The Number 1 Way To Improve Your Photography

The number one way to improve your photography is simply to get out and take photos. It really is that simple. Nothing else will improve your photography more than getting out and taking photos. When you go out and take photos, you are applying everything that you've learned to the process of creating new images.

I'm your host, Rick, and each week I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes without the irrelevant details, to explain things in just enough detail to help us with our photography and no more.

This is a kind of a general chatty one, the number one way to improve your photography. So I've written my formal answer and here it is. All my own words, of course.

You can listen to the episode here

Or you can read on - it’s entirely up you!

The magic of photography.

The magic of photography for me is creating new images.

I've been practising photography for, I don't know, a long time. Can I say? Well, over 30 years. That makes me sound old, doesn't it?

The magic of photography is creating new images. For me, everything to do with photography starts with creating new images. If you don't go out and create new images what have you got? Stuff that you've already taken?

Sure I got loads of photos that I haven't ever processed, that I‘ve just never got around to. But um, yeah, creating new images sparks everything for me, the entire process, the interest, the enjoyment.

Let's go through a few things. Let me convince you that I am right. What I have written here is quite strong words for me, isn't it?

Number one on my list of 10 things. I guess I should have said 10 ways to improve your photography in 2020. That might have been a bit catchier.

1 The number one thing is to get out and take photographs.

New images give you new things to work with. Every time I take new images, I seem to learn a little bit more with them. Learning photography is a never-ending process.

And if you think you've learned everything in photography, you're wrong.

And if you think you can't get another new image, you're wrong. You can always go out and get a new image, something new to create, work with, and enjoy.

2 If you're out taking photographs, you're not watching TV.

You're not on Netflix, you’re not spending money buying stuff, you're actually out there, taking photos. Get out and take photos, you're in the fresh air which is good for you. Fresh air is good. Stopping in is not good. Get out and about and you are getting exercise.

And that is good for your mental health.

Now when I was younger we never talked about mental health. Mental health is particularly important. And it is brilliant that it is not frowned upon anymore. And now we can all talk about it openly.

You get out in the fresh air, take some photos, explore some new places, and just enjoy yourself and the landscape and the environment around you. It's good for you. It's good for me.

I need to do it more. As I say a lot.

5 Practice makes perfect.

Think about an athlete. They don't just turn up and run 400 metres in super quick time.

They practice.

People are not (normally) born experts. People become experts with practice, which leads me seamlessly to number six.

6 The 10,000-hour rule.

Now, there is a saying, not sure what the saying is, but the meaning of the saying is something like this. To become an expert in anything, you need to apply 10,000 hours of practice. Now, I've got no idea how many hours I've applied to practising photography. But I'm obviously a slow learner because I've probably done a lot more than 10,000 hours!

Am I an expert? Well, I'm not bad, I'm proficient, and I get by. But maybe my 10,000 hours weren't spent specifically on certain things, I was a bit all over the place, practising everything and anything - just have an email come in whilst I'm recording this - I thought I'd put my iPad on Do Not Disturb, but that didn't work.

I should write an episode called 10 reasons why I Hate Apple. Hates a strong word, but I find some of their features slightly inconvenient. Digressing here. I have an iPhone XS. I can't use it without having it in a case because I just drop it everywhere.

Why don't they make a phone that you can actually hold safely?

Sorry, I digress.

7 Go out and take photos.

If you go out and take photos you're applying everything that you've learned. I find that this is so enjoyable. I like learning things. But there's no point in learning things if you're not going to apply them and work with them.

You could sit down in front of a computer and learn everything there is to know about photography, you could be an expert in everything about photography, or know more than anybody else about everything in photography.

But it's all a waste of time if you don't go out and take photos. Right. That's that one done.

9 Use your gear

I've talked about this before. I will talk about this a lot more in the future. See, I have a thing about gear. Well, I have a perception that people talk and write about gear far too much. The gear, of course, is important.

And I bought shed loads of stuff in the past and I didn't use lots of it. I never used some of it and I sold it after applying my, I'd like to say my world-famous, one-year rule.

But it's not world-famous, but it's my rule.

What is my one-year rule?

If I've got something I haven't used for a year, I sell it. That includes photography gear, for which I made quite a few quid the other year.

I don't buy any more gear unless I need it.

But you get out and about you're using your gear. If you're out and about using your gear, what you're not doing is you’re not buying more gear. Because you're out using what you have - see it's a win-win all the way isn't it?

And you're using stuff that you've already bought, and you are learning to use it, all good stuff.

10 Create new photos

Every time you go out and take photos you are creating something new. I mean, that's just a fact. And there is one thing I will add to that, which I'm going to put in my notes afterwards.

There's only one thing I can guarantee you in photography. If you don't go out and take new photos, you won't create new photos.

That's a fact.

If you do go out, you might get something - you might end up with nothing. You might end up with rubbish, but there's a chance you'll get something. If you don't go out you'll get nothing.

And lastly, this is what I need to do much more of myself.

So that's an idea for a future episode.

What’s next?

So what's next in the Photography Explained Podcast? In episode 20 - Let's Get Technical

Blimey, I'm running out of time.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing 10 minutes of your day with me. I hope you enjoyed this episode which I think had some good stuff in there. I think.

If you liked this episode, please leave a nice review and rating wherever you get your podcasts from, and please let somebody know about me and my podcast.

Check out my website, Rick McEvoy Photography, where you can find out all about me and my architectural and construction photography work. You also find my blog where there is lots more photography learning to be enjoyed.

Lastly, I was rushing to try and get into the 10 minutes time slot but we're going to go to 11 minutes today because I'm feeling brave.

A quick plug for me and what I do.

Well, why not? If I can't plug myself on my podcast, where can I?

You have found this podcast, so why not check out my splendid website, where I write blog posts about my photographs of buildings and other good stuff. On my courses page, you will find my course, How to Become A Real Estate Photographer.

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Okay, I'm done. This episode was brought to you by the power of well, not much clearly.

I've been Rick McEvoy. Thanks again for listening. Thank you for giving me 10 minutes of your valuable time. I really do appreciate it. And I will see you in the next episode.

Cheers from me, Rick