presence (ever wondered why street photography is almost always b&w?).
Always check your verticals and horizontals. Adjust your pictures so they arer truly vertical and horizontal, or make them deliberately very angled. "Shy Girl" is a very nice photo, but the slightly off vertical just takes away from it a bit. I don't know what editing software you have, but free ones like Picasa allow you straighten pictures.
Focus is very important. Something in the picture has to be in focus, unless you are doing an abstract. I'm afraid "Walk Home Buddy", even though it has value for you, is not really sharable. "Form, Focus, and Discipline" has very good focus.
Exposure, contrast, and saturation are also important. Be bold; move the sliders to extremes and then dial them back. That works much better when working with raw, but that is not available on your camera. If you want to produce great photos, raw is essential.
I hope I didn't come across as too critical, just trying to pass on some of what I think about when making a picture. Feel free to take or leave my advice as you see fit.