What it takes to be a good photographer?

[ghosh]

For a quite long time I was wondering what it takes to be the best Photographer?

I am an engineer but it is not "techno master" that I want to be refered as. There are lots of world class photographer, how do I stand between them? Should I go for fame to achieve that?

Over the years I have understood that it takes much more than "knowledge in photography" & " a good sense in Photography" and other bla bla bla to be the best Photographer. I think, one also should also have the body language such as attitude to be the best.

What you think?

[sblais]

Personally, I think it takes arrogance to call oneself a "world-class" photographer. If you want to become one, that's all you really need.

I am also an engineer and I love photography. So much that I started a small photography business a few years ago. I strive to always improve my technique and I spend a lot of time pushing my creativity. But I never want to become a "world-class" photographer in terms of reputation. If people appreciate my images, if my clients show emotions when the see the result of my work, then that's worth all the world-class-photographer titles in the world for me!

[Mark_Cohran]

The best photographers are the ones, I think, that have vision, creativety and a personal style to their images. They know light and its impact to the image better than they know their equipment, because ultimately it is the light and the manipulation of light and not the camera that defines the image.

Mark

[DAMphyne]

Photo-graphy
Light-drawing
I agree completely Mark

[Mike R]

having a vison of a scene or subject and being able to capture that vision.

[pos]

I am by no means a great photographer, I am learning everytime i take my camera and shoot what i enjoy. I agree with sblais that when you show people your photos and they go WOW that makes me feel like a good photographer. pos

[ghosh]

Thank you all for participating in this discussion.

Well, pos. If you dream of becoming a world class photographer I dont think your neighbor's judgment is enough but different people have different taste. Some people like me might wants to be a world class photographer while others dont want to be.

I hope you all know how are the photographs of National Geographic, and I believe all those photographers are truly world class.

I feel what Mark said is right, to be a world class photographer Photography is not only the subject that one should learn, besides that one also need to know Physics, Chemistry, a good knowledge in expression and other things.

Another thing which I think one should pursue to be a world class photographer is that, to be a world class photographer one has to work for it achieve it. Its like, if you just keep studying you may not get 100% at exam but if you study hard only for the exam you may get 100%. I mean studying a book for the sake of learning is different from studying the same book for getting 100% in the exam( because here you study more of exam oriented).

Thanks for replying to my post .
Ghosh

[Dandaman_24]

What you need to become a great photographer,

The best kit you can't afford to buy

Canon 1DS MKII and all the L lenses going, that should do the trick.

In all seriousness practice, is the best thing, with a little added reading.

[SkipD]

A good photographer understands his/her equipment and how to control it to achieve technical quality in the photograph. This has to be a given.

In my opinion, anybody with a good grasp of technical issues can learn to produce properly exposed photographs with either film or digital cameras. However, this does not mean that the photographs produced by that person will be something outstanding to look at. That's because there is so much more to producing truly outstanding photographs.

If the subjects are people, one needs to know how to work with people to get them to relax and pose appropriately.

A good photographer needs to understand that perspective plays a huge part in composition and that perspective is controlled by the distance between the viewer (or camera) and the subject. Many not-so-good photographers really don't understand perspective and merely choose focal lengths to fill a frame with a subject from wherever they happen to be standing. A good photographer will often spend time finding the ideal position to produce a better perspective of the subject and then choose a focal length from that point.

A great photographer knows how to control or work with lighting to optimize his/her images. Being creative with lighting is a huge part of being a good photographer. Slight changes in lighting can sometimes turn a great photograph into an also-ran photograph and vice-versa.

Knowing your subject - and how viewers of photographs know/understand them - can play a huge part in making better photographs. This is very important when photographing sports, wild animals, people, and many other subjects. It's sort of like reading a newspaper article by a reporter who understands the subject well versus one by a reporter who hasn't a clue. Both get the facts, but one reporter tells a much more revealing story with insight and the other writes a dry and uninteresting article.

[calicokat]

Study and adaptability, then putting your lessons to work with vision and creativity

[R Mutt]

time, practice, learning through example but finding your own vision.

The downfall for a lot of amateurs who wan't more is honesty with oneself. It's hard (maybe impossible?) to look at your own photographs and critique them honestly when you don't really know what to expect. A year ago I thought I was taking awesome photos, I look at them now and can't believe I sold them to customers. I'm embarrassed by them compared to what I'm taking now.

Keep an attitude of improving on every shot you have taken, as long as you're never satisfied you will keep learning and improving. You may become neurotic but an artist must suffer for his creation.

[PeaPicker]

Gotta have "the eye".
Be able to see the shot and then make it happen.
I'm still trying to find my glasses.

[overclock]

patience. plain and simple.

after one practice shoot i wanted to sell everything. i was so disappointed in my "work" if you used that word losely. but i cooled off and kept practicing. my last practice shoot was much better but i learned even more. there are a lot of aspects to keep in mind while framing the shot and taking the shot all at the same time.

patience.

[slicendice]

The ability to take an extraordinary photograph of a very ordinary scene/subject. I've seen some simply stunning images of things I'd never have even given a second glance to.

Some people have the "eye" to do that, some don't. But anyone can improve.....practice, practice, practice!

[thekid24]

Along with what others have said, that an eye for photography, composition, mastering light, imagination all play a part in being a good photographer.

I also believe to be a world class photographer in the business it also comes down to who you know. How you advertise yourself. How you get your name out there. Im sure that some on here, given the equipement that the world class photogs get, could produce stunning shots as well. Im not trying to knock those w.c. photogs because they played the game, and they played it well, getting their name known and how they achieved it was part of the game.

Practice Practice Practice is another aspect that, I personally love. I like going out and having an idea of an image I want and then find a whole different angle or composition. Knowing your equipement and using it well is also another part. As for how I stack up, I believe I have a few images that could hand with the big boys, but getting those high quality type of images on a consistant basis is also what makes a average photog great.