~otherjoseph

...me how I take my shots, or post-process, or basically end up with pictures like mine, and those questions are a. kinda flattering and b. kind of not.

It's not that I'm trying to be "ha, suck this, figure it out yourself", but in the end, there's more fun and fulfillment in doing just that. All anyone needs is a serious love for photography or beauty or art in general, and the patience to be okay with taking ugly pictures until your practice improves you. Practice makes everything better. It's not like anyone becomes super talented seconds after taking his or her first shot.

Here's what you *can* do though.

1. Look around for inspiration. Go out, peek through art galleries, or even just go through deviantART. Check out your favorite photographers' galleries, and then go through their favorites to find more of what you might like.

2. Copy them. This doesn't sound too nice, but you've got to know what you want from your photography before getting it. The trick is to learn from your inspirations, not mirror them.

3. Fiddle with your camera and with Photoshop. You don't need those tip books or textbooks on How To Get Great Pictures or How To Edit Colors. One thing I did was check out icon tutorials on LiveJournal. Seriously. I also read through my camera's manual once, but I lost it after that, and it wasn't that much of a loss.

4. Do your own thing. Now that you've gotten an idea of what you want, and how to get it, find your own style. One photographer who singlehandedly got me into photography is Scott Loudoun. He's scottage_cheese on livejournal, and hasn't updated for forever. You'll notice that his style is completely different from mine, and that's the beauty of inspiration. Back in 2005 and 2006 his photography posts inspired me and motivated me, and I basically shot what he shot, until I realized that I could do what I wanted as well.

5. Practice. Take your camera wherever you go. Don't be afraid to try new things on Photoshop. There's a history bar for god's sake. Find that style of shooting that gets you pictures that send this gut feeling of awe through you, and you'll know where you belong.



I started in 2005, and it took me about 2 years of getting things wrong, or at least not quite the way I wanted. In the end, it's how much you love photography that will keep you going anyway.


Aand that's it. You realize I don't talk about camera models, lenses, shutter speed, aperture, RAW, HDRs, Photoshop actually, and all those stuff. It's because I don't get them myself. Now doesn't that make you all feel better?