Photography Art skills: 10 Tips to Improve your mastery

Photography art is a part of our life, an amazing way to document every moment of our lives for having that memory forever. Photography is a form of art. Therefore, it requires the intention to appreciate beauty and express emotions, a creative mind, and plenty of imagination. 

A good photographer looks at something ordinary and finds a million different ways to present what he’s seeing and convey those interpretations in beautiful and meaningful photos. It takes a lot of energy and time to develop your professional skills and turn a hobby into a job.

Here are some tips you can use to improve your craft and become a better photographer.

Photography art skill No. 1:

Always have your camera near and shoot every day

Try to find ways to integrate photography art into your everyday life. It gives you not only a creative outlet but also an opportunity to record great moments in your life and the lives of others.

Give yourself photo assignments and practice—you will find your skills growing with every picture you take.

No. 2: Read the camera Manual

Reading a thick camera manual can be a tedious process, but it is vital to know your camera’s capabilities. Today’s cameras are complex computers and if you want to learn its features and get the most out of it, then reading the manual is the best place to start.

With your camera in your hands, go through the manual from the very beginning. Look at the diagrams, and find each item on your camera body. Even if you don’t understand what something is yet, find it on your camera and try everything.

No. 3: Control your camera Focus

Leaving your camera to its own devices it will focus using the central focus point. But your chosen subject won’t always be in the center of the frame. Therefore, the first skill you need to master is how to get your camera to focus on the point you want to be sharp.

If your camera has many focus points spread across the frame you’ll need to set your camera to its single-point autofocus mode, rather than the multiple or automatic selection.

No. 4: Pay attention to the background

The background is equally important as the subject. It can make your subject look great or terrible. When backgrounds are the same tonality or color as the subject, your subject can blend in and get lost in the photo.

If there are many distractions, bright spots, or mergers, change your angle or move to a different vantage point.

A clean background allows the subject to stand out more obviously.

No. 5: Keep your photos as simple as possible

Get as close to your subject as you can. Use your feet, and use your zoom lens (if you have one) to fine-tune your composition. Get rid of anything that doesn’t give some important context to understand your photo fully. Beauty is in simplicity.

Photography art skill No. 6:
Shoot stories, not photos

Every photo is a story. Sometimes a single photo can tell more than a multi-page article. So imagine each picture is a paragraph in that tale. Not just shoot and publish images that all convey the same part of the story. Don’t cover just the action, but the before and after as well. The quieter moments can hold a lot of emotion.

No. 7: Visit Art Museums

A museum is a wonderful place to broaden your horizon, recharge, get inspired, and let those creative juices begin to flow again. Visit an Art Museum and spend the day studying the work of great artists to know how the artist used color, light, shadow, line, composition. By observing the work of other artists, you can find a lot of ways to stimulate new ideas, to think critically resulting in the creation of more art, including photography.

No. 8: Read photography books and blogs

The best books and blogs on photography give you a fresh perspective about the approach to a shoot and provide a burst of inspiration and ideas for new projects.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional or a beginner: there are always new things you can learn about taking pictures.

No. 9: Develop your photography art style  

Whether you want your personality to shine through your images, experiment and find a style that suits your artistic vision. Be consistent with your style, but also realize that your style might not fit every shooting situation. Always know the fundamentals to use when needed.

Look at the work of other photographers and learn from them, discover what it is that you like about their photos, and analyze their methods. It isn’t about copying them, rather learning about them and from them. Discovering the passion and motivation behind their photos will inspire you to find your style.

No. 10: Learn from your mistakes, tweak skills in photography

Getting overexposed, blurry, or worst-composed photos can be frustrating, but rather than letting them discourage you, use those photos as a learning tool. The next time you get such a photo, don’t immediately delete it. Instead, spend some time studying the mistakes to work out what went wrong and how you could improve it. 

In most cases, this will be an easy solution as trying a different composition or using a faster shutter speed. But when you see any recurring problems, you’ll have the opportunity to explore specific aspects of photography and strengthen your weaknesses.