Best way for an amateur DSLR photographer to improve?

[jmlowman]

I've been playing around with Canon SLRs since the early 1970s. Now I have an EOS 40D with 28-135mm, 10-35mm and 70-300mm lenses.

I'm not trying to be a professional photographer, just looking to take better photos. No plans to publish, but I do contribute to a well-known site that hosts photos of old railroad depots and stations that are still standing.

My main interests are depots, landscapes and cityscapes. I've looked at classes at the local university and community colleges, but they tend either to revolve around photo editing or beginning with black and while photography and darkroom techniques. I'm certainly interested in learning more about photo editing, but am not at all interested in portrait or studio photography, film, or anything that can't be done with my current setup.

Along the line I've bought a few books, so maybe the answer is to crack a few of them and try some of the techniques.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance,

Jim

[mrfixitx]

Having gone down a similiar road myself her are my suggestions.

1. Go out and shoot as much as you reasonably can. If your only going out and doing photos once a month or every couple months its going to slow you down. Practice makes perfect.

2. Look up guides on composition for your subjects, learn about the rule of thirds, proper exposure, about colors theory etc.. if you dont already know all of that.

3. Be very self critical. To some people this is the hardest thing to do. Go through edit your photos do your touch ups and pick out the best of the bunch and look at them and ask your self honestly is it a good photo or not. Then sit down and figure out why. Comparing it to other photos you like that are of a similar style is a good way to start.

4. Ask for constructive criticism on your work. When doing this ask fellow photographers either online or in person especially if you admire their work. When asking for critic it helps to be more specific about what you want to know as it helps get replies.

[chauncey]

This question was recently addressed here....http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=730131

[Grimes]

Well, take a look at the photos that you admire, and take them apart - what makes you like them? The colors? The composition? Certain subjects.

Next, don't copy their styles exactly, but take what you like most from each artist and incorporate that into your own photos.

As was said before, practice a lot, but not blindly - examine what you produce and welcome criticism.

[snyderman]

Hi Jim:

I'm still relatively new to DSLR as well. Last Thanksgiving weekend is when I started shooting. Love it. Big fun. Here's something I worked on first: Getting proper exposure. It might have come easy to you due to prior experience, but it was something new to me. When I saw images where focus, ISO and SS were spot on, I was amazed by the clarity, depth of color ... all of the above.

Next, I started working on taking an 'interesting' picture. This is still not coming very often ... but the exposures are good! Also working on isolating subjects by giving them more light/focus/importance in my shots.

Another thing that helped me early on was shooting the same activities regularly and expecting improvement from myself. Shot lots of HS basketball last year. Changed gears this summer shooting birds and nature scenery. I've seen improvement in all areas by focusing on one activity or subject category and using what I've learned in other areas plus trial and error.

Still nowhere near 'good,' but getting better! Enjoy the journey.

dave