Photography is the most common form of digital art nowadays, especially with the popularity of the social media app, Instagram. There are many people out there calling themselves, "photographers", which is practically annoying especially since they only care about getting likes and followers, instead of focusing on their art. I know I am no expert when it comes to photography, but these actually helped me not only improve my art, but also become successful in establishing my art. So if you actually care about creating art instead of the followers, here's how you can improve:
1. Find other photographers out there that inspire you.
Even though there are many "photographers" out on Instagram, there are still many others who are extremely talented at their craft. I didn't know who to look up to when I first started out. After a few months of digging through Instagram, I have found photographers whose styles have inspired my artform. BUT, it doesn't mean you should directly copy their styles. You should use these as examples or inspiration to create your own creativity.
Photo taken and edit inspired by: Alex Miller (@liquidverve)
2. TUTORIALS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND.
There are going to be times when you're editing a photo and want to attempt to do certain things to a portrait or picture, but you have no idea how to approach it to begin with. Well, luckily for you, there are many photographers on Youtube, who are nice enough to create videos teaching you how to approach the edits. Lately, I have been learning from photographers/videographers such as: Peter McKinnon and Jessica Kobeissi. These photographers graduated from University majoring in either Photography or Graphic Design, so you know that you can trust these people in teaching you as well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/jessicakphoto
Photo: Peter McKinnon
3. Keep on practing and keep moving forward.
There is the most common phrase we hear nowadays: "Practice makes perfect.". And that phrase has come to be true when it comes to photography. The more you shoot with other people, the more you're able to learn and improve your work. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, so it's better to learn in the beginning stages instead of later on. There are many ways you can practice: have your friends model for you, collaborate with beginner models (hit them up on Instagram), attend Instagram meetups, participate in editing conests, etc.
Photo taken by: Tung (@iamtongue)
Edited by: Me (for an editing contest)
4. Connect with other photographers!
This tip is extremely helpful, especially for those who want to take photography sersiously as a career. There won't be anyone else in your lifetimewho relate with you artistically other than fellow photographers. Collaborating with other photographers allow you to be inspired artistically and connect with their models (and vice versa). Finding good models to collaborate with are hard to find especially with the increase of "social media influencers" and "wannabe models". I have collaborated with many talented photographers, and I have met extremely talented models who helped boost my art to where it is today.
In collaboration with: Matthew Jimenez
These tips definitely helped me improve my photography as well as my friends. Thank you for reading my first blog and please leave a comment if you have any questions.
Thank you!