3 Things That Make a Great Photographer
This List is wisdom that I've gathered over my short period of time as an amateur photographer.
1. A Great photographer utilizes any equipment that is available to them.
What do I mean exactly? Well everyone dreams of being an amazing photographer that owns a 1000$ camera taking the most high quality of shots ever seen with the most million pixels, but what most of us forget is that we all (most likely) have a camera of some sort right now! Even if it's only a smartphone!
Let me tell you about the time I went on a trip to North Carolina (A very photogenic state) with my family. Throughout the trip I had no camera of my own because my phone camera was broken, and I didn't own a dedicated camera at the time. Of course, I was bummed me out that I couldn't take pictures of the beautiful hills and amazingness that is NC. While walking around a particularly amazing scene with my cousin, I noticed the most beautiful picture ever, that I simply couldn't leave a memory; so I Utilized what was available to me and told my cousin to take out his phone, I explained to him exactly how I wanted the picture framed (because I wanted to be in it ;) , and then I sent myself the picture, and this was the result;
An amazing impromptu picture if you ask me, definitely worth it!
So remember, if you see something that is picture worthy and you don't have a camera, improvise!
2. A great photographer figures out what variables they can control in a picture.
No matter what camera you have, whether it's an iphone, android, canon, nikon, sony, or polaroid, you must know all the variables that you are in control of. To create the best possible picture you need to understand that this is YOUR picture, and you have the power to decide what it looks like, so do what you can to make it an amazing work of art! Here's some examples of questions that you can ask yourself: is this the best angle for the picture? should I change the height at which I take the picture from? can I control any lighting? should my subject move to a better spot? Should I tell my subject to smile? Should my subject face me? Should my subject look natural or pose? Should I zoom in more, or move close? and many many more countless questions that I can't list here. For every situation you find yourself in, assess and figure out what variables are in your control, see what looks the best, and suits your style!
For this picture, I felt that the angle at which i was taking it at made the model look way too small, which looks good, but it wasn't the exact style I was going for.
So i got a lower angle to match the height of my models eyes, and I zoomed in a bit to make her a lot more larger in the frame. I also decided a rule of thirdsy kinda picture instead of positioning her in the center of the picture.
3. A great photographer knows everything about their camera. (Manual)
Before I owned a dedicated camera, my main photography device was my Samsung Galaxy s7. I used to use auto mode and rely on my phone to create perfectly exposed pictures, and it definitely comes in handy when i need to take a quick picture, but eventually I learned that my phones camera has a "pro" mode, which essentially manual mode. In this mode I can control shutter speed, manual focus, ISO, and white balance. Once i discovered this, a whole new world was unlocked for me, because there was new options that I had no idea how to use together properly. With some research and a few googles, I was able to take way more creative pictures, and I felt as if I was given more power to explore what was possible.
Picture taken with manual mode on my S7
Basically, if you have a camera, and there is any settings that you have no idea what they do, google them! The internet is an infinite source of knowledge, and the more you know about your camera, the better the quality of your pictures will be! Explore every option in the settings of your camera, and see if there's anything interesting, try every mode and setting, and see what happens! Even Iphones have the ability to control focus and exposure to some extent, explore and be creative!
Conclusion
With the evolution of camera technology, almost anyone these days can become a photographer. These are qualities of what I believe make a great photographer. If you truly have photography as a passion you probably already relate to many of the tips that I have given. Thanks for reading! Comment what you think about my list, and show m some love by following me on Instagram @arbitercu
