bigstock-Photography-School-Camera-Dia-72670300 Are you just starting out in photography?  Have you been doing it for a while and are wondering how to improve?  Most people will tell you that to improve you need to practice and I would agree.  However, there is another component that is often overlooked. 

When I first started out I read a lot of books.  I watched countless videos.  I practiced with my camera endless hours to make sure I knew my camera and how it worked.  But the one thing that helped the most was associating with people that were already producing the kind of images that I wanted to create.  Why not go straight to the source, right?  Through my local photo clubs and workshops I attended I introduced myself to a number of individuals whom I considered to be producing outstanding work.  Not every introduction led to a contact but soon I had a number of photographers who I could contact when I needed help.  From camera and lens questions to what is the best way to print a photograph, I could ask questions and feel confident that I was getting the right answer. 

One of the main reasons for making these contacts was to have my photographs critiqued by someone that I knew would give me an honest answer.  Your family, friends and relatives usually will not give you an honest answer; they all seem to like your photos because they don’t want to hurt your feelings.  Luckily I found someone that was producing great photography who was willing to critique my photos on a regular basis.  He didn’t always like my photos, in fact he sometimes didn’t like any of them, but he provided positive feedback.  He didn’t just come out and tell me my photos were crap; and looking at them now, they were.  He would tell me what I could have done differently to improve them or what made them not appealing.  It sometimes hurt to have someone tell me that a photo I liked was not very good, but I knew it was helping improve my photography.   In the end, having my photos critiqued early on was one of the main foundations to my improvement in photography.

So whether it is through a workshop, social media, or your local photography club, find someone that is already making  the kind of photos that you insprire to create and ask them questions or if they will critique your photos for you.  I think you will find most of them are happy to help and it just might improve your photography like it did mine.

DISCLAIMER!  A lot of photographers teach photography for their livelihood, whether they write books, run workshops or classes or get paid to critique photos. It is how they make a living so do not be surprised, offended, or upset if they point you towards their products or ask for some money for their advice.  Not everything in life is free and sometimes it is worth every penny.