The shortcut to becoming a better photographer

"The shortcut to becoming a better photographer", an opinion essay by Dave Blinder.

https://daveblinder.wo​rdpress.com …ng-a-better-photographer/

Personally I think shortcuts are absolutely the the way to go. Learn fast and quick. If it works who cares how you got there. If there is an easier way of doing something I'll jump at it... e.g. like the fact I can't shoot M without having live view to flick on and off to set the exposure. WYSIWYG shooting is a game changer. Shortcuts for myself at least are how I got to where I've got to so far.

Shortcuts are what make this photography thing so great. Work smarter not harder.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17352591
Personally I think shortcuts are absolutely the the way to go. Learn fast and quick. If it works who cares how you got there. If there is an easier way of doing something I'll jump at it... e.g. like the fact I can't shoot M without having live view to flick on and off to set the exposure. WYSIWYG shooting is a game changer. Shortcuts for myself at least are how I got to where I've got to so far.

Shortcuts are what make this photography thing so great. Work smarter not harder.

Just out of curiosity, did you actually read the article the OP posted.

Might want to consider changing your background color Dave. After reading the white letters on black and closing the site I was blind. Definitely discourages me from reading more.

To the point however, yes, there are no shortcuts. As with anything in life there is a lot of hard work needed to succeed.

Yes I did. Basic summary... there are no shortcuts... which I strongly disagree with. Technology advances are creating more and more each day.

There are lots of shortcuts and personally I take every one I can.

Hmmmmmm

I agree with Dave's blog post
To get better, get off your ass and shoot, work for the photos, and dont just expect them to come to you because you have a shiny new bit of gear, or went to a workshop.
Practice makes perfect.

But i agree with Peter too, although i feel he has kind of missed the point, yes there is shortcuts that help, like live view with exposure simulation, but you still need to be in the right spot at the right time to use it - the only way to be there is get off your ass.
I frequently use liveview to focus when its too dark to see/AF - another handy trick.

One of my golden rules is "if it seems stupid, but it works, it isnt stupid" - and there is many little tricks that fall into that category of seeming stupid, till you really need them.


The technology is changing rapidly, making our lives much easier, lenses get better, with more advanced IS, cameras have higher FPS, cleaner high ISO, better AF
But it still doesnt mean s**t unless you get the camera in the right place and set it up properly, at the right time.
Seeing light is a skill that is learned, as is composition - both are learned through practice.

Henri Cartier-Bresson once said "your first 10,000 photos are your worst"
I think that is what dave was trying to get at, get out there, make the mistakes, learn from them, dont go looking for the easy way out all the time

Good essay. Short and to the point, my kind of post. The only thing that struck me as a bit off was the point regarding upgrade when you can afford it. I think too many new photogs do just that before they truly know what their current gear can do. Can I afford a 1Dx? Yup, but I don't need it. Read, watch videos and attend live events, and like David and others stated, get up, get out and shoot!

To touch on Peter and Echo's responses, good on all levels. Use everything available, including live view and in certain situations, even greenbox so you know what it does. If you have them, use your tripod, monopod, flashes, whatever is tucked away in your bag that hasn't seen the light of day for awhile.

What I liked best was shoot and post your images sooc, no pp. Talk about taking me out of my comfort zone!

Cartier-Bressons comment on the first 10k is true, and even though I'm beyond that, Im still fully capable of creating horrible images. I am more on par with Ansel Adams who said 12 significant photos in any one year is a good crop!

Having a degree in Music and many years in photography (including zone system, view cameras, and wet lab work), I am sure there is no substitute for discipline and a deep knowledge of your field. One of the worst aspects of this "computer age" is the willingness of people to let machines think for them just to save time.

I always think there are 2 aspects into this "becoming a photographer....." To becoming a good, amateur photographer and shooting for yourself. Then, there is the "being good enough" and people would pay you big or small money for your photography.

My opinion is that it depends on the person, as well. Some are looking to become pros. Some are looking to become artists. Some are looking to become satisfied with themselves. Maybe it depends on what the goal is.

For me, I don't even think about "shortcuts". I am in it, for personal enjoyment. If I become better, so be it. If I don't, the world will not have been worse for it.

Everyone's path is going to be different. It depends on what's inside.

rgs wrote in post #17353172
One of the worst aspects of this "computer age" is the willingness of people to let machines think for them just to save time.

Personally I love the computer age. The less time I have to think about what I'm doing the more time I have to do other things.

