Becoming a good photographer....

[MaloneWhite]

Just looking for some opinions on an issue. Do you think you can become a good photographer or are you born one? I know you can learn skills, but do really good photographers just have an "eye" for a shot which is something that can't be developed? Me, I'm an amatuer who would really love to get more serious with photography, prehaps even get to the point of making it a part time gig. Comments?

[JayHawk]

I'm sure you'll get lots of responses to this one, but here's my take.....Natural artistic and creative ability helps, but learning to "see" photographically is a skill you can improve. Also consider that certain people can have ability in a specific type or area of photography better than others. Not everyone is a great photojournalist, likewise, not every great photojournalist has a great eye for landscapes, nature or commercial studio and portrait work.

Bottom line is if you're excited about photography now, there's nothing stopping you from becoming more "serious." Just keep working, practicing, learning, and eventually you will develop your own style that reflects your "eye" for your shot.

[KatmanDu]

All comments are strictly MHO... but I think the technical aspects can be learned by anyone. (Even by me, eventually...) It sounds like what you're asking is "can creativity be learned or developed?" That's a toughie. I think my only creative talent lies in writing; every now and again I'll have a creative spark re: photographic composition. Mmmm... thinking about it, I think that the more you force yourself to see creative aspects, the more you'll find them in everyday situations; and to some extent you can develop a creative eye. Exercising the mental eye, as it were; eventually, it becomes a conditioned reflex to see something and say "That'd make a great picture... what do I need to do to capture it the way I'm envisioning it?"

I also believe that there are some people who will never develop this; but only because they have no interest in doing so... and probably aren't interested in photography or other creative endeavors, anyway.

Technical aspects, though, absolutely can be learned. I feel that I can take anyone and make them a good pistol shot, if they'll listen to my instruction and follow my advice; that's a technical field of learning. The ones I have trouble with are the ones who think they already know how to shoot, despite their poor scores, because they've been shooting for a long time and refuse to change something they learned incorrectly. Relating it to photography, I'm having to change some of things I've done for a long time when taking a picture based on what I've been learning here.

[Seefutlung]

Jayhawk is on the money. Some are born with a natural eye and others require more training and practice. I believe most of us can reach a certain level of proficiency. One of the big difference between a "pro" and a "non-pro" is consistancy ... with practice one can consistantly, day-in and day-out capture exceptional images. Will these images ever be great? All things being equal ... great images require a great eye (not accounting for the luck factor ... but the more proficient one becomes ... the less luck is a factor in your photography).

[saravrose]

I truly believe that you can learn to be anything you want to be. It helps to have an artistic eye, a sense for composition, and a good head for all the technical aspects of photography.. Some of us are wonderful at one side of it or the other... to be able to make up for what doesn't come naturally takes practice and a real desire to learn. For me it's a little harder to explain photography is the first time that I tried something that I really didn't know whether or not I was capable of. Every other decision that i've made has been based on what I was told I was capable of, what I was told I was good at. I took eleven years of voice lessons and studied opera for half of it. Even though I like country music and hate the stage.
But nobody told me that I could take a good photo. Nobody showed me how to use my camera, create a composition... I wanted to be good at it, and the process of learning made every bad shot worthwhile.. and I had my fair share of bad shots, but I learned what made them bad I found this forum and really paid attention to what was being said.. and I feel like i'm getting there, time will tell how good any of us will ultimately be. This is an art, it's so individual There can be ten photographers standing side by side, and they can all take an image that looks nothing like the other nine..
Just my take on it, other's have their own... there are as many answers to this question as there are photographers...

sari.

[PIXI_666]

I have found that creative minds and an artistic eye has a lot to do with genes. My Nanna, Grandma, Grandad, Mum, Aunties, Sister & Brother are all very artistic, within photography, art & crafts, and Cake decorating. So i think that i get it from all of that running in the family!
BUT...you need the potential and stamina to keep at it, because if you don't practice what you are talented at, your skills will go down the drain and become old fashioned.
Another thing though, a lot of people only start photography because they feel they need a hobby, i am sure you can learn photography and elarn how to have an artistic eye, but i do feel it might take longer and more study to get to this point if you don't have that already in your blood.
I feel as long as there is enough practice, we can all be great photographer's, but you need the stamina to keep at it - and the oens that do keep at it, generally go further :)

Del

[saravrose]

well said del....agreed.

[Sean-Mcr]

Well you can make money out of photography with out creating art. When people say good photography, that's like asking what makes a good performing artist. It very much depends on who's listening, and with photography it depends on the beholder.

Most of the photographers that i admire or that have influenced me have come from an art background. They trained, and they worked relentlessly to learn their skills and perfect them. They studied both the theory and the practical, they asked themselves why, and then tried to get the answers from their photographs

So i say a questioning eye and mind are pretty important. But that's just me

[R Hardman]

I'm always "seeing" and "composing" just walking around without the camera. I guess that helps me. But what defines a great photographer from the rest of the pack. IMO... Style. Find your style and exploit it.

[Samiad]

The way I see it is this - we all have a certain level of artistic flair and an eye for composition. We can all research, learn and improve this to become better photographers, but there is a glass ceiling...it's not limitless. You'll get to a point where no matter how much more technical knowledge you can cram in your brain, you probably won't get any better at visualising and creating good photos.

[Tee Why]

If you are interested in becoming a good shooter, I'd recommend a few things.
First, shoot a lot. Then harshly cirtique your work. My experience is that ones that are defensive about their work usually don't learn as fast as those that are open to constructive criticism.

Second, when you shoot, chimp. I use the feature where you can see all the data with the histogram so I can see how I'm doing along with the composition. You don't know how many times I've caught myself not resetting the ISO, EV, etc. Looking at the composition, you can give yourself feedback on making for a better composition and reshoot while you are right there.

Third, study the basics of photography. Just conceptual knowledge of lenses, holding/panning techniques, Aperature, shutter speed, ISO, Rule of thirds, fill flash, basics of composition, etc. You can't have a good "eye" unless you have a working idea of how the camera "sees" things. The human eye and the camera don't see things the same way, so it's important to see how your camera sees light/things and think in those terms.

Fourth, learn to use RAW and become proficient in post processing. I'm not say ing you need to be a graphic artist here. Just know the basics of levels, curves, sharpening, colors/hues, dodge/burn, etc.

Lastly, read about photography, look at other great photogs works, and mentally try to critique and see what, if any, could be done to improve your shots.

If you like photography, these things will slowly come to you as it is slowly coming for me. I'm still learning and practicing as well.

Good luck

[MaloneWhite]

Thanks for all the great feedback! One thing is constant, and that is practice, and that's what I'm going to do....watch for my work. Thanks again everybody!