We all want to take better photos right? And sometimes taking better photos is just about thinking about things in a different way. This is what I do – I think about things in a way that will help you to take better photos, and this is what I share on my blog and my podcast.
So here are 11 actionable things that you and I can do to take better photos
- Get out more and take photos
- Learn to use all our gear properly
- Start all over again
- Simplify and get rid of distractions
- Really think about composition
Right, I know, that is only 5. Let me explain.
That is as far as episode 148 got I am afraid. See when I finished writing these 5 I had enough for a full episode, and if I had carried on it would have been a full hour of me talking, which none of us are ready for right? So the next 6 are in episode 149, which will be published next week.
And there is some other stuff that I tell you about in this post.
- The Photography Explained Podcast
- The podcast website
- Ask me a question!
- Related reading
- My You Tube channel
- Get a weekly email from me to you
- Finally – how can I find out more about this stuff?
In this post I just want to cover the first point, and give a few more thoughts that have come into my head since I wrote that episode.
So let me do that right here, and then tell you all about my small but perfectly formed podcast.
First off, here is what I wrote for the first point.
“1 Get out more and take photos
The number one way for you and me to improve our photography in 2023 is to get out more and take photos. And this is deliberately worded. Get out more and take photos.
Not get out and take more photos necessarily. Oh no.
I guess an even better way of putting this is “get out more but take less photos”. There I have said it.
What do I mean?
Well, every time we go out and take photos we are creating something new. Every time we go out and take photos we are thinking of creating something new, and that something new we will have forever. We are thinking creatively, and are putting into practise everything that we have learned. And in practising what we have learned, by applying all this good stuff, we should be improving as well.
When you are out taking photos, really think about what you are taking a photo of and why. I don’t want to go too deep into this, that is not my way of course. Think of it like this – would you rather have a couple of really interesting photos to work on when you get home, or hundreds of average photos to wade through to find a decent photo to work with?
I know which I would rather have.
One decent photo and I am happy.
Every time we go out and take photos we are creating new stuff – this is the point of photography to me – creating new stuff.”
Is this really what I do?
Yes this is. This is exactly what I do. And this is one of the most important photography lessons that I can tell you. There are so many distractions in life, so many other things that we can do. And photography is no different.
And in 2023 there are probably more distractions than ever, so it is human nature to get distracted from the actual meaning of photography, and distracted into endless other things. Sure this happens to me too.
What actually is photography?
Let’s remember what photography is. Photography is drawing with light. It is about creating things. And that is all. It is dead simple when I put it like that.
- Photography is drawing with light
- Photography is taking photos
- Photography is creating new stuff
- Photography is a creative process
- Photography is meant to be enjoyable!
Sure there are things that we need to have, such as gear, software, all that good stuff. And sure we need to learn how to take photos properly, I get that too.
But the process of taking photos is the most important part of photography. As important as everything else, it is there to help us to take better photos.
Photography learning should be all about learning how to take better photos. Sorry to bang on and keep repeating myself but this is true.
Get off your computer
Yes, get off your computer, get out more and take (less) photos. And I am saying this to myself too. I spend far too much time on my computer, and nowhere near enough time taking photos. So this applies to me too.
Get off your computer, get off your sofa, whatever it is that you are doing that is not creating photos, and get out and take some great photos!
I am going to do just that today.
Why less photos?
Well to reinforce the point, do you go out with the intention of filling up a memory card with hundreds of photos?
Or do you go out with the intention of getting one or two great photos?
- Guess what I used to do?
- And guess what I do now?
If you are not sure get in touch here
Less is more people, quality over quantity.
Like I said, this is what I used to do. I used to go out and take photos of anything and everything, and try to find something good on my computer. Yes I thought that was what I was meant to do, take loads of photos and find the goodies when I got back to my computer.
And how wrong was I?
Right, enough about that – what else is in this episode of my podcast?
First off, this is the episode – Photography Explained Podcast Episode 148 – 11 Actionable Things You And I Can Do To Improve Our Photography in 2023 – Part 1
And you can listen to it right here
Yes just click play and you can listen on whatever device you are on reading this post.
And the beauty of my podcast is that you can listen to it while you are out and about taking photos – how cool is that?
And these are the other 4 things that I managed to talk about in this episode (hence the Part 1 bit stuck on the end!)
- Learn to use all our gear properly
- Start all over again
- Simplify and get rid of distractions
- Really think about composition
This really is all about thinking afresh about what we do. And there is nothing wrong with that. It is so easy to lose the point of something, not just photography, anything. Sometimes we just need a nudge, a bit of a reset, to get us back on track.
I did, and this has helped me greatly. And the point of my podcast is to share what I have learned over the many years of doing this stuff to help your with your photography.
The Photography Explained Podcast
Every fortnight, I publish a new episode which is 27 (ish) minutes long. Why 27 ish minutes? Well it used to be 10 minutes (ish) weekly, but that did not work for me so I made it longer. 27 is less than 30 and more than 20, and seems to be the average length of episodes. There is no time target, I just want to keep it under 30 minutes, but it is more important that I explain what I want to explain to help my listeners.
The podcast website
If you want to know about my podcast just head over to this page, the erm start here page! Yep that is the best place to start – well you would hope so. On my website you can read all the transcripts, and find lots of other good stuff too.
Ask me a question!
My podcast is all about answering your photography questions, so head over to the podcast website and get those questions into me please.
Where can you listen to the Photography Explained Podcast?
An all podcast providers. Well I think all podcast providers. If you can’t find my podcast on your podcast provider of choice let me know and I will sort this.
Related reading
Check out the podcast website. Simple. The script for every episode is right there. And it is the actual script, the bit that I wrote before I made a mess of everything by talking!
My You Tube channel
Yes I have an ever growing You Tube channel, where I talk about what I have written on my blog. Check out the video for this post right here. It is a one minute visual soundbite that starts with the answery bit.
Again no frills, no bull, just me telling you the stuff that you need to know.
Get a weekly email from me to you
Yep, if you want to receive an email from me every week then fill in the form on this page – there will be one somewhere. And in return I will send you a splendid Lightroom thing, and you will receive my thoughts straight to your inbox on a Friday afternoon. Which is nice.
Finally – how can I find out more about this stuff?
Simple.
Get in touch with me – email me – sales@rickmcevoyphotography.co.uk
Get in touch, ask me a question that I can answer on my blog or podcast, or just say hi – it would be great to hear from you.
Thanks for visiting my small but perfectly formed website, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers from me Rick