For example I've found a particular setup using AV with on camera flash (bounced) which nails exposure every shot during wedding receptions. So much so that SOOC is just about the finished article every time. The great thing about it is that I don't even have to think about the settings, I've effectively got the DSLR working as a point and shoot for me but with a set aperture and nailing the exposure. No messing with WB in post nor anything else. Composition and timing are the only things I need to worry about. I've no interest in the technicals of the shots, I just want the shots.

Likewise as I eluded to earlier I cannot shoot on M using the metering system, not the needles nor the blinking lights. Heck I don't even really understand what some of them are doing and would turn them off if I could. I shoot M on Canon more or less using live view as an EVF (but quickly turning if off to get shots). It is even easier on my Sonys with their EVFs. Getting correct exposures with an EVF is so easy.

Learning to see the light is much easier with an EVF. WYSIWYG shooting. Want to learn how to see what the sensor sees? Then use the great shortcuts that are available, why make it more difficult than it needs to be? I went to sell a lens to a guy yesterday. He popped it on his camera and took about 5 minutes messing about trying to get a correctly exposed image because he was determined to try and do it the old fashioned way. I could have got the exposure in seconds without doing any of he calculations and mental work. Simply looking on screen and adjusting the dials until it looked right.

Having Lightroom and presets is another great example as to where you can set and forget.

All of these things make photography easier, save time and help you develop faster since you can just take pictures only having to worry about composition and timing. When every exposure is a good one your eye for composition is allowed to develop that much faster.

Manual focus made easier (shortcut focus peaking). No need to even bother learning about focal distances etc, etc. On screen shown as in focus. Using an EVF no need to pay attention to much on the dials, just turn them until it looks right. Same goes for WB, using a K value.

ISO becomes a brightness control. WB a warmth control. Aperture lots in focus or not. Extensive learning there isn't required as things are simplified.

10 minutes with an EVF should be all it takes to give someone a basic understanding and competence it getting exposures right just about every time. Timing and composition they'll need practice.

The shortcut is SPEED. Everything can be done so much faster. Why put a camera on a tripod to explore angles when you can whack on live view and watch the screen as you quickly move the camera about?

SPEED, EFFICIENCY AND EASE are the shortcuts to better photography today. 10 years ago you had to take your time. Things were mainly film i.e. slow and tedious for beginners with a high failure rate for exposures. Difficult processes for developing images. Shot to display time often days (if not weeks). These days I can take an image, transfer it to my phone, edit on my phone and upload it onto the net all inside of a minute or so. Furthermore I don't get 5% keepers from 100 shots I get 95% keepers because it is WYSIWYG.

As for having to shoot to get better... well you learn to see the way the sensor sees subconsciously and with no effort (which comes from using an EVF or live view). You don't even need to go out and take photographs to practise seeing the light as your mind instantly knows when looking at a scene what a camera would see. A side benefit of the shortcut technology offers. To see the light you just have to become accustomed to looking at the world with the same dynamic range your camera sensor captures. It has never been easier to learn to see the light.

Shortcuts, every single one available are essential to becoming a better photographer (and faster) IMHO. Why? The higher the frequency that you produce higher quality images the faster you'll learn. Why adopt a trial and error model when shortcuts offer a trial and success one? Personally I think it is a hell of a lot easier to learn faster from good results than from bad ones. The great advantages is the technical aspects will slowly fall into place as a by-product of always getting good results.

When you start to approach the learning model backwards with photography you can become better exponentially faster than using the old slog it out methods.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17353431
Personally I love the computer age. The less time I have to think about what I'm doing the more time I have to do other things.

For example I've found a particular setup using AV with on camera flash (bounced) which nails exposure every shot during wedding receptions. So much so that SOOC is just about the finished article every time. The great thing about it is that I don't even have to think about the settings, I've effectively got the DSLR working as a point and shoot for me but with a set aperture and nailing the exposure. No messing with WB in post nor anything else. Composition and timing are the only things I need to worry about. I've no interest in the technicals of the shots, I just want the shots.

Likewise as I eluded to earlier I cannot shoot on M using the metering system, not the needles nor the blinking lights. Heck I don't even really understand what some of them are doing and would turn them off if I could. I shoot M on Canon more or less using live view as an EVF (but quickly turning if off to get shots). It is even easier on my Sonys with their EVFs. Getting correct exposures with an EVF is so easy.

Learning to see the light is much easier with an EVF. WYSIWYG shooting. Want to learn how to see what the sensor sees? Then use the great shortcuts that are available, why make it more difficult than it needs to be? I went to sell a lens to a guy yesterday. He popped it on his camera and took about 5 minutes messing about trying to get a correctly exposed image because he was determined to try and do it the old fashioned way. I could have got the exposure in seconds without doing any of he calculations and mental work. Simply looking on screen and adjusting the dials until it looked right.

