How to improve your photographic skills
By Adrian Toon, director of a2n.
Before digital cameras, we had to wait for film to be processed and prints made to see what our efforts had produced. Today, photographs are immediately available for review, which gives us a big advantage of being able to review what we have ‘in the can’ and, if needed, take the photograph again.
This leads us on the a more detailed review of what we have taken when back at our desk. Always review your work, looking to see how you could have done it better; it’s the little things such as framing the subject, correct focus, or levelling the camera. Making a mental note for the next time you take pictures.
Moving on to improve your skills further, look at other images that appear in magazines that appeal to you and try to recreate what they have done. Be inquisitive and try to work out how they achieved that perspective, exposure or timing.
The more you learn the better you will become. Within a short time, you will begin to see other pictures where you can identify errors and where you can do better, which is a clear sign your skills are improving.
All this helps to train your eye for a good image. Rather than a task, taking that promotional picture becomes more rewarding.