Having Lightroom and presets is another great example as to where you can set and forget.

All of these things make photography easier, save time and help you develop faster since you can just take pictures only having to worry about composition and timing. When every exposure is a good one your eye for composition is allowed to develop that much faster.

Manual focus made easier (shortcut focus peaking). No need to even bother learning about focal distances etc, etc. On screen shown as in focus. Using an EVF no need to pay attention to much on the dials, just turn them until it looks right. Same goes for WB, using a K value.

ISO becomes a brightness control. WB a warmth control. Aperture lots in focus or not. Extensive learning there isn't required as things are simplified.

10 minutes with an EVF should be all it takes to give someone a basic understanding and competence it getting exposures right just about every time. Timing and composition they'll need practice.

The shortcut is SPEED. Everything can be done so much faster. Why put a camera on a tripod to explore angles when you can whack on live view and watch the screen as you quickly move the camera about?

SPEED, EFFICIENCY AND EASE are the shortcuts to better photography today. 10 years ago you had to take your time. Things were mainly film i.e. slow and tedious for beginners with a high failure rate for exposures. Difficult processes for developing images. Shot to display time often days (if not weeks). These days I can take an image, transfer it to my phone, edit on my phone and upload it onto the net all inside of a minute or so. Furthermore I don't get 5% keepers from 100 shots I get 95% keepers because it is WYSIWYG.

As for having to shoot to get better... well you learn to see the way the sensor sees subconsciously and with no effort (which comes from using an EVF or live view). You don't even need to go out and take photographs to practise seeing the light as your mind instantly knows when looking at a scene what a camera would see. A side benefit of the shortcut technology offers. To see the light you just have to become accustomed to looking at the world with the same dynamic range your camera sensor captures. It has never been easier to learn to see the light.

Shortcuts, every single one available are essential to becoming a better photographer (and faster) IMHO. Why? The higher the frequency that you produce higher quality images the faster you'll learn. Why adopt a trial and error model when shortcuts offer a trial and success one? Personally I think it is a hell of a lot easier to learn faster from good results than from bad ones. The great advantages is the technical aspects will slowly fall into place as a by-product of always getting good results.

When you start to approach the learning model backwards with photography you can become better exponentially faster than using the old slog it out methods.

Well you made my point for me in a most forceful way. You freely admit that you don't have a good understanding of what is going on behind the scenes. While I'm sure you have been able to use all of the technology we have available to us effectively, you can be sure that the people who write the software and design the cameras you rely upon did not have the same approach to learning craft. And when the technology changes radically rather than gradually, which it probably will several times during your career, you may be left behind because of your lack of fundamental knowledge.

I don't suggest anyone should ignore the technological advances available today, just that we should take time to understand what's behind them. I was once sent on a job with about 10 other "photographers". We drove 100 miles to the site where we were supposed to take outdoor photographs only to be met by a rainstorm. I was the only one on the crew that knew how to light things inside. The rest were mere button pushers. That's an extreme example but it shows the risk involved when we don't take time to learn craft and let the machines do the thinking.

rgs wrote in post #17353458
And when the technology changes radically rather than gradually, which it probably will several times during your career, you may be left behind because of your lack of fundamental knowledge.

The technology is only making it easier, not harder. Photography is getting easier by the day. In the old days it was the preserve of the few and required time and patience. Now it is the everyday bread and butter for many, a throwaway commodity that most carry around in their pocket.

The money for the camera manufacturers and software developers isn't in selling to professional photographers. It is in selling en masse to the general public. They aren't going to make things harder to use as that hurts sales.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17353508
The technology is only making it easier, not harder. Photography is getting easier by the day. In the old days it was the preserve of the few and required time and patience. Now it is the everyday bread and butter for many, a throwaway commodity that most carry around in their pocket.

The money for the camera manufacturers and software developers isn't in selling to professional photographers. It is in selling en masse to the general public. They aren't going to make things harder to use as that hurts sales.

All granted. And actually, for the average person, I'm not sure it's gotten easier as much as the end result has gotten much better. Like I said change happens, sometimes gradually and sometimes radically. Which makes it more important for serious photographers, professional or amateur, to understand their craft and not just be at the mercy of automated functions.

john crossley wrote in post #17352615
Just out of curiosity, did you actually read the article the OP posted.

Its a much better shortcut to only read the heading and then assume the article was going to say things you agree with....

And I know he did read it,